Before the draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League: Barca and MU have an easier time than Real

The 2012/13 Champions League group stage officially ended early this morning after the final matches of groups E, F, G, H ended. Thus, the Champions League has determined 16 names that will compete in the round of 16, including PSG, Schalke, Malaga, Dortmund, Bayern, Juventus, Barca, MU, Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Real Madrid, Valencia, Celtic, Shakhtar and Galatasaray.

And what people are most looking forward to now is the draw for the round of 16 (taking place on December 20 in Nyon, Switzerland) because the ability of the teams to advance depends largely on these lucky draws. For example, Milan would be very happy if they drew the name Schalke or PSG instead of Barca, MU or Bayern Munich.

The 16 teams that qualify for the knockout stage will be divided into two groups: group winners and group runners-up. The draw for the Champions League round of 16 will be a non-equal draw, with the eight group winners facing the eight group runners-up, according to the non-equal draw rule. This means that teams from the same country or from the same group will not meet in the round of 16.

Group 1(top of the table): Paris Saint-Germain, Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, ​​MU

Group 2(second place): Porto, Arsenal, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray.

From the above draw, we can see that among the top candidates for the championship, Barca and MU are the two teams with the most advantages because they are both in group 1. For Barca, they will meet one of five teams: Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Shakhtar and Galatasaray. Of these, Milan and Arsenal are the two strongest and most traditional clubs, but based on their performance this season, it is clear that Barca have no reason to worry. Meanwhile, Porto, Shakhtar, and Galatasaray are clearly not opponents of the football team that has reached the Champions League semi-finals for 5 consecutive seasons.

Compared to Barca, MU has a little more difficulty when they can face Real Madrid, the team that is rated the highest in group 2. Besides Real, which is significant, the remaining teams that MU can face are not rated too highly: Porto, Milan, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic. Therefore, just need to "avoid" Real, MU can think about a place in the quarterfinals.

Although considered one of the strongest candidates for the Champions League title this season, perhaps Real Madrid do not want to face a tough opponent too early. In fact, in the group stage, although rated lower than Real, Dortmund "toughened" the Royal team to exhaustion. However, finishing the group stage in second place could put Jose Mourinho's team in an early challenge in the round of 16 because they will have to face one of the teams including PSG, Schalke, Bayern, Juventus and MU. Among these, Bayern, Juventus and MU are teams with rich traditions in Europe and they are also in very good form this season. Therefore, Real will face countless difficulties if they face one of these three teams. Not to mention a PSG full of stars and led by coach Ancelotti, who has won the European championship twice.

Arsenal will also face a tougher challenge than Real in the round of 16, as Arsene Wenger's team could face Juventus, Bayern, or Barca, opponents that are considered to be better rated than them at this point. If they are luckier, the Gunners will only have to face Malaga, PSG, or Dortmund. These are also not easy teams to play against, but they are certainly much easier to deal with than Juventus, Bayern, and Barca.

The draw for the round of 16 will take place on 20 December in Nyon, Switzerland. The group winners will have the advantage of playing the second leg of the round of 16 at home. The first legs will be played on 12 and 20 February 2013, and the return matches on 5 and 13 March 2013.

According to Thethaovanhoa - DT