UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw: Who could PSG, Chelsea, Real Madrid & Bayern face?

The knockout stage of the ongoing UEFA Champions League is poised to begin, with the group stage having concluded with some thrilling matches between top European teams. The preliminary stage of the 2021-22 edition of the coveted top club football tournament saw some big names make it to the last-16 round this month, including teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Let's take a look at how teams could be drawn in the knockout stage of the Champions League before the original schedule is released by UEFA on December 13. 

UEFA Champions League: Qualified teams

Group A: Manchester City (winner), PSG (runner-up)
Group B: Liverpool (winner), Atletico Madrid (runner-up)
Group C: Ajax (winner), Sporting CP (runner-up)
Group D: Real Madrid (winner), Inter Milan (runner-up)
Group E: Bayern Munich (winner), Benfica (runner-up)
Group F: Manchester United (winner), Villarreal (runner-up)
Group G: Lille (winner), Red Bull Salzburg (runner-up)
Group H: Juventus (winner), Chelsea (runner-up)

As per the rules of the UEFA Champions League, winners and runners-up of the same group cannot be placed together in the knockout stage. Teams from the same domestic league also cannot be drawn together. 

Who could Chelsea, Real Madrid & other top teams face in the last-16? 

Chelsea, the runner-up of Group H, could face either Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Ajax, or Lille in the last-16 round of the UEFA Champions League. Bayern, the winner of Group E, could be drawn against Chelsea, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, or Villarreal in the last-16.

Spanish giants Real Madrid, the winner of Group D, could face Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg, Sporting CP in the last-16. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain, the runner-up of Group A, could be drawn against Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus, or Bayern Munich.

English club Manchester City, winner of Group A, could face either Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP, Benfica, Villarreal, Inter Milan, or Red Bull Salzburg in the quarter-finals. Liverpool, winner of Group B, could come up either against PSG, Sporting CP, Inter Milan, Villarreal, or Red Bull Salzburg. 

Manchester United, the winner of Group F, could be drawn either against PSG, Sporting CP, Inter Milan, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, or Red Bull Salzburg. French club Lille could face either Sporting CP, Inter Milan, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, or Red Bull Salzburg, while Italian giants Juventus could be drawn either against Sporting CP, Benfica, Chelsea, PSG, red Bull Salzburg, or Atletico Madrid.

Top goal-scorers in Champions League

Meanwhile, the top-scorers chart of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 is led by Ajax footballer Sebastien Haller, who has scored 10 goals so far in the season. Ballon d’Or 2021 runners-up Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich follows Haller with nine goals, ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah with seven goals.

RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku also has seven goals to his name, while legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo sits fourth in the list with six goals to his credit so far since returning back to Manchester United earlier this season. At the same time, Ballon d’Or 2021 winner Lionel Messi, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Bayern’s Leroy Sane, and City’s Riyad Mahrez have scored five Champions League goals each so far in the season.

(Image: ChampionsLeague/Twitter)