Field set, possible matchups revealed for Champions League knockout stage
The stage is set for the Champions League knockout round.
Seeding for the last 16 was finalized Thursday, as Villarreal beat Atalanta in a rescheduled match that had been postponed Wednesday due to heavy snowfall in Bergamo, Italy.
The Yellow Submarine clinched second place in Group F – and the final knockout berth – with an exciting 3-2 win, a result that officially brought the group portion of this season’s competition to a close.
The last-16 draw is slated for Dec. 13 at 6 a.m. ET. As always, teams from the same domestic league cannot face each other. That rule also applies to teams from the same group; title contenders Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, for example, can’t meet again until the quarterfinals when all matchup restrictions are lifted.
In a key change from previous seasons, the “away goals” rule has been removed for the knockout stages. Matchups that are level after 180 minutes will go to extra time, irrespective of which team has more away goals in the tie.
First-leg matches will be played in February, with the return fixtures set for March.
Here’s a look at the seeding ahead of Monday’s draw:
Group winners (seeded)
- Manchester City (Group A)
- Liverpool (Group B)
- Ajax (Group C)
- Real Madrid (Group D)
- Bayern Munich (Group E)
- Manchester United (Group F)
- Lille (Group G)
- Juventus (Group H)
Group runners-up (unseeded)
- Paris Saint-Germain (Group A)
- Atletico Madrid (Group B)
- Sporting CP (Group C)
- Inter Milan (Group D)
- Benfica (Group E)
- Villarreal (Group F)
- Red Bull Salzburg (Group G)
- Chelsea (Group H)
The third-place teams from each of the eight groups – including fallen titans Barcelona – drop into the Europa League knockout playoffs.
Dropping into Europa League
- RB Leipzig (Group A)
- FC Porto (Group B)
- Borussia Dortmund (Group C)
- Sheriff Tiraspol (Group D)
- Barcelona (Group E)
- Atalanta (Group F)
- Sevilla (Group G)
- Zenit St. Petersburg (Group H)
