Chelsea’s potential opponents for the Conference League last-16 have become slightly clearer after the first leg of the play-off ties on Thursday night.
Enzo Maresca’s side finished top of the Conference League league phase having won all six of their matches and automatically secured their place in the knockout stage.
In December, the draw for the knockout phase play-off ties took place and Chelsea were aware that they would play either Gent, FC Copenhagen, Real Betis or FC Heidenheim in the last-16 stage.
Real Betis now have one foot in the knockout phase after their 3-0 win against Gent in the first leg of their play-off on Thursday.
Meanwhile, FC Heidenheim came from behind to secure a late 2-1 win against FC Copenhagen in the first leg of their play-off in Denmark.
The second leg of the Conference League play-off ties will take place next Thursday.
CONFERENCE LEAGUE KNOCKOUT PLAY-OFF FIRST LEG RESULTS
Gent 0-3 Real Betis
Vikingur Reykjavik 2-1 Panathinaikos
TSC 1-3 Jagiellonia Białystok
Celje 2-2 APOEL
Copenhagen 1-2 Heidenheim
Omonoia 1-1 Pafos
Molde 0-1 Shamrock Rovers
Borac 1-0 Olimpija
When is the Conference League draw?
The UEFA Conference League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw takes place at 13:00 GMT on February 21.
The draw will be streamed live on UEFA’s website and on their official YouTube channel.
How does the Conference League draw work?
Four bowls are prepared for the draw and balls containing the names of each pair of seeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league rankings.
The other seven teams who have automatically secured their place in the knockout phase alongside Chelsea are: Vitoria Guimaraes (POR), Fiorentina (ITA), Rapid Vienna (AUT), Djurgarden (SWE), Lugano (SUI), Legia Warsaw (POL), Cercle Brugge (BEL).
The draw allocates the side of the bracket for the seeded teams, starting with the sides ranked 7 and 8 and finishing with the sides ranked 1 and 2 – which is Chelsea and Vitoria de Guimaraes.
One ball is taken from the bowl containing the two ranked teams and is opened. The first team drawn from this bowl is placed in their place on the silver side of the bracket. The other seeded team of the pairing is then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the green side of the bracket in the graphic shown above.
When are the Conference League last-16 matches?
The first leg of the last-16 ties will be played on March 6.
The return legs will be played the following week on March 13.
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