WERE THE DRAWS FIXED.

Champions League draw produces exactly the same pairings as dress rehearsal.

dress rehearsal draw

actual draw

As one of sport's most prestigious competitions all eyes were on yesterday's draw for the knock-out phase of the Champions League.

And they would have witnessed something quite remarkable.

To ensure that everything went smoothly UEFA chiefs had first staged a dress rehearsal. And they were left astonished as the real draw ending up producing exactly the same fixtures as those pulled out during the rehearsal

Ties included mouth-watering match-ups such as AC Milan v Barcelona and Real Madrid v Manchester United.

Leading football statisticians Opta say the likelihood of such an event happening is 2,160,900-1, leaving some football conspiracy theorists wondering whether there had been some kind of fix

Although the order in which the ties were drawn was different, the pairings were identical. Football statisticians have been arguing over the odds of such an occurrence happening.

The mathematics are complicated because of rules preventing teams from the same nations competing against each other at this stage of the tournament, or clubs facing rivals from their own group stage. 

The Champions League, previously called the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is an annual continental club football competition which has been taking place since 1955 for Europe's biggest sides.
It is hugely anticipated each year and the final of last year's tournament was the most watched final yet, with 178.7 million viewers on TV.
The tournament involves a number of stages, which includes qualifying rounds, a group stage and then a final knockout phase.
Real Madrid are the most successful team in the competition's history after winning the tournament nine times.