The Champions League draw took place on November 7th in Nyon Switzerland. A number of underdogs pulled of a surprise and a number of favorites faltered in the group stages. The teams that surpassed expectations were Club Brugge, Napoli, Inter, Porto and Benfica. The teams that faltered however were Juventus, Atletico, Ajax and Barcelona who got knocked out in the group stage for the second consecutive time. There is a number of big clashes announced for the Round of 16 and it is set to be another action packed knockout round yet again. A few big clashes to look out for are Dortmund vs Chelsea, PSG vs Bayern, Milan vs Spurs and Liverpool vs Real Madrid. Whenever to giants meet in the Last 16 it is always difficult because one team has to go out.
Liverpool will try and seek revenge after their loss to Los Blancos in the Champions League final
Liverpool vs Real Madrid face off again for the third straight season in what will be a repeat of the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals. The Reds are yet to get the better of Los Blancos as they lost three out of their four clashes with Real Madrid. The Champions League winners Real Madrid go into this clash as extreme favorites considering their form across the Champions League and La Liga. Across thirty three games all season they won 15, drew 7 and lost 9. Liverpool are sitting in 10th place and will be hoping to bounce back against Real Madrid. The Merseyside outfit got knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton thanks to a Mitoma winner. Also Nunez has been inconsistent this season only netting nine goals in twenty three games. Liverpool have conceded 25 goals in 19 games which is far from their best in defense.
A tie that could go either way and one team will have to get eliminated from the Champions League
AC Milan vs Spurs may not be the most exciting game but it is the most evenly matched clash in the Champions League. The last time these two sides met was 2011 where Tottenham got the better of the Rossoneri. Tottenham have 36 points in their league whereas Milan have 3i points in their league. In the Champions League group stage Tottenham finished with 11 points whilst Milan finished with 10 points. Milan conceded 7 goals whereas Spurs conceded 6 in the group stage. Spurs has scored 40 goals in the premier league whereas Milan has scored 37. This match could also really go down to who is fit and who is injured. These teams both score goals and concede basically the same amount of goals. This clash has the potential to even go to penalty kicks. These are the types of games decided by the finest margins.
PSG and Bayern to go head to head for a quarter finals place in the biggest clash of the Round of 16
PSG and Bayern are two teams that are among the favorites to win the competition. The last time these two teams have met was in the 2020 Champions League final in which Bayern Munich won. PSG’s main goal in the past few seasons has been to win the Champions League. They faltered in the last few Champions League seasons to Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern and even Man Utd. They may have the most fierce attack in Europe they do not have the best all round team. Bayern on the other hand have a more complete team than PSG. It also goes down to Champions League experience Bayern have played at the big stage way more than PSG has. The Bavarians dont have the most fierce attack but they have two things over Bayern that could settle this clash which is an all round team and experience.
Can Chelsea bounce back from their disappointing season and qualify for the last 8
Dortmund and Chelsea is another exciting clash in the Champions League that will have fans ecstatic. Dortmund is currently placed in 4th place and will have it all to do if they are to overcome Chelsea in the Champions League. However the 2021 Champions League winners are not in the best shape either as they are in 10th place in the premier league. Thankfully the Blues managed to top their Champions League group after a nervous first two games where they only got one point. From 21 games they have won 8, drawn 6 and lost 7 so they cannot be considered overwhelming favorites for the Dortmund clash. Whereas Dortmund have won 11, drawn 1 and lost 6. Although Chelsea edges this one slightly it is not going to be a walk in the park for either of them.
