The eight days of the Champions League have delivered their verdict. And once again there were surprises. Present in the top 8, and therefore virtually qualified directly for the round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid were ejected after their respective poor results against Newcastle (1-1) and Benfica (2-4). Two hiccups which benefited Sporting CP and Chelsea. Like last season, Parisians and Merengues will therefore have to go through the play-offs box (February 17-18 for the first legs and February 24-25 for the return matches). Like AS Monaco.
Nobody saw the Principality club coming out against Juventus, but their draw (0-0) was enough for them to secure 21st place. All these people met today at 12 p.m. near Nyon (Switzerland) for the draw. As a reminder, Paris and Madrid were among the eight seeds with Inter, Newcastle, Juventus, Atlético de Madrid, Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen. Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Olympiacos, Club Bruges, Galatasaray, Qarabag, Bodo/Glimt and therefore Monaco made up pot 2.
A new Franco-French duel
As you know now, despite all these teams, each of them only had two possible options in the draw, because it was all a question of the ranking obtained at the end of the league phase. Clubs ranked 9th or 10th versus clubs 23rd or 24th, clubs 11th or 12th versus clubs 21st or 22nd, clubs 13th or 14th versus clubs 19th or 20th, and clubs 15th or 16th versus clubs 17th or 18th. Concretely, PSG challenged either Monaco or Qarabag. Last season, the Rouge et Bleu had already almost been opposed to the Asemists before inheriting Brest.
This year, the draw has reserved for us a new Franco-French duel. Paris will travel to the Rock for the first leg and will have the privilege of hosting at the Parc during the return leg. Note that Real Madrid will return to Benfica, shortly after being corrected in Lisbon. Finally, it is worth remembering the names of the possible opponents who will await PSG or Monaco in the round of 16 if they qualify, namely Chelsea or FC Barcelona. But we will know that during the draw for the eighths scheduled for February 27.
Dam posters:
Benfica – Real Madrid
Bodo/Glimt – Inter
Monaco – PSG
Qarabag – Newcastle
Galatasaray – Juventus
Club Brugge – Atlético Madrid
Borussia Dortmund – Atalanta
Olympiacos – Bayer Leverkusen
