Arsenal and Liverpool have both made it to the knockout stage of this season’s Champions League (Image: Getty)
After a frantic night on which all 36 Champions League teams played at the same time, and now have a much clearer picture of which team they will face in the last 16.
Both teams were assured of their places in the knockout stage even before a ball was kicked on Wednesday night. made a host of changes but still beat Girona 2-1 in Spain, while ‘s youngsters lost 3-2 at PSV Eindhoven.
Barcelona’s draw with Atalanta means that top the table with seven wins and a defeat. Bypassing the need for a play-off, they will face either the 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th-place team, depending on how the play-offs unfold.
‘s side are therefore in line to play either Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, AS Monaco or Brest.
finished third in the standings with a six wins, a draw and a defeat. Like , the strong finish has boosted their chances of earning a favourable last-16 draw.
‘s players will face either the 13th, 14th, 19th or 20th-place team. The Gunners are therefore on course to face AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus.
The pool of four potential teams will be narrowed down to two in the knockout phase play-off draw on Friday. Then, once the play-offs have been contested, the draw for the last 16 itself will be made on February 21, with the two-legged knockout ties pencilled in for March.
will naturally be keen to avoid a daunting meeting with PSG, who beat 4-2 last week. , meanwhile, may be eager to dodge a showdown with Italian giants Milan and Juve.
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