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Zico believes Olympiacos FC have drawn "one of the most impressive teams in the group stage" in FC Girondins de Bordeaux, while his opposite number Laurent Blanc has fond memories of Piraeus.

Manager Arsène Wenger described Arsenal FC's last-16 tie against FC Porto as "difficult but feasible", believing the key to winning through to the quarter-finals was getting away goals.

PFC CSKA Moskva coach Leonid Slutski is taking heart from FC Rubin Kazan's success against Spanish rivals this season after his side were paired with Sevilla FC in the first knockout round draw.

FC Salzburg coach Huub Stevens's claim that "at this stage there's no side people are calling easy" summed up the mood after the UEFA Europa League draw. uefa.com rounds up all the reaction.

The draw for the UEFA Champions League first knockout round takes place in Nyon, Switzerland from 12.00CET today with seven former winners of Europe's élite club competition in the running.

UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said UEFA is determined that its flagship club competition, the UEFA Champions League, will continue to set the pace as the game's premier club event.

FC Girondins de Bordeaux registered the most points and Cristiano Ronaldo the most goals as uefa.com looks over the key facts and figures from the UEFA Champions League ahead of Friday's draw.

The brand-new UEFA Europa League is enjoying plenty of success in its first season, and UEFA says the fledgling competition looks firmly set to become a hit with Europe's football enthusiasts.

RSC Anderlecht's 3-1 victory at AFC Ajax not only extended their
UEFA Europa League campaign, it heralded the emergence of 16-year-old Romelu Lukaku, scorer of two of the Belgian team's goals.

After a dressing-room conference, Florent Balmont told uefa.com he and his LOSC Lille Métropole team-mates fancied being paired with "a big club" in today's UEFA Europa League round of 32 draw.

Umeå IK's new coach Joakim Blomqvist has signed Finland winger Anna Westerlund to strengthen their squad in a week when Swiss striker Ramona Bachmann and Sweden midfielder Lisa Dahlqvist both left.

Austrian clubs have played a record 42 games in European competition this season, with FC Salzburg sure of two more in the UEFA Europa League, and that is reflected in an exciting domestic campaign.

With Elis Bakaj and Fatjon Sefa proving deadly up front, KS Dinamo Tirana are steam-rolling their rivals in the Albanian league; they are, says KS Vllaznia coach Roland Luci "a goalscoring machine".

As far as Joan Capdevila is concerned it is no shock FC Salzburg are capable of coming to Spain and not only winning, but outplaying Villarreal CF to finish the group stage with a 100 per cent record.

Ryan Giggs has signed a new one-year deal at Manchester United FC, making next season his 21st at the club where he has spent all his career. "I'm enjoying my football more than ever," he said.

The draw for the UEFA Europa League rounds of 32 and 16 will take place at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon at 13.00CET, with 24 group qualifiers joined by the likes of Liverpool FC and Juventus.

FC Steaua Bucureşti 1-1 FC Twente
Gifts were exchanged and points were shared in Bucharest, where a draw had no bearing on the final Group H standings.

Villarreal CF 0-1 FC Salzburg
Dušan Švento's exquisitely-finished seventh-minute goal made sure the Group G winners ended with a perfect tally of 18 points.

S.S. Lazio 0-1 PFC Levski Sofia
Hristo Yovov ended the visitors' 640-minute goal drought in Europe to earn Antoni Ivanov Zdravkov's side their first Group G points.

Everton 0-1 FC BATE Borisov
Aleksandr Yurevich's 75th-minute goal downed a youthful Everton side and ensured BATE avoided the wooden spoon in Group I.