Real Madrid, Liverpool face difficulties in Champions League
The draw will begin at 6pm on February 21 (Vietnam time) with the Champions League matches. In the new format, the eight highest-ranked teams from the group stage (seeded groups) will face the eight winners from the play-off round (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, PSG, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Club Brugge). According to UEFA, no rules apply in the draw. Teams from the same country who have met in the group stage can still meet in the round of 16.
After defeating tough opponent Man City in the play-off round (winning with a total score of 6-3), Real Madrid will face the same city team Atletico Madrid in the round of 16. In La Liga, Atletico Madrid is one of the teams with high performance, competing for the championship with Real Madrid and Barcelona. In the direct clashes in the 2024 - 2025 season, Real Madrid could not defeat Atletico Madrid (2 draws). Therefore, coach Simeone's team promises to bring many challenges to Real Madrid.
Real Madrid will face city team Atletico Madrid
Liverpool, who finished top of the Champions League group stage, are also expected to have a tough time against PSG. In the play-off round that just ended, PSG showed their formidable strength by defeating Brest with a total score of 10-0 after 2 matches. In addition to stars in high form such as Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Achraf Hakimi, PSG also just acquired another "blockbuster" in the winter transfer window, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli. The 24-year-old striker also immediately proved his class when quickly integrating with his teammates, starting in the last 2 matches and having 1 goal and 1 assist.
Liverpool (right) are expected to face many difficulties when meeting PSG.
In another notable match, Bayern Munich will face Bayer Leverkusen. Although leading the Bundesliga, the "Gray Tigers" did not perform very well in the Champions League, finishing the group stage in 12th place and having to play the play-off. Even in this round, coach Kompany's team had to struggle to defeat Celtic 3-2 after 2 matches. On the other hand, Bayer Leverkusen, after a poor performance at the beginning of the season, are gradually regaining their form, unbeaten in the last 5 matches. Experts predict that this is one of the matches worth watching and has the most unpredictable results of the Champions League round of 16.
PSG will bring a big challenge to Liverpool
Meanwhile, in other matches, Barcelona will face a weak opponent, Benfica, Aston Villa will meet Club Brugge, Arsenal will meet PSV Eindhoven, Inter will meet Feyenoord and Dortmund will face Lille.
The play-off winners will play the first leg at home, while the second leg will be played away from the seeded teams. Specifically, the first legs will take place on March 4 and 5; the second legs on March 11 and 12. The quarter-finals will take place on April 8 and 9; the second legs on April 15 and 16. The semi-finals will take place on April 29 and 30; the second legs on May 6 and 7. This season's Champions League final will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on May 31.
8 Champions League round of 16 matches
MU meets tough opponent in Europa League
Immediately after the Champions League draw, UEFA also conducted the draw for the Europa League. The representative of England - MU is considered one of the strong candidates for the championship title when passing the group stage with an unbeaten record: 5 wins, 3 draws (in the seed group, along with Lazio, Tottenham, Eintracht Frankfurt, Olympiakos, Athletic Bilbao, Rangers and Lyon). In the round of 16, MU is determined to meet Real Sociedad. This is considered a big challenge for coach Rúben Amorim and his team when Real Sociedad is considered the most difficult team among the teams that passed the play-off round. In addition, when facing Spanish representatives in the European Cup, MU also did not have a good record and was often eliminated early.
Meanwhile, another English representative, Tottenham, will face AZ Alkmaar. Despite not being in great form, Tottenham is expected to not have much trouble against the Dutch representative.
MU will not have an easy Europa League journey
Europa League round of 16 matches
In other fixtures, Ajax face Eintracht Frankfurt, Bodø/Glimt face Olympiakos, AS Roma face Athletic Bilbao, Viktoria Plzen face Lazio, Fenerbahce face Rangers and Lyon face FCSB.
As in the Champions League, the play-off winners will play the first leg at home, while the second leg will be played away from the seeded teams. Specifically, the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 will take place on March 6 and the second leg will take place on March 13.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/liverpool-dung-da-tang-o-champions-league-mu-kho-long-mo-len-ngoi-europa-league-185250221184337777.htm
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