Who can Real Madrid face in the Champions League?
After finishing top of Group F, some potentially difficult ties await Madrid in Europe
After putting 5 past Celtic, Real Madrid made sure their fate lay in their own hands and finished top of the group. After recent ‘wobbles’ versus Shakhtar and Leipzig, they made sure the team from Scotland wasn’t going to keep them winless. As group winners, they will face one of the teams that came second in the standings; as they are the only Spanish side left in the competition there are no restrictions - but who can they come up against?
Liverpool
The biggest name of the possible rivals but a team that are not going having their greatest season so far. They lost to Leeds United last weekend in dramatic fashion and sit mid-table in the league. In Europe they have had mixed results, ultimately falling behind to a rampant Napoli side that Madrid will be looking to avoid. Liverpool have an ageing squad and Klopp has reigned for years, with many saying that the end of the cycle is nigh. But player talent does not just disappear and Madrid should not go into any potential bout against the 5-time winners with complacency.
Club Brugge
Club Brugge were perhaps the surprise performers in Group B, that contained Porto (top), Bayer Leverkusen (3rd) and Atlético Madrid (4th). They led the group for most of the tournament and Noa Lang has been a revelation on the wing. It is too early to say whether or not they will be a threat come February when the next round of games are to be played but they sit third in the league, so European competition is definitely something they are taking seriously this season.
Inter
They stand where Barcelona would like and the 3-3 draw at the Camp Nou sentenced the Catalan side to Europe’s second competition. Lautaro Martínez is always a threat in behind the defensive line as is his strike partner Dzeko. They only lost to Bayern and playing in Italy would end up being a huge challenge for Madrid. Dumfries and Dumfries make a huge difference to the side from the wide areas and Barella sews it all together as the midfield maestro.
Milan
The red and black team from Milan finished 3 points behind Chelsea and would constitute a tricky tie for Madrid in the next round. Brahim would no doubt relish the tie as would Leão, who looks like he could be Europe’s next big money move (apart from Bellingham). With Sandro Tonali to knit everything together, Il Rossoneri would definitely make some Madrid fans slightly nervous about the two legged affair.
Eintracht
Eintracht Frankfurt finished a point behind group winners Tottenham Hotspur and are the team that, of course, knocked Barça out of the Europa League last season. But Real Madrid looked far superior in the UEFA Super Cup at the beginning of the season so this fixture would perhaps not strike the same amount of fear into Los Blancos as some of the others might. However, a positive away result in Germany would not be a given by any means.
Dortmund
Moukoko and Adeyemi have made sure Dortmund are no slouches in the absence of Haller and departure of Haaland. And an early trip to the Signal Iduna Park is surely something Madrid want to avoid if they can. It is true that they finished above terrible Sevilla and Copenhagen sides, but they held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw with Süle and Schlotterbeck at the back so it would not be an easy tie should Madrid be paired together with them.
PSG
Ah, you’ve made it this far. Yes, PSG managed to finish second since Benfica scored 6 in the last group game, meaning the sixth tiebreaker - away goals scored - was used to determine the winner. Where to begin? Messi, Neymar, someone called Mbappé... And I seem to remember these teams played each other last year, right? This tie would have it all. It’s something we want to see as football fans but not be involved in as I think the heat this time would be just too much to take. Messi looks like the best version of himself again and this, without a doubt, is the trickiest tie of the lot.
Click here for even more of a breakdown of who has qualified for the next round.