Winners and Losers of the UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 Draw

We now know the route to the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final, which is set to be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31.

Some shock results in the knockout playoff round have given the path an interesting terrain, and thanks to the underperformance of some big teams in the league phase, there are a few treacherous round-of-16 matchups.

Of course, even before the next phase of the competition starts, we already have some winners and losers. Let's take a look at a few.

Team listed first will play the opening leg at home

Round of 16

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Liverpool

Benfica vs. Barcelona

Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa

Borussia Dortmund vs. Lille

Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid

Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen

PSV vs. Arsenal

Feyenoord vs. Internazionale

Quarter-Finals

(QF 1) PSG or Liverpool vs. Club Brugge or Aston Villa

(QF 2) PSV or Arsenal vs. Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid

(QF 3) Feyenoord or Internazionale vs. Bayern Munich or Bayer Leverkusen

(QF 4) Borussia Dortmund or Lille vs. Benfica or Barcelona

Semi-Finals

(SF 1) Winners of QF 2 vs. Winners of QF 1

(SF 2) Winners of QF 3 vs. Winners of QF 4

Final

Winners of SF 1 vs. Winners of SF 2

Bracket in full

A Madrid derby, an all-Bundesliga battle, and the leaders of the Premier League against the Ligue 1 pace-setters are among the fixtures set to be played in the round of 16. We'll also get two more servings of the Barcelona-Benfica course that was an absolute taste sensation in the League Phase.

The new Champions League format made the final matches of the opening phase even more thrilling, but it has also made the last-16 a much more interesting place.

With teams from the same league more likely to face each other at this stage instead of being forcibly separated, the competition has been given an extra thrilling element.

Meanwhile, with top teams dropping points more readily in the League Phase after facing a higher caliber of opponent, that's opened the door for traditional heavyweights to face each other in what used to be the first knockout round.

What a treat for the neutrals.

Liverpool finished top of the League Phase, but that hasn't done the Reds many favors when it comes to the knockout rounds.

Of course, they missed an additional two-legged matchup, but they got the most difficult of two possible opponents in the round of 16 (Paris Saint-Germain instead of Benfica), have to play the first leg of the quarter-final at home (against either Aston Villa or Club Brugge), and have old European enemies Real Madrid as a potential semi-final opponent.

That's scant reward for winning seven out of eight games in the opening stage.

It turns out the runners-up were actually the winners.

Barcelona finished second in the League Phase, but the Blaugrana could have clinched top spot if Atalanta hadn't held them to a draw in Matchday 8. They'll be counting their blessings for Mario Pašalić's 79th-minute equalizer.

The Spanish side have got Benfica in the round of 16 instead of PSG, either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarter-finals, and they'll have a second-leg home match in every round from now until the final.

It's advantage Barça on the way to Munich.

Bayern Munich scraped through the knockout playoff thanks to a late goal against Celtic—which was almost certainly more luck than judgement.

Being consigned to the knockout playoff was embarrassing enough for the Bundesliga giants, who were unconvincing in the League Phase with losses to Aston Villa, Barcelona and Feyenoord.

While they dished out thrashings to competition minnows Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar Donetsk, they typically crumbled when faced with more evenly matched opponents.

Extra minutes in the legs from the knockout playoff was not what they would have wanted, and their road to a home final looks seriously rocky.

First, they have to topple league rivals Bayer Leverkusen. If they do that, then Internazionale or Feyenoord await. The Italian side will be a tough opponent, and the Dutch team have already beaten the Bundesliga side 3-0 in Europe this season.

If they successfully navigate those matchups, then it's a likely meeting with Barcelona and former boss Hansi Flick in the last four—and let's not forget they were beaten 4-1 by the Blaugrana in the League Phase.

It doesn't look like Bayern Munich will be lifting their seventh European Cup title in front of their home fans.

The country that finishes top of UEFA's coefficient rankings (formulated by points accrued by the performances of each country's clubs across international competitions) will be given an additional berth in the 2025-26 Champions League.

England currently holds top spot, which would give the Premier League's fifth-place finishers a ticket to Europe's premier club competition next season.

The chances of that happening were given a boost after three Italian sides (Juventus, Milan and Atalanta) were eliminated in the Champions League knockout playoff. But the round-of-16 draw has been even kinder.

One German side will definitely exit European competition with Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen facing off. Meanwhile, Premier League sides Aston Villa and Arsenal have been given favorable last-16 meetings with Club Brugge and PSV, respectively. Coefficient points are there for the taking.

Who knows, maybe Manchester City will make the Champions League next season after all.