The dream Champions League last 16 draw: Liverpool-Real Madrid rematch
The Champions League group stage has officially finished and the round of 16 draw is on Monday, with teams waiting in anticipation to see who they will face.
Champions League matchday 6 had a number of surprise results with CSKA Moscow’s 3-0 away win over Real Madrid being the pick of the bunch, but the teams that ended up going through were predictable. The knockout stages are when the competition starts to really get interesting as the stakes are raised and teams can’t afford to slip up. Here’s a look at the ideal matchups for the draw.
Ajax vs. Manchester City
The similarities between the two sides’ playing styles suggest that this could be a great knockout matchup as well as an interesting tactical battle between two innovative managers. There’s a huge financial disparity between the two, but both sides are great to watch and it would be a real test for the talented stars that Ajax currently have. Frenkie de Jong has been heavily linked with a move to City, among other clubs, so seeing him compete against Pep Guardiola’s side would be a delight to watch.
Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus
Los Rojiblancos surprisingly finished second to Borussia Dortmund after drawing with Club Brugge, but they are a side that no team will want to draw. This would be a really defensive affair between two sides that are experts at keeping clean sheets. Juventus signed Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer with the intention of bringing European success, so this would be a major early test of their credentials. It’s likely that one piece of magic could decide this two-legged tie. The sides will be looking to Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann to provide it.
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
A rematch of last season’s Champions League final would be an excellent way to kick off the round of 16. Liverpool may be prioritizing the league if they’re still in the title race come February, but they would be fully motivated to get some semblance of revenge for last season’s final if they were draw Real Madrid. Los Blancos haven’t been good this season, but they’ve shown their ability to turn it on in the knockout stages of this competition in the past.
Lyon vs. Borussia Dortmund
Both these sides have a largely youthful core that has impressed on a number of occasions this season. Dortmund finished above Atletico Madrid in their Champions League group and currently sit top of the Bundesliga with a seven-point gap on Borussia Monchengladbach in second place. Lyon’s success has been more modest, but they did beat Manchester City at the Etihad as well as drawing at home.
They could certainly serve up an interesting spectacle over two legs with their free-flowing, high-scoring attacks. The number of talented youngsters on the same pitch would be remarkable: Jadon Sancho, Houssem Aouar, Tanguy Ndombele and Christian Pulisic are just a few of them. It will be great to see one of these teams receive passage to the quarters in order to add something a bit different to the usual contenders.
Manchester United vs. Porto
The Red Devils will be hoping for an easy draw to allow them to get far in the competition and take some of the attention away from an abysmal league campaign. Jose Mourinho will have fond memories from his time at Porto because he won the Champions League with them in 2004 and essentially introduced himself to the rest of Europe while he was there.
Porto will fancy their chances against a United side who have looked lackluster at times and often only start to threaten once they have conceded. Losing to the Portuguese side would be a huge embarrassment for the club and would likely be enough to see Mourinho lose his job by the end of the season, so this tie certainly wouldn’t lack high stakes.
Roma vs. Barcelona
Roma shocked everyone when they turned around a 4-1 deficit to dump Barcelona out of the Champions League quarterfinals last season. It was a hugely disappointing display from the Catalans as a collective, so a rematch would give them chance to enact revenge on I Giallorossi.
A fired-up Lionel Messi is a scary sight for any team to see and a Roma side that have been defensively leaky are particularly susceptible. However, there might some nerves among the Barcelona players after what happened last season, so this could be an intriguing affair.
Schalke vs. PSG
Schalke had a relatively easy group and managed to come through in second place behind Porto. Domenico Tedesco has been impressive in his two seasons at the club, although he’s struggling to replicate last season’s form in the league as Schalke currently sit in 13th place. Thomas Tuchel will be familiar with the German side, and he would love to dump his former club Dortmund’s local rivals out of the competition.
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Tottenham vs. Bayern Munich
It required a late goal from Lucas Moura as well as Internazionale slipping up at home to PSV for Tottenham to qualify, but it was a remarkable turnaround considering they only picked up one point from the first three games.
Over the last two seasons, Spurs have been part of entertaining games against top sides such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus, so it would be fascinating to see them against the German giants. Bayern haven’t been at their usual best this season, so this would be a big test and an opportunity for Mauricio Pochettino to once again show his managerial prowess while also providing Tottenham with the chance to continue their gradual progress in Europe with another big scalp.