After the draw of the UEFA Champions League was held on Monday it was determined that Real Madrid will face Napoli in the round of 16 to decide which team moves on to the quarterfinals.
After finishing second in Group F (12 points) behind Borussia Dortmund (14 points), Zinedine Zidane’s boys would have to play against one of these group leaders: Arsenal, Napoli, Leicester, Monaco or Juventus, with the obligation of playing the second leg of the series on the road.
Due to some predetermined draw restrictions it was already known that the “Blancos” would not face Barcelona or Atletico (because they’re clubs from the same country) or Borussia Dortmund because they were in the same group.
The first leg games of the round of 16 games will be played on February, while the return leg matches will be in March.
Madrid finished the group stage with 12 points, scoring 16 goals and allowing 10; while Napoli finished as the leader of Group B with 11 points while scoring 11 goals and allowing 8.
Barcelona, winner of Group C, will face old rivals Paris Saint-Germain, who finished second in Group A. This is one of the most interesting matches of the round of 16 as they can both be considered title contenders. The Catalans won the group despite facing a complicated Manchester City squad, which is coached by former manager Pep Guardiola.
Another matchup that pairs two heavyweights is Bayern Munich(runner-up of Group D) against the undefeated Arsenal, who won four wins and tied both matches against PSG to win Group A. This is the first time that Arsenal finish the group unbeaten since 2006, when they lost the final 1-2 against Chelsea.
Atletico de Madrid, the team that took the top of Group D from Bayern, will play against Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen, who finished second in Group E.
The other round-of-16 games are: Manchester City- AS Monaco, Benfica-Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla-Leicester City and Porto-Juventus
