The last round of the Champions League group stages were played out last night, with yet another eventful night of football confirming most of the 16 teams that have qualified for the knockout stages, with one game still to be played.
In Group F, Villareal travel to Atalanta in a ‘winner takes all’ game, with the two sides heading into the fixture just a point apart, meaning a draw will be enough for second placed Villareal to qualify.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have all qualified and they have all done so by topping their group, besides Chelsea, who fell just short of Juventus after Zenit’s 94th minute equaliser.
Liverpool qualified in spectacular fashion, with the Reds becoming the first English team to win all six of their Champions League group games.
Barcelona’s 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich sees the four time winners fail to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages and drop down to the Europa League for the first time since 2004, when Frank Rijkaard was in charge.
Ajax were perhaps the surprise package of the group stages, topping Group C ahead of Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas, with Sebastian Haller topping the goal scoring charts, scoring in every group match, a feat only ever achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo.
So, who could the Premier League sides face in the round of 16?
Chelsea
After an eventful 3-3 draw to Zenit last night, Chelsea fell just short of top spot, meaning they face a tough draw, with four different possible opponents.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid certainly look the more threatening of the four, with Lille and Ajax being the preferable option on paper.
However, Haller has certainly found his feet at Ajax and could pose as a real issue for the Blue’s air tight defence. Meanwhile, Lille possess a squad packed with young talent, so despite a disappointing league campaign so far, last year’s Ligue 1 winners will be no push over for Thomas Tuchel’s men.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp’s side made history in the group stages by effortlessly topping their group, dropping no points.
Despite this, the Reds could still face some of Europe’s giants, with PSG and Inter Milan both a possibility in the round of 16.
If they manage to evade the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Nicolo Barella, Liverpool will face either Sporting, Benfica, RB Salzburg or the winner of tonight’s postponed Atalanta vs Villareal match.
Manchester United
So far in the UCL its been a case of Cristiano Ronaldo digging United out of danger and ensuring that they finished top of group F.
Interim manager Ralf Ragnick’s side face a very similar draw to Liverpool, however, instead of Atalanta or Villarreal, they could face the small task of last season’s La Liga winners, Atletico Madrid.
A draw against PSG would allow for the two footballing greats of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to face each other once more, and a chance for similar excitement and drama to the round of 16 in 2019, when Marcus Rashford’s last gasp penalty saw United knock the French giants out.
Manchester City
The current Premier League leaders topped Group A ahead of PSG, despite a sloppy performance against RB Leipzig, losing 2-1 on the final group match in a game that saw Kyle Walker sent for an early bath.
Pep Guardiola and his side have plenty of potential opponents, with Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan being the toughest draws.
Sporting, Benfica, Atalanta/Villareal and RB Salzburg make up the other potential challengers and with the way in which these sides have performed so far, there is certainly no guarantee of walk over for the five time Premier League winners, who never seem to have much luck in the Champions League.
