Last Friday’s draw to define the Champions League round of 16 matches brought with it some exciting games, the derby between two Madrid teams, the contest between PSG and Liverpool and the long-awaited rematch between Barcelona and Benfica.
The Spanish derby will take place in the first week of March at the home of Real Madrid, which celebrated its victory over Manchester in the round of 16 playoffs in style. After the round of 16, where they will have the chance to make champions league predictionsThere will be no more matches between LaLiga teams until the final of the championship, since Barca is on the other side of the table.
This position favors the Blaugrana as they will not have to face PSG and Liverpool, the latter of which finished top of the league standings.
PSG or Liverpool will go through to the Round of 16 in one of the most anticipated matches of the round, the winner of which will be considered a strong candidate to lift the trophy, and will also face either Club Brugge or Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.
Although Brugge is not an opponent to be underestimated, given that it was one of those responsible for the elimination of Atalanta, the strength of the squads of PSG and Liverpool provides some advantage in the next phase. This was evidenced in the previous round, with Luis Enrique ‘s side thrashing Brest 7-0 in Paris.
On the other hand, the French team will not face Los Blancos in this phase, this duel would only be possible in the semifinal round, and would only coincide with Barcelona in a possible final.
The Blaugrana will meet Benfica away, where they came from 4-2 down to win 4-5 last month to advance directly to the round of 16. Should they advance to the quarter-finals, Hansi Flick’ s Barcelona will face the winner of the Dortmund v. Lille match on the pitch.
Leverkusen, Bayern eliminated Celtic in the qualifiers, while Leverkusen finished sixth in the table and reached the round of 16 after beating Sparta Prague on matchday 8. At the same time, Feyenoord will travel to Milan to beat Inter at home.
With the draw for the elimination play-offs, the following round matches were set.
Round of 16
- Aston Villa – Club Brugge (first leg 04/03, second leg 12/03)
- Borussia Dortmund – Lille (first leg 04/03, second leg 12/03)
- Real Madrid – Atlético de Madrid (first leg 04/03, return leg 12/03)
- PSV – Arsenal (first leg 04/03, second leg 12/03)
- Bayern Munich – Leverkusen (first leg 05/03, second leg 11/03)
- Feyenoord – Inter Milan (first leg 05/03, second leg 11/03)
- PSG – Liverpool (first leg 05/03, second leg 11/03)
- Benfica – Barcelona (first leg 05/03, return leg 11/03)
The select group of eight Round of 16 winners will advance to the quarterfinals, then the semifinals and the final, which will be played between the first and second place teams in the semifinals on May 31, 2025 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
