Champions League: that’s how the round of 16 ended

After an exciting day in which several teams gave everything to move on to the next stage, the draw for the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League in Nyon, Switzerland took place on December 16.

Taking into account that the teams were divided into two drums, which went from first and second to second in the group stage, and taking into account that “you cannot face teams belonging to the same country, or belonging to the same group of the first phase”, as we mentioned in another article, the teams will face like this:

• Tottenham VS Leipzig
• Atalanta VS Valencia
• Dortmund VS PSG
• Atlético de Madrid VS Liverpool
• Naples VS Barcelona
• Chelsea VS Bayern
• Real Madrid VS Manchester City
• Lyon VS Juventus

The first dates will be held on February 18 and 19, and February 25 and 26. The return matches will be March 10 and 11, and March 17 and 18.

Read also: When protests end up shaking football

Four vs. Four

As if the group stage had not delighted us with good results and very good quality, teams from the five most important leagues in the world will face each other for the first time: Spain, England, Italy, Germany, and France.

Well, both Spain and England are the countries that have more teams at this stage, with four each. However, the English are the ones who look more like going to the next round, considering that the English teams belong to the Premier League, one of the most competitive in the world of football.

In addition, little by little English football has been regaining its status in European sport, "making it the third consecutive year with four teams in the knockout stage," according to Marca.

On the other hand, to the Spanish teams, luck has not smiled completely. While Valencia and Barcelona will face Atalanta and Naples, respectively, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid will face Manchester City and Liverpool, in that order.

The favorites

According to a survey conducted by France Football magazine, and through the votes of its readers, Liverpool classified as the favorite team to win the championships with 24 percent of the votes. In second place was Barcelona, with 21 percent; and in the third place among the favorites is the PSG with 20 percent not far from the Catalans.

Despite having been crowned thirteen times with the biggest European title, Real Madrid is not among the first three favorites, because only 9 percent believe they can take a new cup.

The games you can't miss

As we already mentioned, at this stage all the meetings are heart attack, but we recommend three that in specific you can not miss.

Also read: 5 teams that do not know the Second Division

1. Real Madrid VS Manchester City

Real could not avoid one of the great rivals that will bring Pep Guardiola back to the Bernabéu, a fact that had not happened since the Spanish was the technical director of Barcelona. The meringues face the undefeated team in the group stage, but in past episodes the Spanish club had beaten the English.

2. Atlético de Madrid VS Liverpool

It is clear that the Spanish team is facing two key and difficult games against the current champion of the Champions League. Liverpool not only defends its title, but its good performance in the Premier League, current leader, and its participation in the Club World Cup strengthens it as one of the toughest rivals; added to its famous trident Salah-Firmino-Mane, who are unstoppable in the face of team defenses, a task that is not difficult for Atlético, because according to La Información, “Simeone's team knows how to stop the teams those who like to run like Liverpool”.

3. Chelsea VS Bayern

This match will revive the 2012 Champions League final, where the English club was victorious. However, the two teams are less than they were at the time. Chelsea is in the fourth position of the Premier League, 20 points behind the leader.

While Bayern also does not lead in the Bundesliga, but remains six points behind RB Leipzig. In addition to that in the European tournament, the German team finished without losing any match in the group stage and as if that were not enough it was crowned as the most scoring team.