It wasn’t easy, but both Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool FC were able to get their tickets to the UEFA Champions League knockout round punched on Tuesday. Both the Reds and Spurs had some struggles in the early-to-mid portions of the UCL group stage, but came correct when it mattered most, at the end and thus qualified as their respective grouping’s runner-up.
For Liverpool, it wasn’t secure until a stoppage time save from Alisson put Napoli on ice. For Tottenham, they had to play the waiting game on Inter-Milan following completion of their draw at Barcelona.
But they’re in the round of 16, and with that so is every single English team that qualified for the competition for the second straight year.
As respective grouping runners-up, both Tottenham and Liverpool could be drawn against a very formidable opponent in the next round.
Entering Wednesday, the final day of group stage competition, Both Tottenham and Liverpool could be matched up against any of the following: Ajax, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Lyon, Porto and Real Madrid.
For Liverpool, a date against Barcelona is also possible while Paris Saint-Germain might be on the docket for Tottenham. In the round of 16, the schedule mandates that no one can be matched up against a team from their own country or their own grouping. With England getting all their teams in again, and thus comprising 1/4 of the field, it does limit the permutations a bit.
From the quarterfinal round on, however, anything goes. With Liverpool, there are a few match-ups that would result in a few interesting potential narratives instantly kicking in.
Here is a sampling.
With Real Madrid, you have a rematch of last year’s title game, and of course all the acrimonious storylines that center around Sergio Ramos, and his injuring of Mohamed Salah. With BVB, obviously it’s the Jurgen Klopp Cup, and in a Barcelona pairing, it’s the Philippe Coutinho (and to a much lesser extent Luis Suarez) angle.
In other words, there is a high probability that Liverpool will be in the headliner fixture for the next round; no matter who they face.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.