UEFA's balls of fate have been plucked from their perspex fishbowls of destiny and the Champions League round of 16 draw has coughed up a bevy of enticing heavyweight encounters.
Three of the four Premier League contenders have been pitted against Bundesliga opponents, while Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid have been handed gruelling ties against Atletico Madrid, Lyon and Ajax, respectively.
Finally, after years of tough last 16 draws, PSG get an easy one 😜 #UCL https://t.co/OZyz9nGlFJ
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) 17 December 2018
Be under no illusion, this is incredibly serious business indeed.
Might have to cancel my skiing trip.... #Last16
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) 17 December 2018
All eyes were on Manchester United, who, despite their ongoing domestic travails, successfully qualified from a difficult group and made it through into the knockout phase -- only to find themselves paired with Paris Saint-Germain, the first-ever competitive game between the two sides.
The prospect of watching PSG's ultra-mobile front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani run riot against United's struggling back four was enough to titillate fans.
Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani against that Man Utd defence......
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) 17 December 2018
To add to United's woes (what a merciless game football is), the PSG tie lands right in the middle of a hectic run of fixtures for Jose Mourinho's side.
Tuesday 12th Feb - PSG (H)
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) 17 December 2018
Saturday 23rd Feb - Liverpool (H)
Tuesday 5th March - PSG (A)
Saturday 9th March - Arsenal (A)
Saturday 16th March - Man City (H)#mufc pic.twitter.com/1YWvKlMMr9
Even the French media were pleased with the draw, with Le Parisien giving its immediate verdict: "PSG will go to England at the start of the knockout rounds in February of 2019 with a draw that seems doable for Thomas Tuchel's men."
Manchester City will also be taking on Schalke for the first time in the Champions League, with the last meeting between the two sides coming in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup (remember that?) group stage.
City get Schalke. That's the best possible draw for #MCFC imo but I'm ready for Guardiola to tell us tomorrow why Schalke are the best team in the world
— Simon Bajkowski (@spbajko) 17 December 2018
The theme of uncharted territory continues with Liverpool, who are set to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League for the first time ever and for the first time in any competition since the 2001 European Super Cup.
That said, Reds fans daunted by the prospect will no doubt be heartened to learn that their side have lost only one of their previous 16 games against German sides in European competition -- and that came way back in April 2002.
1 - @FCBayernEN and @LFC will clash in the Champions League for the first time, and Bayern have won each of their last three games against English teams (all against Arsenal) by the score of 5-1. Premiere. #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/ryjhZHpoWD
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) 17 December 2018
Tottenham have met Borussia Dortmund on four previous occasions in European competition, winning two and losing two.
However, Spurs have won both of their Champions League encounters with Dortmund, scoring five goals over the course. The omens, for what they're worth, are good.
And who knows, maybe -- just maybe -- by that point they might just have a brand-new stadium to christen in style.
Maybe.