Paris Saint-Germain and Losc will discover, Monday, December 13, the name of their future opponent in the knockout stages of the Champions League. The draw will take place at 12 noon in Nyon (Switzerland), at UEFA headquarters. The first leg matches will take place on February 15-16 or 22-23 and the return matches will be played on March 8-9 or 15-16.
Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid … tough for Paris Saint-Germain
Second in Group A behind Manchester City, PSG will face a European cador. The players of the capital will face one of the clubs which finished first in its group, except Losc, because national confrontations are excluded at this stage of the competition, and the Citizens, because they cannot play again against a opponent of their hen. The Reds and Blues can therefore inherit from Liverpool, Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United or Juventus Turin.
Bayern Munich and Liverpool seem to be the opponents to be avoided for PSG. The Bavarians are one of the favorites of the competition and had beaten the Parisians in the final of the Champions League in 2020. But Mauricio Pochettino’s men remain on a high note against the Germans since they had eliminated them in the quarter-finals last season. Liverpool meanwhile finished first in the “death group” ahead of Atlético de Madrid, FC Porto and AC Milan.
Ajax Amsterdam seem to be more “acceptable” for PSG but meetings against the Ajacides, authors of a clear cut in the group stage, should be approached very seriously. Juventus Turin, struggling in Serie A, could also be a pretty good draw.
We have our final 16!
Who will lift the?#UCL pic.twitter.com/4AjjaZrmJy
– UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 9, 2021
Chelsea, Sporting Portugal, Inter Milan… which opponent for Losc?
On the Lille side, the first place in group G allows the Mastiffs to hope for a more lenient draw, among the second in groups, except for PSG and Salzburg. Lille can face Atlético de Madrid, Sporting Portugal, Inter Milan, Benfica, Villarreal and Chelsea. The defending Londoners are the most feared team in this draw, and unfortunately for Lille, they are also the most likely opponents.
The national confrontations being excluded, the Blues can not inherit Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, nor Juventus, which was placed in the same pool. They therefore have a one in four chance of facing Losc. The two teams had already met during the last Lille campaign in the Champions League, in 2019, in the group stage, for two wins for Chelsea, by the same score, 2-1.
Sporting Portugal, fairly inexperienced in C1 but first in Liga Nos, could be an opponent within reach of the Mastiffs, just like Benfica, third in the Portuguese league, or Villarreal, winner of the last Europa League but struggling in Liga with a thirteenth square.
Away goals no longer count double
This season, UEFA is introducing a new rule in its European competitions. In the event of a tie at the end of the return match, the number of away goals will no longer be a criterion to decide between two teams. The qualification will be played on an overtime then possible penalties. Losc, first in its group, will have the advantage of receiving on the return, while PSG will travel in March.