The draw for the round of sixteen of the Champions League has been simulated, and Liverpool is in for a terrible matchup despite the fact that they were in first place in the league table.
There were three English teams that finished in the top eight and secured automatic qualification to the round of sixteen. The Reds finished with 21 points from eight games, with their only loss coming on the final matchday against PSV Eindhoven. They were one of three English teams to finish in the top eight.
A two-leg Champions League play-off was avoided by Arsenal and Aston Villa, as well as Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, and Lille. Manchester City was eliminated from the competition after suffering a 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid, who have won the Champions League 15 times. Another team that avoided the play-off was Lille.
The holders were joined by Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, and Club Brugge, all of whom made it to the round of sixteen through the play-offs.
The draw is not a random process; rather, it is based on the new seeding system that was created based on the league standings. This system places the eight teams that have automatically qualified in separate pairs. Liverpool is paired with Barcelona, which is in first and second place; Arsenal is paired with Inter Milan, which is in third and fourth place; Atletico Madrid is paired with Bayer Leverkusen, which is in fifth and sixth place; and Lille and Aston Villa are paired in seventh and eighth place.
Given that the bracket and path to the championship match had been mapped out, the round of 16 draw presented each team with only two possible opponents to face.
An simulated draw for the Champions League
But how might the outcomes of the draw in Nyon, Switzerland be determined? A number of enormous ties were produced as a result of a simulation that was carried out by SPORTbible using drawsimulator.com.
In the round of 16, Liverpool will face Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal will face Feyenoord, and Aston Villa will face Borussia Dortmund. Borussia Dortmund will be the opponent for Aston Villa this time around.
Benfica and Barcelona faced off against each other in a simulation that was a sequel to the breathtaking nine-goal thriller that they played out in Lisbon during the group stage. Real was pitted against Bayer Leverkusen, who were the champions of the Bundesliga football league.
The draw for the Champions League imposes a ban.
After the brackets have been established, every team will be aware of the teams that they might face in the quarterfinals and semi-finals of the competition.
In contrast, the teams that are ranked in the top eight have been prevented from playing against one of the teams until the final, which is the other team in their pair.
Due to the fact that the same rule applies to Arsenal and Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa, Liverpool is unable to play Barcelona until.
