After an engrossing final round of Champions League league phase matches, attention now swiftly turns to the knockout phase play-off draw, and beyond.
The stand-out draw of the tie sees Benfica and Real Madrid face off again after their enthralling encounter on the final day of the league phase, with Benfica’s last-gasp equaliser through goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin sending them through.
Only one English side have to go through the play-off stage, with Newcastle United earning a draw against Qarabag – a tie they will feel is a winnable one despite the Azerbaijani side beating the likes of Frankfurt and Copenhagen in the league phase.
Champions League knockout phase play-off draw in full
The team named first will play the first leg at home. The first legs will be played on the 17th/18th February, with the reverse legs being played the following week.
- Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain
- Galatasaray vs Juventus
- Benfica vs Real Madrid
- Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta
- Qarabag vs Newcastle United
- Club Brugge vs Atletico Madrid
- Bodo/Glimt vs Inter Milan
- Olympiakos vs Bayer Leverkusen
Which 8 teams have already qualified for the last-16?
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP, and Manchester City have already booked their places in the last-16.
How does the play-off draw work?
The eight seeded teams will each face one of the unseeded teams in the play-offs. Clubs are paired together for the draw based on where they finished (see section above).
In all matches, the seeded teams will play the second-leg at home, and the eight winners will progress through to the last-16.
When are the play-offs?
The play-off first-legs will be played over the 17th/18th February, and the second-legs will then take place the following week on the 24th/25th.
What happens in the last-16?
The eight teams that finished in the top-8 of the league phase will face the eight winners from the play-offs.
While the top-8 clubs already know which group of four play-off teams they could meet, the exact matchups won’t be confirmed until Friday 27th February.
- Barcelona or Chelsea will face one of Monaco/Qarabag/PSG/Newcastle
- Liverpool or Tottenham will face one of Club Brugge/Galatasaray/Juventus/Atletico Madrid
- Sporting CP or Manchester City will face one of Bodo-Glimt/Benfica/Real Madrid/Inter Milan
- Arsenal or Bayern Munich will face one of Borussia Dortmund/Olympiakos/Atalanta/Bayer Leverkusen.