CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHAOS

SportsBeat!

Written by Aaron Cantin

Before the Champions League round of 16 had a chance to begin there was already controversy. The draw for the round of 16 took place Monday morning. Twice. That’s right, after botching the first draw on live tv (and then again after they tried to fix it) UEFA declared the entire draw void and the entire thing was re-done. Honestly, thank god this was done on live tv because if the public were to be told the draw had to take place twice behind closed doors with no witnesses imagine the outrage. Let’s look at exactly what happened and what the real matchups are for the round of 16.

Source: Pierre-Philippe Marcou - Pool/Getty Images

After a technical glitch that incorrectly paired Villarreal with Manchester United in the last 16, footage has appeared which showed United not being placed in the draw to face Atletico Madrid and Liverpool also not being correctly placed into a pot. UEFA then confirmed that the draw would be conducted again at 9 am ET on Monday. Here is the statement in full: “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 1500 CET.”

Real Madrid ended up paying the highest price for UEFA's botched Champions League draw. Madrid was paired with Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16. The Spanish club had initially been drawn against Portuguese club Benfica but now instead faces PSG's superstar attack of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.

PSG had been paired with Manchester United in the original draw. Man United had initially been paired with Villarreal even though the English club’s name should not have been placed in that bowl since the two advanced from the same group.

Next, Man United’s name was mistakenly not included among possible opponents for Atlético Madrid when it should have been. That oversight meant the entire draw had to be redone. Atlético and Man United were then paired in the second draw. Only one of the eight pairings came out the same in both processes: defending champion Chelsea playing Lille. Bayern Munich will now face Salzburg, making its debut at this stage, instead of its original opponent Atlético.

Liverpool had been paired with Salzburg but was later drawn to face Inter Milan. Also, it was: Sporting Lisbon vs. Manchester City, Benfica vs. Ajax, and Villarreal vs. Juventus.

So an extra layer of intrigue and drama was added to what had already been a more engaging Champions League group stage than has been the case recently. Still, though, the sense remains that the competition doesn’t really begin until February. The fact that some serial league champions, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, failed to win their domestic leagues this year and ended up in Pot 2 enlivened the preliminaries, but for all the early shocks, in only four of the eight groups did the wealthiest two sides by revenue not make it through (which is to say, 12 of the 16 wealthiest sides did, and Villarreal ousting Atalanta is, at most, minor shock). A lot can change over the next two months, both in terms of form and personnel, but after Monday’s redrawn draw, here’s a closer look ahead to the last 16 and who is most likely to go through to the quarterfinals (predicted winner in RED).

Red Bull Salzburg vs. Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich has been immensely impressive this season. It is six points clear in the Bundesliga and won six out of six in the group, scoring 22 goals and conceding only three. But, as so often in modern football, that very domination is a cause for concern. The high line Hansi Flick deployed has been retained by Julian Nagelsmann, and there must be concerns that it can make Bayern vulnerable against high-class opponents. Nagelsmann himself has a history of trying to temper a hard-pressing approach in major games. Salzburg is just as dominant in Austria as Bayern in Germany, but this is its first appearance in the last 16.

Sporting CP vs. Manchester City

To reach the last 16 having lost its first game, 5–1, at home is a remarkable achievement from Sporting, but that openness must be a concern against a side of Manchester City’s class. Sporting lost three group games and let in 12 goals in its six group matches and, even given City’s occasional tendency to fail to take its opportunities, it would be a major surprise if the Portuguese champion could hold out. Pep Guardiola has a history of overcomplicating certain games in Europe for fear of the opponent’s capacity to counterattack, but surely not here. City’s two defeats in the group came in a slightly freakish match away to Paris Saint-Germain and then in a dead rubber vs. Leipzig with the top spot already secured, and domestically it has looked in ominous form recently.

