The new Champions League system once again proved to be the right move, with one of the mega derbies already seen in the playoffs, and three dream giants in the elite said goodbye in February.
Manchester City, in the duel between the last two European champions, had no chance against Real Madrid, while Italian giants Milan and Juventus had to congratulate the better teams from the Dutch Eredivisie - Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.
The play-offs are thus over, the group of the best 16 in Europe has been completed, and starting tomorrow (Friday, 12:XNUMX), after the super draw in Nyon, each team's potential path to the grand final in Munich and the Champions League crown will be known - the balls will "draw" the pairs of the round of XNUMX, as well as possible opponents in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
When it comes to the round of 16, the teams that won the first eight places in the first part of the season will get their rivals from the playoffs, and since the league placement will also be at stake here, each team has two possible rivals.
Liverpool and Barcelona have marked the first part of the season, winning the first two places and in Nyon the draw will separate them on two sides of the bracket, so they cannot meet before the final, with one team facing hell in the round of 16, while the other will get a much more favorable opponent.
It has been known for a long time that these two teams will play in the next round against the winners of the play-offs that were the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th teams in the league table, which are Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica. So it is clear that the round of XNUMX already has a guaranteed top match: PSG - Liverpool or PSG - Barca. Benfica will go to the team that is not drawn by the team from Paris.
The next two teams in the table - Inter (3) and Arsenal (4) - will not be playing against any of the favorites, primarily thanks to the "flying Dutch" PSV and Feyenoord who eliminated Juve and Milan and will now be the rivals of the giants from Milan and London.
A much tougher challenge awaits the fifth and sixth-placed teams in the league - Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen - as their potential rivals are Real Madrid (11th) and Bayern Munich (12th).
All of this means that in addition to the match featuring PSG, the round of 16 will feature two other great duels - perhaps a Madrid and German derby, or perhaps a crossover between clubs from La Liga and the Bundesliga.
Lille (7) and Aston Villa (8) have secured the last two places for direct qualification to the round of 1, but since some of the favorites (above all Real, City, Bayern and PSG) have not shone in the league stage, these two teams will have an easier rival than, for example, the better-placed Liverpool (2) and Barcelona (5), Atletico (6) and Bayer Leverkusen (XNUMX).
Their possible opponents are Borussia Dortmund and Club Brugge.
The top eight teams from the league stage in the round of 16 will host the return matches.
Once the balls determine the pairings for the round of 16, the draw for potential rivals for the quarterfinals and semifinals will begin, and the eventual nominal host for the grand final at the Allianz Arena will also be known.
What is important is that after the draw for the round of 1, two sides of the skeleton will be formed, so Liverpool (2) and Barcelona (3) will end up on different sides with their rivals and will not be able to meet until the final, and the same is the case with Inter (4) and Arsenal (5), Atletico (6) and Bayer (7), and Lille (8) and Aston Villa (XNUMX).
This is important precisely because of the quarter-final draw, where those clubs that are, for example, on the left side will be able to meet each other.
What stops after the quarterfinals is favoring the better-placed teams from the league stage to play the second legs at home, so the draw in Nyon will determine that all the way to the final.
The team that arrives in Munich from the left side of the grid will be the nominal host in the grand final.
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