The Champions League reaches its final phase and Real Madrid are one of the big favourites. After beating Manchester City in the first leg of the playoffs, the Merengues have the chance to seal their place in the last sixteen at the Santiago Bernabéu. It will be a key match in setting the season on track after its ups and downs.
The new format of the competition has transformed the dynamics of the matches. Indeed, the last sixteen ties will be decided by means of a draw “conditioned” where Madrid, at the time of this analysis, already have two possible opponents.
Pending the second leg of the playoffs, and with the draw scheduled for February 21, this could be the route Real Madrid will take to the grand final, which this year will be held at the home of Bayern Munich, the Allianz Arena.
An open tie
Carlo Ancelotti’s team achieved a vital victory and a good result at the Etihad Stadium, beating Pep Guardiola’s team 3-2 in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs, but the tie is still wide open and everything will be decided in the second leg, which will take place on Wednesday, February 19th at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Real Madrid have performed well at home, winning three of their six matches to date at the Santiago Bernabéu. If Real Madrid win or draw, they will advance to the round of 16 and be one step closer to achieving their ultimate goal of European glory.
Possible opponents in the Champions League round of 16
In the event that the team from the capital beats City, the next contest that awaits them in the round of 16 will be decided in the draw to be held on February 21st. UEFA has stipulated that teams coming through the UEFA playoffs can only be paired with two of the established teams, Atlético de Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, and either of these teams will be tough nuts to crack.
If it’s Atlético de Madrid, we would have a derby in Europe, and if it’s Bayer, the team of Xabi Alonso, the former player of the club, will be the executioner. Whatever the rival, the first match of the round of sixteen would be on 4 or 5 March in the stadium of the team that comes out of the playoff, in this case the Santiago Bernabéu, and the return match would be on 11 or 12 March in the stadium of Atlético or Bayer.
The road to Munich
The draw for the round of sixteen would define the complete picture up to the final, therefore, in a hypothetical quarter final the rival could be Juventus (who have an advantage against PSV in the playoff), Arsenal or Inter, all major rivals.
The semi-finals would be played on April 15 or 16 for the first leg, and on April 22 or 23 for the second leg. The most likely rivals for this stage of the Champions League would be Barcelona and Liverpool, the two best teams during the group stage. Each would go through one group, so both rivals could also be the last obstacle in a hypothetical final.
History is on the side of Real Madrid, the clear favorites to lift the “big ear” again, although before thinking about Munich, the first challenge for the Whites is to reach the last sixteen draw, and to do that they have to win the preliminary round against Manchester City and then see who their next rival will be.