Real Madrid and Manchester City smiled with the draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League, while Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid were left in difficult duels
Real Madrid, king of Europe with its 14 titles, will play against Leipzig and Barcelona against Naples in the round of 16 of the Champions Leaguedetermined yesterday the draw that left a spectacular Inter-Atlético and Real Sociedad challenging PSG.
As leaders of their groups, the four Spaniards entered the draw from the seeded pot, so they will play the second leg of the round of 16 in their stadiums. The first legs will be played on February 13, 14, 20 and 21, and the second legs on March 5, 6, 12 and 13.
He came out lucky
Real Madrid will play again against Leipzig, whom they faced last year in the group stage, with a 2-0 white victory at home and a 3-2 defeat in Germany.
Emilio Butragueño, director of Institutional Relations at Real Madrid, recalled after the draw that his team is in “a splendid moment” only marred by injuries, the last one suffered by David Alaba, a torn cruciate ligament in one knee in the 4-4 victory. 1 over Villarreal on Sunday.
“It is a very serious situation, now also with Alaba, but the team has been able to recover from everything,” he said.
“Leipzig is a great team, they were two tough games last year. They will be a very dangerous rival,” he added.
Photo: EDH
Great, in low hours
Champions of Italy and Spain last year, Naples and Barcelona have had an irregular start to the season. The Italian club dismissed Rudi Garcia at the end of November, replaced by Walter Mazzarri, to try to change the course.
And Barcelona, back in the round of 16 after two years of being shipwrecked in the group stage, is experiencing a depression of play and results. The last defeat, 3-2 last week on the field of Antwerp, the bottom of its Champions group that counted its first five games as defeats.
“You have to go day by day, one day you are good and another bad. There’s a lot left for this match and we’ll think about it when it’s time. Now we have to think about Wednesday (Liga against Almería), stop at Christmas and go back to full strength when we return,” said Deco, Barça sports director, about the crisis.
The tightest series
Leader of Serie A led by a spectacular Lautaro Martínez and current European runner-up, Inter was one of the ‘coconuts’ of the second pot and fell to Atlético de Madrid. “Coconuts? We had to get one, they are a very well-known team, a great team and leader of Serie A, as well as runners-up in Europe. “We are happy with the draw, although it is difficult and accessible at the same time,” said red and white president Enrique Cerezo.
The red and whites, with a stellar Antoine Griezmann, have also made a notable start, returning to the Champions League round of 16 as leaders for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. However, in the League they have shown some irregularity, adding four defeats, the last one on Saturday (2-0) against an Athletic team that showed off in front of its fans.
Mbappé in San Sebastian
Luck was more elusive for Imanol Alguacil’s eleven, which has had an impeccable campaign in Europe. After their historic qualification for the round of 16, they will now play to move forward against one of the main “coconuts”, Luis Enrique Martínez’s eleven, although until the last day of the group it was not clear whether he would pass.
“What can we do? PSG by history was probably the most difficult, but we will go to win,” summarized the president of Real Sociedad Jokin Aperribay. The blue and white, a sensation in Europe with an attractive and effective game, will face Kylian Mbappé and Luis Enrique as leaders of a project that seeks to finally bring the ‘Orejona’ to the French capital.
PSG is in the round of 16 for the 12th consecutive time, with the warning that in the last two seasons they were eliminated in this round.
English, with a slight advantage
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, which once again leads the English league, will have to visit Porto, eliminated last year by Inter Milan and second in Barcelona’s group, only ahead of it on goal difference.
This series has its complexity, to the extent that Porto takes advantage in the first duel, but if the “gunners” leave Portugal alive, they could have their qualification chained.
A stellar return
PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund will resolve the other tie, between two teams whose only meetings date back more than twenty years, in the first group stage of the 2002/03 season. Then the victory went to the German (1-3) in Eindhoven, with a draw (1-1) in Dortmund.
City, another lucky one
In a delicate moment in the Premier – three games in a row without winning – Pep Guardiola’s City will continue with its title defense against Copenhagen. The Danish club has returned to this phase since 2011 and a year ago they already crossed paths with Manchester in their group.
Manchester City beat Copenhagen 5-0 in last season’s group stage, and drew 0-0 in Denmark in the second leg. Although the series should not represent greater complexity.
Another visit to Italy
Bayern Munich, six-time champions, were paired with Lazio, against whom they already won in this same round of 16 in the 2020/21 season, with a 1-4 in Rome and a 2-1 in Munich. The Champions League final will be played at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1.
2023-12-19 17:41:29
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