Champions League knockout phase play-off draw: Manchester City get Real Madrid, Bayern visit Celtic

Manchester City will play 15-time European Cup winners Real Madrid and Celtic will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League play-off round.

City, the 2023 Champions League winners, will host Madrid at Etihad Stadium on 11 February before travelling to Spain for the second leg on 19 February.

- Advertisement -

Celtic, the first British club to win the trophy when they did so in 1967, will face Bayern Munich at Celtic Park on 12 February before the Bundesliga club host Brendan Rodgers’ side at Allianz Arena in the second leg on 18 February.

The winners of City’s tie against Madrid and Celtic’s meeting with Bayern will face either German side Bayer Leverkusen or Spanish club Atletico Madrid in the last 16.

The draw for the last 16 is on 21 February, following the conclusion of the play-off ties, but some elements of that draw are pre-determined.

- Advertisement -

Champions League play-off draw in full.

Brest v Paris St-Germain (first leg 11/02, second leg 19/02)

Juventus v PSV Eindhoven (first leg 11/02, second leg 19/02)

Manchester City v Real Madrid (first leg 11/02, second leg 19/02)

Sporting v Borussia Dortmund (first leg 11/02, second leg 19/02)

- Advertisement -

Club Brugge v Atalanta (first leg 12/02, second leg 18/02)

Monaco v Benfica (first leg 12/02, second leg 18/02)

Celtic v Bayern Munich (first leg 12/02, second leg 18/02)

Feyenoord v AC Milan (first leg 12/02, second leg 18/02)

Play-off draw explained

Clubs that finished in the top eight of the 36-team Champions League group table progressed directly to the last 16. The teams in the bottom eight were eliminated.

The remaining 16 teams that finished between ninth and 24th place progressed into the play-offs.

Of those 16 teams, the clubs that finished ninth to 16th in the league phase were seeded into four pairs for the play-off draw.

Those that finished from the 17th to the 24th were put into four unseeded pairs.

Unseeded teams were drawn against one of two seeded teams, with seeded teams hosting the second leg of the play-off as they finished higher in the first phase table.

City finished 22nd in the league table while Celtic finished 21st.

It meant the two sides would face one of Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, who finished 11th and 12th respectively in the group stage.

What does it mean for Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa?

Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing in the top eight of the league phase.

The draw to finalise the last-16 ties is made on 21 February, when the eight winners of the play-off ties will be known.

Some elements of the last-16 draw are already decided because teams in the top eight of the league phase were split into four seeded pairs based on their position in the table.

Teams in the seeded pair will face the winners of one of the two play-off ties they have already been bracketed with.

Liverpool finished top of the league phase and are paired with second-place Barcelona. Those teams will play either the winners of the Brest v Paris St-Germain tie or the team that progresses from Monaco’s meeting with Benfica.

Arsenal were third and was paired with Italian club Inter Milan, who were fourth. The Gunners or Inter will play either the winners of Juventus v PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord against AC Milan.

Villa were eighth and are paired with seventh-placed Lille and those teams will face the winners of Club Brugge v Atalanta or Sporting v Borussia Dortmund.

What about the Europa League?

In the Europa League, which follows the same format as the Champions League, AZ Alkmaar face Galatasaray and Midtjylland will play Real Sociedad in the play-offs.

The winners of those ties will face either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16.

Twente will play Bodo/Glimt and Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce have been drawn against Anderlecht, with one of the winners of those two ties then facing Rangers.

United and Spurs were third and fourth in the 36-team Europa League group stage respectively, and with Rangers finishing eighth it meant all three British sides qualified automatically for the last 16.

Notable ties include two-time winners Porto playing 1984 European Cup finalists Roma, while Hungarian side Ferencvaros – managed by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – play Viktoria Plzen.

The winners of those two ties will be drawn against either Lazio or Athletic Bilbao.

As with the Champions League, the last-16 draw will be made on 21 February once the eight winners of the play-off ties are known. That will complete the brackets and teams will know their routes to the final.

The two-legged play-off ties are on 13 and 20 February, with the last-16 matches scheduled for 6 and 13 March.

Europa League play-off draw in full

Ferencvaros v Viktoria Plzen

Porto v Roma

AZ Alkmaar v Galatasaray

Midtjylland v Real Sociedad

Union Saint-Gilloise v Ajax

PAOK v FCSB

Twente v Bodo/Glimt

Fenerbahce v Anderlecht

BBC

- Advertisement -
Thank you for reading from the team at NewsAlertGH, your reliable news source in Ghana. We invite you to share this story across your social media platforms and stay engaged with us on Facebook https://web.facebook.com/people/News-Alert-Gh/61552476518106/, Twitter https://x.com/newsalertgh, and Instagram. For feedback and enquiries, kindly contact us on ‪+233 (0) 546337300‬ or via mail at newsalertgh1@gmail.com. We appreciate your continued support.

FOLLOW US VIA FACEBOOK AND X.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

HOT THIS WEEK

Nana Owusu Agyemang writes: Human rights and the preservation of human dignity

LOOKING AT HUMAN RIGHTS The universal, inalienable, and inherent rights...

Two security men of Bolga Girls SHS arrested over alleged defilement of special needs student

The Upper East Regional Police Command has arrested two...

‘GoldBod is a very big scandal awaiting us’ – Afenyo-Markin

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has warned that the operations...

NPP holds regional executive elections today

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is set to hold...

NPP regional polls: Sorting, counting underway after largely peaceful voting

Sorting and counting of ballots are underway across several...

TOPICS

Achimota School Marks Its 97th Anniversary in Grand Style

Achimota School has celebrated its 97th anniversary in grand...

Saboba N/R: Physically-challenged teacher dies over frozen salary

The immediate family of a basic education teacher in...

EC begins processes to create 25 new constituencies

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has begun processes to...

BREAKING: John Kumah, Deputy Minister for Finance reported dead

The Deputy Minister of Finance, John Ampontuah Kumah has...

Kate, Princess of Wales: I am having cancer treatment

The Princess of Wales says she is in the...

Pilot, Brother Killed in Tema Aircraft Crash Were Sons of Hebron Prayer Camp Founder

The two victims of Monday’s fatal microlight aircraft crash...

Related Articles