Liverpool have been drawn against Paris St-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League. Liverpool topped the league phase of the competition with seven wins from their eight matches, and must now topple the French champions to progress. Arsenal will face Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, who knocked out Juventus in the play-off round.
Aston Villa, who secured the final automatic spot in the last 16, will face Belgian side Club Brugge. Here is Telegraph Sport’s verdict on how the last-16 ties will play out and our predictions for the rest of the tournament. Perhaps the tie of the round. PSG are on a fabulous run of form and scored a combined 10 goals against Brest over the two legs of their play-off. The second leg is at Anfield, though, which could be crucial. Liverpool to edge it, just.
Villa lost away to Brugge earlier this season but should have too much attacking quality for the Belgian side, especially following the January transfer business at Villa Park. The Madrid derby has the potential to be the most fractious and emotional contest of the round of 16. The two teams are currently separated by just one point in La Liga, but Real know better than anyone how to navigate these ties. If Kylian Mbappe maintains his current form, Real should have too much for their city rivals.
For the third season in a row, Arsenal face PSV. Mikel Arteta’s side have had difficulties away from home against the Dutch team but beat them 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium in September 2023. Inter conceded only one goal in eight matches in the league phase. A ridiculous defensive record, and that solidity could carry them a long way in this competition. Feyenoord are fourth in the Eredivisie. This is a tough ask for the Dutch side.
Bayern currently have the edge in the Bundesliga but Vincent Kompany’s team looked alarmingly vulnerable against Celtic in the previous round. Xabi Alonso, the Leverkusen coach, is unbeaten in six matches against Bayern and beat them to the league title last season.
Dortmund are enduring a challenging season (they are 11th in the Bundesliga) but this appears to be a relatively favourable draw, even though Lille finished seventh in the league phase. The French side have been inconsistent since the turn of the year.
Expect goals in this one. When these teams played in January, it finished 5-4 in Barcelona’s favour. Benfica also had a thrilling knockout tie against Monaco, drawing 3-3 at home earlier this week to progress 4-3 on aggregate. It promises to be an end-to-end sort of contest, with Barcelona’s superior firepower surely sending them through.
Arsenal vs Real Madrid: Real win. Liverpool vs Aston Villa: Liverpool win. Barcelona vs Dortmund: Barcelona win. Leverkusen vs Inter: Inter win. Real Madrid vs Liverpool: Real win. Barcelona vs Inter: Barcelona win. Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Real win. 5 - Arsenal are unbeaten in their five home matches against PSV (W3 D2); the most home games they've played against an opponent in European competition without ever losing. Passage. pic.twitter.com/tw3N827hzY.
1 - Liverpool and PSG will face each other in the knockout stages of a major European competition for the first time since the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1996/97 (Parisians won 3-2 on aggregate). Glamour. pic.twitter.com/qxYfQXZxJr. Arsenal, should they make it beyond PSV, will play at home first in both the quarter-final and semi-finals which seems less than ideal given the heavyweight opponents they could face. Given their defensive record though, it might suit them to get their noses in front and hold out.
Liverpool will be at home first in the quarter-finals, but would have an Anfield second leg in the semi-finals. Villa would have home second legs all the way through to the final if they can pull it off. These ties will be played March 4/5 and March 11/12.
PSG vs Liverpool. Club Brugge vs Aston Villa. Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid. PSV vs Arsenal. Feyenoord vs Inter. Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen. Borussia Dortmund vs Lille. Benfica vs Barcelona. That’s an extremely harsh outcome having topped the league phase. But they will face Club Brugge or Villa if they can get through.
That draw means the final last-16 tie is Benfica vs Barcelona. And they have drawn PSV Eindhoven. That puts them on the Madrid clubs’ side of the draw. Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen battered Bayern but only drew 0-0 in the Bundesliga last week.
It will be Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid in the last-16. It is Lille vs Borussia Dortmund. The first balls are being drawn. And Aston Villa are the first team out. They will play Club Brugge! They will take that, but a tough quarter-final route awaits: Liverpool, Barca or PSG.
Uefa are informing us that once the last-16 ties have been drawn, the remainder of the draw will be to determine which team will play at home first in the quarter-final and semi-finals. It is Giovane Elber, the Brazilian striker who won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2000.
Some marvellous bits of Uefaspeak so far. Apparently we can “anticipate more emotions” as teams try to make the “Bavarian appointment” in May. The final is in Munich in case that make no sense to you. The Bavarian Appointment sounds like a Robert Ludlum title.
