The Champions League round of 16 crosses this Monday and, almost as a wink of fate, the two best footballers in the world of recent decades will face each other: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappé’s PSG, the great “cuckoo” among those who finished second in the group stage, will rival none other than Manchester United. A new clash between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, no less.
Another candidate, Manchester City, will face Villarreal of Spain. Guardiola’s men are looking to get their first European title.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will face Benfica of Portugal, in a clash that, in principle, does not pose a high risk for the team that marches first in the Spanish League and won their Champions League group.
The other Spanish team in the round of 16, Atlético de Madrid, will have to face none other than Bayern Munich, one of the European giants. Those of “Cholo” Simeone achieved an agonizing qualification in the group stage, but were not lucky in the draw.
Liverpool of England, who also hangs the candidate poster, will play against, perhaps, the great surprise of the group stage, Salzburg of Austria. While the current champion of Italy, Inter, will face Ajax of the Netherlands, in a historic clash in Europe.
Finally, the defending champion, Chelsea, will play against Lille of France.
It should be remembered that, according to the regulations, no team can face another from the same country in this phase. Nor can they be measured against the rivals they faced in the group stage.
It was thus that in the first place, the ball of Manchester United came out as a rival of Villarreal of Spain, but as both shared a group, it returned to the ball, to later fall as a rival of Paris Saint Germain.
The first leg matches are scheduled for February 15/16/22/23, and the return matches for March 8/9/15/16.
The final of the grand tournament is scheduled for May 28 of 2022 at the Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
All Champions League round of 16 matches
Real Madrid vs Benfica
Manchester City vs Villarreal
Bayer Munich vs Atlético de Madrid
Liverpool vs Salzburgo
Inter vs Ajax
Juventus vs Sporting Lisbon
Manchester United vs PSG
Chlesea vs Lille
The teams placed first will define the series as local.