The group stage of the Champions League is finally over! This means that we will have to wait for more action from our favorite league. The good news is that we will find out who will play who on Monday, December 15. So who made the round of 16 and who made the Europa League?
Group A
1. Atletico Madrid
2. Juventus
3. Olimpiacos (Europa League)
4. Malmo
Group B
1. Real Madrid
2. Basel
3. Liverpool (Europa League)
4. Ludogorets
Group C
1. Monaco
2. Bayer Leverkusen
3. Zenit (Europa League)
4. Benfica
Group D
1. Borussia Dortmund
2. Arsenal
3. Anderlecht (Europa League)
4. Galatasaray
Group E
1. Bayern Munich
2. Manchester City
- Roma (Europa League)
-
CSKA Moscow
Group F
1. Barcelona
2. Paris Saint Germain
3. Ajax (Europa League)
4. APOEL
Group G
1. Chelsea
2. Schalke 04
3. Sporting Lisbon (Europa League)
4. Maribor
Group H
1. FC Porto
2. Shakhtar Donetsk
- Atletic Club (Europa League)
-
BATE
In the draw for the matches, first place teams will be paired against second place team, but teams from the same country or were in the same group cannot be paired with eachother. (ex. Chelsea vs. Arsenal, PSG vs. Barcelona)
There will definitely be some great match-ups and great teams will be forced to go home early.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain are probably the best teams that ended runners-up in their group. They will have the toughest time getting past the round of 16 if they are paired with teams such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Barcelona. But this is what the Champions League is all about. To prove who is the champion of European Champions.
On the other hand, Dortmund, FC Porto, Monaco and Atletico Madrid will be happy that they placed first in their group and will not have to face the much tougher teams.
Dates for the matche have not yet been relased, but expect the first legs to be played in mid-February.
Last season’s round of 16 matches included: Manchester City vs. Barcelona, Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid vs AC Milan, Chelsea vs. Galatasaray and Real Madrid vs. Schalke 04, where Real Madrid won 9-2 on aggregate. Last season also saw every group winner pass on to the quarterfinals, a statistic that is sure to strike fear into the hearts of some the runner-up teams.
Featured Photo Credit: uefa.com