The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw was made on Monday, December 18, 2023 in the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
Frankly, there weren’t many blockbusters to look forward to as most of the remaining big sides avoided each other, except Inter Milan vs Athletico Madrid.
The others fixtures see FC Porto come against Arsenal; Napoli vs Barcelona; PSG vs Real Sociedad; Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid; PSV vs Borussia Dortmund; Lazio vs Bayern Munich; Copenhagen vs Manchester City; and RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid.
Here, FootballOrbit looks at the winners and losers from the draw.
Winners: Man City
Having already come through the easiest group, Manchester City have received another favourable draw in the round of 16…….yet again!!!
The defending champions’ chances of securing their title have been boosted by a kind draw against Copenhagen.
Losers: Copenhagen
Copenhagen impressed in the group stage by edging both Galatasaray and Manchester United to second place in Group A.
The Danish giants are regularly backed by a frightening atmosphere whenever they are playing at home. Even Manchester City were held to a goalless draw at the Parken Stadium just over a year ago.
However, Copenhagen are one of the sides the top guns will have been hoping to get, so, Pep Guardiola will be a very happy man at the moment.
Winners: PSG
PSG shouldn’t be here, only a controversial penalty call against Newcastle guaranteed their progress.
However, Luis Enrique’s men will care less. They have just been handed a favourable tie versus Real Sociedad.
Almost everyone will fancy Mbappe and Co. to go through.
Losers: Barcelona
Barcelona suffered an embarrassing loss to Royal Antwerp in their last group clash, but still topped their group.
The Catalans return to the knockout stage for the first time in three years, but they have been handed a harsh draw.
Barca will come up against a team that the big teams will want to avoid in Napoli.
Napoli may not be as strong as they were last season, but Osimhen and Co. will definitely cause Barcelona problems, and can even upset them.
Winners: Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund brilliantly finished first in their group ahead of PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle.
Fortunately, their efforts have been rewarded with a nice draw against PSV.
Losers: Atletico Madrid
Athletico Madrid were embarrassingly eliminated from the group stage last season. Diego Simeone’s bounced back by topping their group this campaign.
However, they have been handed the toughest of the non-seeded opponents in Inter Milan.
But for neutral fans, this is the biggest and most exciting fixture from the 2023/24 round of 16 draw.
Winners: Arsenal
Arsenal return to the UEFA Champions League after a long term absence. They finished in top spot in their group, despite some unconvincing performances.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been handed a fair draw against FC Porto, and will fancy their chances of progressing to the next stage.
Losers: Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad proved their worth by topping their group ahead of Inter Milan.
Although they are not pushovers, but progressing against their next opponent, PSG, might prove a little too much to ask from Sociedad.
Loser: Serie A
Last year, three Serie A teams (AC Milan, Inter and Napoli) reached the quarterfinals, with Inter eventually getting to the final.
This time around, Serie A also had three sides in the round of 16 draw in Lazio, Napoli and Inter; but they’ve all been handed nightmare clashes against Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, respectively.
The possibility of all Italian sides getting eliminated cannot be completely ruled out.
The first legs of the 2023/24 Champions League round of 16 matches will take place on February 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st. The return legs will be played on March 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th.