Benfica vs. Ajax

Ajax was perhaps the greatest revelation of the group stage, winning all six games and playing perhaps with even greater joy and freedom than the side that came so close to reaching the final three seasons ago. Dušan Tadić remains a highly gifted creator, while Sébastien Haller, with 10 goals, looks a world away from the lumbering forward who struggled at West Ham. But Benfica eliminated Barcelona and kept four clean sheets in six games in the group stage, even briefly troubling Bayern away. Jorge Jesus’s side may be four points off the top in Portugal, but it looks like a serious European team again.

Chelsea vs. Lille

No side, perhaps, breathed such a sigh of relief as Chelsea—and it got to do so multiple times. The sloppy draw away to Zenit in the final group game meant it finished second in the group, and there’s little doubt that Lille, currently 11th in Ligue 1, represented the preferred option of the sides that had topped their group that Chelsea was eligible to face. Even more fortunate, Chelsea drew Lille twice, both in the annulled draw and the real one. It took Lille time to adjust to the departure of manager Christophe Galtier after winning the league last season, but there has been recent evidence of Jocelyn Gourvennec instilling a solidity. Chelsea may struggle to break Lille down, but if it can rediscover the control that has characterized most of Thomas Tuchel’s reign, it’s hard to see how Lille can hurt the European champion.

Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United

Both sides, if they’re being honest with themselves, may wonder how they got to this stage. United didn’t have the better of any of the four games against Villarreal or Atalanta, yet somehow, thanks to a series of late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, dropped only two points in them. Atlético played poorly for much of the group stage but burgled two late goals away to AC Milan and then provoked Porto into self-destruction in the final match to secure passage to the last 16. Since the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United has looked far more solid, but this will be a test of its temperament as much as its ability under Ralf Rangnick. And it's another chance for Ronaldo to potentially torment a side he has long enjoyed facing (25 goals in 35 games) under the bright lights.

Villarreal vs. Juventus

After a miserable start to the season, Juventus has slowly been improving, as Max Allegri has begun to reshape the squad and the style of play. Juve is up to sixth in Serie A and is likely to be higher come February, although the 4–0 defeat away to Chelsea in the group stage was a warning that there is still a long way to go. Villarreal lies 13th in Spain, but Unai

Emery’s great gift as a coach has always been his capacity to win knockout games rather than to perform consistently over a league season. The battle between Arnaut Danjuma and Danilo on the Villarreal left is likely to be key.

Inter Milan vs. Liverpool

Liverpool became the first English side to win six out of six group games, and its only defeat this season was the 3–2 reverse at West Ham, yet doubts remain about its defensive capacities, with Virgil van Dijk not quite as dominant as he was before his knee injury. The Reds may have scored three or more goals on 14 occasions this season, but they have also conceded two or more six times. Add in the fact that Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Naby Keïta will have just returned from the Africa Cup of Nations when the first leg takes place, and there may be the reason for some concern on Merseyside, particularly against an Inter side that has overcome the departure of manager Antonio Conte to thrive under Simone Inzaghi, while Edin Dzeko has been performing well in place of Romelu Lukaku alongside Lautaro Martínez in the club's attack.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid

Both sides are clear atop their domestic leagues, but neither has been impressive in Europe. The signing of Lionel Messi has given PSG the glitziest forward line imaginable, but the problem is that none of Messi, Neymar or Kylian Mbappé can be relied upon to fulfill their defensive responsibilities, meaning a gap often opens up between the front three and the back seven. That space is exactly the sort of thing that Luka Modrić, still majestic at 36, could be able to exploit, although there must be concerns about how long the ageing midfield trio can keep carrying Madrid, even if Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior have been in prime form recently. Madrid will be ruing that it won't face Benfica as had originally been drawn, but the result is a tie with subplots ranging from the Super League power struggle to Sergio Ramos's return to the Bernabeu, to Messi's return as an opponent in a different shirt to what could come if Mbappé is to sign a pre-contract with Madrid when he is eligible to upon the opening of the January transfer window.