The UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw took place on Friday in Nyon, Switzerland, producing a series of blockbuster matchups on the road to the final in Budapest on May 30. The headline tie sees defending champions Real Madrid pitted against Manchester City in a repeat of the epic 2022 semi-final and 2023-24 quarter-final, while Paris Saint-Germain will face Chelsea in another mouth-watering encounter. The draw also mapped out the full bracket pathway through to the semi-finals, giving all 16 remaining clubs a clear picture of their potential route to the Puskas Arena.
The eight seeded teams, who qualified directly through the league phase top eight, are Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Manchester City. They will host the second leg of their respective ties. The eight unseeded teams, who advanced through the knockout playoffs, are Real Madrid, PSG, Newcastle, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray and Bodo/Glimt. In the round of 16, PSG will travel to Chelsea, Galatasaray face Liverpool, Real Madrid take on Manchester City, Atalanta meet Bayern Munich, Newcastle challenge Barcelona, Atletico Madrid play Tottenham, Bodo/Glimt visit Sporting CP and Bayer Leverkusen face Arsenal.
The left side of the bracket features some of the most tantalizing potential quarter-final clashes. The winners of PSG versus Chelsea and Galatasaray versus Liverpool will meet in the first quarter-final, while the winners of Real Madrid versus Manchester City and Atalanta versus Bayern Munich will contest the second. Those two quarter-final winners will then face each other in the first semi-final, meaning one half of the draw could feature a titanic clash between the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich before the final.
On the right side of the bracket, Newcastle versus Barcelona and Atletico Madrid versus Tottenham feed into the third quarter-final, while Bodo/Glimt versus Sporting CP and Bayer Leverkusen versus Arsenal make up the fourth. The winners of those quarter-finals will meet in the second semi-final. Arsenal, who topped the league phase standings, find themselves on the opposite side of the draw from Real Madrid and Manchester City, potentially setting up a dream final.
The Real Madrid versus Manchester City tie stands out as the marquee matchup of the round. The two clubs have produced some of the most dramatic Champions League encounters in recent history, with City eliminating Madrid in the 2022-23 semi-final en route to their first Champions League title, before Madrid gained revenge in the 2023-24 quarter-final with a penalty shootout victory. This time, Pep Guardiola's side will have home advantage in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
The PSG versus Chelsea clash pits two clubs with ambitious ownership groups and star-studded squads against each other, while the all-English possibility of a Liverpool versus Chelsea or a Tottenham versus Arsenal quarter-final adds extra intrigue. Barcelona hosting Newcastle in the second leg at the Camp Nou promises to be a special occasion, while Galatasaray will look to cause another upset after their stunning aggregate victory over Juventus in the playoffs.
The round of 16 first legs take place on March 10-11, with the return fixtures on March 17-18. The quarter-finals are scheduled for April 7-8 and April 14-15, the semi-finals for April 28-29 and May 5-6, and the final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30. With the bracket now set, the countdown to what promises to be one of the most compelling knockout stages in Champions League history has officially begun.
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