As the great and good gathered in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday the Champions League Round of 16 draw threw up another set of fantastic fixtures and the highlight of the bunch was the third tie out…Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid.
The two La Liga giants are embroiled in an incredible tussle at the top of the Primera Division, along with Barcelona, just a single point separating the three teams. And while the pulses were rising rapidly in Spain, over in Germany there were shouts of hysteria as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were drawn to play 2024 domestic champions Bayer Leverkusen, a team the Bavarians struggle to beat.
There were 12 teams from Europe’s big five leagues in the draw; three English, three Spanish, three German, two French and just Inter Milan from Italy’s Serie A and there were four survivors of the play-offs from the rest of the continent; two from the Netherlands, one from Belgium and one from Portugal.
The pre-draw Champions League 2025 betting odds, here at SBOTOP, pointed to a winner from either the Premier League or La Liga, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona tipped for a final four place. That may still be the case but the balance has tipped towards the English trio who definitely had a kinder draw; and that was the benefit of all three finishing in the eight automatic qualification places.
When Manchester City and Real Madrid were paired together for the play-offs there were gasps of anticipation and that tie certainly delivered as Los Blancos twice came from behind to win at the Etihad and finally ran out 6-3 winners as Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick back in Spain. So now Carlo Ancelotti’s Los Blancos face Diego Simeone’s Rojiblancos and that will be watched throughout Spain, the continent and the world.
Liverpool topped the new 36 team league format, two points clear of Barcelona, and they picked up a tasty draw against Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain; a clash they are backed to win but one which is full of jeopardy. PSG were at their ruthless best when they met the surprise package of Brest in the play-offs. After taking a 3-0 lead home when the two Ligue 1 sides met in Brittany, the Parisiens racked it up to double figures with a 7-0 trouncing at the Parc des Princes. PSG had seven different scorers on Wednesday with January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia among the goal getters. By their very high standards Arne Slot’s Reds have stuttered a little recently, so this is an intriguing draw indeed.
Bayern Munich’s play-off clash with Glasgow Celtic turned out to be a lot tougher than they, and manager Vincent Kompany expected, as the Bavarians needed an injury time goal courtesy of Alphonso Davies to see off the Scots; and now they face Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen in a clash I really wouldn’t want to predict. But I’ll give it a go if asked…and I won’t be surprised to see Die Werkself flourish again, after dumping Die Roten out of the DFB Pokal.
Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski is leading the race for the Golden Boot with nine goals and, now that Manchester City are out, his team-mate Raphinha is second with eight. And the Blaugrana, who coasted through the league stage, have been rewarded with a tie against Portuguese side Benfica, who beat AS Monaco in the play-offs by the odd goal in seven, winning 1-0 in the South of France and drawing 3-3 in Portugal as Turkish midfielder Orkun Kokcu scored a late clincher. Vangelis Pavlidis has seven goals for the Portuguese team and he is a danger man…but I expect the Catalans to go through.
Arsenal finished third in the league and the Gunners have drawn PSV Eindhoven who beat Juventus in the play-off, overturning a first leg deficit with a 3-1 win in the Netherlands. PSV are second in the Dutch top tier and pushing Ajax hard, just two points behind the league leaders. Feyenoord beat AC Milan in the play-off in another big shock; the second Dutch side are currently fourth in the Eredivisie, some 14 points behind leaders Ajax and next they play 2023 finalists Inter Milan.
Club Brugge, who finished in the last play-off qualification place in 24th, picked up one of the shock Champions League 2025 results of the play-offs when they dumped out a potential last four hopeful, Atalanta with a 5-2 aggregate win. Brugge currently sit second in the Belgian First Division and they might well fancy their tie against Aston Villa, who finished eighth in the league.
And that leaves Borussia Dortmund, who finished just outside the automatic qualification places in tenth, and saw off Sporting Lisbon with some ease in the play-off. Die Schwarzgelben will meet Lille, who finished seventh in the table.
The Draw in Full
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa
Borussia Dortmund vs Lille
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen
PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal
Feyenoord vs Inter Milan
Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool
Benfica vs Barcelona
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