The draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League has been completed, and Liverpool, Arsenal, and Aston Villa have all been informed of their potential routes to the final match, which will take place in Munich.
Despite the fact that there was nothing for Arne Slot’s team to play for, Liverpool finished first in the inaugural Champions League league table with 21 points. Their only loss came against PSV Eindhoven on the final matchday of the competition.
The final automatic qualification spot went to Aston Villa, who finished eighth and finished in third place, two points behind Arsenal, who finished in third place.
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, and Lille all qualified automatically, in addition to the three English teams that were already in the competition.
They were all able to avoid a Champions League play-off that would have been played over two legs. This play-off would have resulted in Manchester City being eliminated from the competition after suffering a 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid, the current champions.
In addition to Real, other teams that won the play-offs, such as Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, and Club Brugge, participated in the round of 16 draw that took place on Friday in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw, which was the third and final one of the season, was not a random one; rather, it was the result of a bracket that was created using a new “seeding” system that was based on the standings of the league table.
The eight teams that are automatically qualified are seeded and were placed in four separate pairs based on their league standing. Liverpool was paired with Barcelona, Arsenal was paired with Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid was paired with Bayer Leverkusen, and Lille and Aston Villa were paired together.
At the time of the draw, the pairs were assigned to one of two positions, which means that they will be on opposite sides of the bracket and will not be able to compete against one another until the final.
In the round of sixteen, each team had two potential options to choose from, depending on which side of the bracket they were drawn to. Additionally, the teams had their potential path to the championship game mapped out.
In the round of 16 of Europe’s most prestigious club competition, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will engage in yet another Madrid derby. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen will face off in a matchup that is exclusively between German teams.
The team that is currently in first place in the table, Liverpool, will face off against a PSG team that is beginning to find their footing after a sluggish start to the group stage. Arsenal will challenge PSV.
The rematch between Barcelona and Benfica will be a continuation of the stunning nine-goal thriller that occurred between the two teams in the group stage. Aston Villa will be looking to avenge a loss to Club Brugge in the group stage.
Full draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League: Aston Villa will face off against Club Brugge
Marseille versus Borussia Dortmund
Taking on Atletico Madrid is Real Madrid.
The match between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal take on PSV
Between Feyenoord and Inter Milan
Liverpool will take on Paris Saint-Germain.
The match between Benfica and Barcelona
Potential opponents for English teams: If Liverpool were to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in a two-leg match, they would be able to face Aston Villa in the quarterfinals, provided that they were able to defeat Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid or Arsenal would be the challenge that would be the most difficult for Liverpool and Aston Villa to face in a potential semifinal matchup.
With Arsenal being drawn in the top half of the bracket, they face the terrifying possibility of facing Real or Atletico in the round of eight. If they are able to overcome PSV, they will be in a position to face Liverpool in the semi-final, which could be an all-English matchup. Alternatively, they could face PSG.
This Saturday, May 31st, the championship match will take place at the Allianz Arena in Bayern Munich.
