It’s quite safe to say that UEFA truly got it right with the round of 16 pairings today. The Champions League knockout round draw was held on Monday two massive headliner draws here- Chelsea vs Barcelona and Real Madrid taking on Paris Saint-Germain.
The two time defending European champions will take on the French side which is establishing themselves as the most aggressive, big money spending club when it comes to acquiring new players.
England set a new record by sending five clubs through to the round of 16, with Chelsea being the only side that didn’t win their group.
Thus the Blues received a very tough draw in Barcelona, the Catalan powerhouse provide a serious obstacle for anyone and everyone in the European tournament. Overall though, things look up for Great Britain as their clubs rank pretty high in the round of 16 power rankings published by The Guardian a couple days ago.
Also, when you realize that England comprises just under a third of the round of 16, chances are very high for reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals and beyond.
Here is the full round of 16 draw listed out:
The round of 16 #UCLdraw has been made ?
Backing your team to progress? pic.twitter.com/v7I6dSq7Tc
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 11, 2017
Here is the full round of 16 schedule posted by UEFA on their Twitter account:
??All the dates for your #UCL diary! ?#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/8MneftfSBw
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 11, 2017
This really should be a fun one, so enjoy it football fans.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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