The Champions League round of 16 draws and the road to the Budapest final have been confirmed in Friday’s event in Nyon, Switzerland, and while some teams received favourable draws and others didn’t, there is never a guarantee of a spot in the next round.
In the Champions League, winners are not forged on reputation but what they put forward in the present, and the stories of those who have built a pedigree in the competition are enough testament, that nothing is assured.
The search for evidence of this wouldn’t take us that far. Who knew Bodø/Glimt, for instance, would be in the latest draw after drawing Inter, finalists in two of the previous three editions, in the elimination playoffs.
If Galatasaray’s fate was sealed after a 5-2 first-leg victory against Juventus in Istanbul, and they ended up getting it over the line despite the hiccups in Turin, Borussia Dortmund is another down-to-earth, after blowing a 2-0 first-leg win to Atalanta.
And these are recent scenarios in Europe’s premier club competition. The biggest clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool, have all suffered shock exits, when the pundits would have seen them home and dry.
The biggest upsets in history did not just come to be due to the ability of the underdogs to create fairytale stories but the complacency of the favourites, and if you ask some of the great managers who have failed in these instances, they would say they could have done better.
Aside from training for the matchups in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 fixtures, coaches of the odds-favoured teams will also be plenty in lessons of humility, because this is a stage no one wants to fail when the next opportunity is very lucrative.
Nevertheless, barely any of the 16 teams are less favoured, and since everyone has the right to write their own story, there are always bound to be complications, especially when the so-called underdogs have several different attempts.
Notwithstanding, there have been celebrations at some camps following the draw, and while some others are engraved due to their difficult path, everyone has started to clock the statistics and history that make them feel better.
Everyone clocks feel better stats/history
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Arsenal
The only previous time Bayer Leverkusen has faced Arsenal in the Champions League, they’ve gone on to reach the final, and only once have they been eliminated by an English team in European competition.
Despite knowing that only one English team has got the better of Bayer Leverkusen in a European knockout tie, Arsenal will take positive in the fact that the only team to do so, Liverpool in 2004-05, went on to win the title.
Atlético Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur
In their only competitive meeting so far, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Atlético 5-1 to win the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963, while they also boast a superior record against Spanish opposition except the Clásico rivals.
Bodo Glimt vs Sporting CP
Bodo/Glimt have already made history by reaching the round of 16 of the competition, and they’ll have nothing to lose, which is what makes them even more dangerous in a tie with Sporting CP.
Sporting CP have never been eliminated in the Champions League by a team outside of Europe’s top five leagues, although they’ve never played in one against such teams. They’ve lost their only two knockout ties to Inter and Manchester City.
Newcastle United vs Barcelona
Although it is a tough draw for them, Newcastle United will look at the impressive record of English teams against Spanish opposition in the competition this season for courage.
Barcelona has won four of their five meetings with Newcastle United, two of them coming at St. James Park, including a 2-1 success in the league phase earlier this season.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City
Real Madrid and Manchester City are two of the unlucky teams in the draw, especially City, which managed to secure a top-eight finish and couldn’t avoid the record champions.
Over the two legs, they’ll have met for 11 times in the competition in the last five seasons, already more times than they’ve faced any one in their respective leagues in that period.
A close contest, and the fact that one of the two will exit the competition at this stage makes it a very awful draw, and again tough on City, who were eliminated in the playoff by the same team last season.
Real Madrid have advanced in their last two knockout ties with City, including a double in the round of 32 playoff last season, but the Cityzens have already beaten the Spanish giants at the Bernabéu during the league phase this season.
PSG vs Chelsea
Although PSG have only won the Champions League once, this could be a similar pattern to their journey to glory last season. Having finished outside the top eight, Luis Enrique’s team has beaten a French team in the elimination playoff, and could face English teams in all the rounds before the final, just like last season.
Chelsea will also be optimistic, especially after how they were dominant against the European champions during the summer Club World Cup, where they won 3-0 against Luis Enrique’s team in the final to clinch the title.
Galatasaray vs Liverpool
Galatasaray have never lost a home meeting with Liverpool, including a 1-0 success in the league phase this season. Heading into the second leg with an advantage is always a positive, especially for a team like Gala in the Champions League round of 16.
No Turkish team has ever bettered Liverpool over two legs of a UEFA Champions League knockout tie, and the Reds have never lost a home game against any Super Lig club.
Atalanta vs Bayern Munich
Atalanta has won six of their last nine meetings with German teams in European competitions, including two out of three this season.
Bayern Munich boasts a superior head-to-head record against all the Italian teams they’ve faced in European competitions except AC Milan, while nothing separates them from Napoli.
Context applied: No side of the draw is cheap
Everyone is here to challenge, and even though one side of the draw looks favourable for some teams, when context is applied, it doesn’t appear that way, and those who have an altered narrative will not be walked over.
For instance, the winner of the Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen tie will battle the winner of Sporting CP, who finished eighth in the league phase, and Bodo/Glimt, who eliminated Inter by winning both legs of their round of 32 playoff tie.
Barcelona will also play Newcastle United in the round of 16, a team that only missed out on a top-eight finish on the final day of the league phase, while Atletico Madrid, one of their biggest Spanish rivals, or Tottenham Hotspur, who finished ahead of them in the league phase await in the quarter-finals should they advance.
Although Real Madrid against Manchester City looks like a high-stakes match, both sides have themselves to blame for their fortunes after what is considered a subpar league campaign, one that saw the former miss out on a top-eight finish.
PSG also failed to finish in the top eight, and since a structure has already been made for the road to the final, they knew it could get messy, but having seen Les Parisiens go all the way last season, then, why not anyone?
Some of the matchups might look straightforward on paper, but the fact that there was neither a Juventus nor an Inter in the round of 16 draws tells you everything about the so-called underdogs left in the competition.
Maybe sometimes, the biggest threat you want to avoid is a team that seemingly has nothing to lose, because they will fancy their chance and throw everything at you, knowing no defeat can undermine what they’ve already achieved, while a win can secure immortality.
It’s a great Champions League road to the final, one that will deliver surprises. The bigger question is, which teams will be the villains, and which will rewrite a new history, and which one team will achieve a climax ending?
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
