The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw is out and defending champions Bayern Munich have been handed a favourable tie against Serie A side Lazio. La Liga giants Barcelona, however, will have an uphill task against last season finalists Paris Saint-Germain in the first knockout round.
Clubbed into Group A alongside Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich qualified comprehensively with 16 points from six matches. Lazio were put into an easy Group F, where their only challengers were Borussia Dortmund and the Italian side finished second with 10 points from six matches.
Barcelona had an equal challenger in Juventus in Group G and while fans could see Lionel Messi playing against Cristiano Ronaldo just once, both the teams won their away fixtures to keep the scores even. Both Juventus and Barcelona finished with 15 points after six matches.
Premier League giants Manchester City will be facing Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, while Frank Lampard's star-studded Chelsea are pitted against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.
Like Munich, Manchester City kept their form intact in the UCL group stages winning five of the six matches and end atop the table with 16 points. Their closest challengers in the group, FC Porto, finished with 13 points.
Chelsea were clubbed with defending Europa League champions Sevilla in Group E as both the teams won four matches. While Chelsea finished on top with 14 points, Sevilla trailed them with just a point in the second place.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool will have to make a tricky trip to RB Leipzig while Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus would hope to see off FC Porto's challenge in the next round.
Despite being the clear favourites to top their group table, Atalanta and Ajax gave Liverpool a tough time as the Reds drew one and lost one out of their six matches before eventually finishing atop with 13 points. They were followed closely by Atalanta in the second place with 11 points.
The 2019-20 Europa League champions, Sevilla will face a gritty Borussia Dortmund side while Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid will square off against a tricky Atalanta side.
While Dortmund had a relatively easy pathway to the round of 16 from Group F, where they won four of their six matches to end atop the table with 13 points, tournament giants Real Madrid chose the most difficult way possible. The Whites could win only three of their six group games with their qualification getting ensured only on the last day.
The #UCLDraw in full:
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) December 14, 2020
🇩🇪 Gladbach vs. Man City 🏴
🇮🇹 Lazio vs. Bayern 🇩🇪
🇪🇸 Atletico vs. Chelsea 🏴
🇩🇪 RB Leipzig vs. Liverpool 🏴
🇵🇹 Porto vs. Juventus 🇮🇹
🇪🇸 Barcelona vs. PSG 🇫🇷
🇪🇸 Sevilla vs. Dortmund 🇩🇪
🇮🇹 Atalanta vs. Real Madrid 🇪🇸
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Harold Cunningham
