Real Madrid: 3 best teams to draw in the Champions League Round of 16
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid finished top of its Champions League group with four wins, one draw, and just one loss to RB Leipzig on matchday five. Having secured the top spot in the group for the third year in a row, who could Los Blancos face in the round of 16?
The runners-up pool is filled with quality teams and since FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla all failed to progress, the only team Real Madrid cannot draw is Leipzig.
The teams that qualified as runners-up: Liverpool, Club Brugge, Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris Saint-Germain.
AC Milan
For the first time in eight years, the Rossoneri have qualified for the knockout stage. Imagine the scenes at the San Siro if Real Madrid plays the first leg there in February!
It’s a historic matchup between two of Europe’s most decorated clubs and one that would capture the attention of the football world were it to take place. These two sides have not played a competitive fixture since the group stage of the 2010/2011 Champions League.
Real Madrid won the home meeting 2-0 and earned a late draw in Milan to comfortably finish top of the group with 16 points.
The two sides are deadlocked in all-time record, as well. In 15 meetings, the sides have won 6, lost 6, and drawn 3 times.
This would be an interesting match-up to watch with Real Madrid loanee Brahim Diaz playing a big role on one wing while a potential transfer target – Portuguese talisman Rafael Leao – occupies the opposite. In between the two, former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud continues to bag goals regularly.
The history behind these two clubs and the match-up between Real Madrid’s back four and Milan’s front three would be a treat to watch!