In this article we look at the draw for the Champions league last 16 and here is a quick explanation of the basic rules
In the knockout phase, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:
In the draw for the round of 16, the eight group winners are seeded, and the eight group runners-up are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group or the same association cannot be drawn against each other at this stage of the competition
So sadly you cannot get 2 English clubs or a group match up again but not to worry, here is what happened.
Draw
The first legs will be played on 14, 15, 21 and 22 February, and the second legs will be played on 7, 8, 14 and 15 March 2023.
| Team 1 | Match Number | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| RB Leipzig | 1 | Manchester City |
| Club Brugge | 2 | Benfica |
| Liverpool | 3 | Real Madrid |
| Milan | 4 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 5 | Napoli |
| Borussia Dortmund | 6 | Chelsea |
| Inter Milan | 7 | Porto |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 8 | Bayern Munich |
So a couple of real standout ties there, I’ll pick mine
Liverpool v Real Madrid – a repeat of the last final which Real Madrid 1 -0 , Liverpool have been poor at times this season but with such a long delay until the games and we don’t know what will happen during the World cup anything can happen. Its over 2 legs which may help Liverpool, the last couple of 1 legged finals have gone against them.
PSG v Bayern Munich – These would be many peoples candidates for reaching the final and one will exit at this early stage which in a way is sad but other teams will look at this thinking there chances have increased. Both teams seem to be clicking into gear now in the league although PSG still seem to be grinding results. A big factor for them will be, will Messi, Neymar and Mbappe be fit whne the game is played. Messi has really picked up form this season. Bayern are now top of the Bundesliga and just seem to be churning out the results as they do. They also navigated what on paper looked a real tricky group.
Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea – Should be a good game, Chelsea have been average at times in the league but don’t be surprised to see them add a couple of new faces in January to bolster the squad. Money doesn’t seem to be an issue.
RB Leipzig v Man City – a lot of peoples favourites are Man City and like so many other teams it will depend on the impact of the World Cup and also whether Erling Haaland is fit. If he is then I woud expect Man CIty to get through and get one step closer to the trophy they crave.
In the other 4 ties I would expect Napoli, Inter Milan to go through. The other 2 ties look very close to me, a flip of a coin.
