Who will Barça face in Champions League Round of 16? The landscape after the first leg of play-off

FC Barcelona is starting to have a clearer picture of who their opponent will be in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. According to the distribution of teams in the final bracket, after the league phase and the draw for the 'play-offs', Barça, as second in the overall table, will face the winners of the matchups between Paris Saint-Germain against Stade Brest or Monaco against Benfica. Liverpool, the leader of the league phase, will have the same fate.

After the first leg of the playoffs, the French and Portuguese teams took the advantage away from home. PSG practically secured their tie against Brest on Tuesday, with a score of 0-3 thanks to goals from Vitinha (penalty) and a brace from Ousmane Dembélé. The return leg will be on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes, where PSG hopes to seal their passage to the next phase to face Barcelona or Liverpool.

Benfica, for their part, did the same on Wednesday in the Principality thanks to a goal from the Greek Vangelis Pavlidis (0-1). The Lisbon team returns home with a minimal advantage next Tuesday, in a match where Monaco will be without Moatasem Al-Musrati. The Libyan was sent off in the first leg for a second yellow card.

Barça will face a familiar opponent in the Round of 16

Whether it’s Benfica or PSG, Barça is guaranteed to face a rival they know well in the Round of 16. Hansi Flick's team already defeated the Portuguese side in the group stage (4-5), in a spectacular match where Barça was losing 4-2 with 12 minutes left. Goals from Robert Lewandowski (penalty), Eric García, and Raphinha in stoppage time completed a historic comeback that secured the azulgrana's qualification.

With PSG, however, there is a sense of revenge after last season's quarter-final tie. Barça won in France (2-3) thanks to a brace from Raphinha and another goal from Andreas Christensen. In the return leg at Montjuïc, the Catalans took the lead with another goal from the Brazilian, but Ronald Araujo's red card in the 29th minute initiated the culé debacle. Dembélé, Vitinha, and Kylian Mbappé (brace) resolved the Parisian comeback.

Barça will know their opponent after the draw to be held next Friday, February 21. There, the azulgrana team will also find out if they are placed on the left or right side of the bracket. The left side of the bracket could lead to a Clásico against Real Madrid in hypothetical semi-finals, as long as the 'merengues' finish overcoming their playoff against Manchester City. In the quarter-finals, either side will present a mid-tier opponent for the Catalans.

The possible matchups for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25  

Final bracket of the Champions 2024/25

🏆Left side of the bracket:

⚽Liverpool (1st) or FC Barcelona (2nd) against the winner of Stade Brestois (18th) vs Paris Saint-Germain (15th). Partial advantage for PSG, 3-0.

⚽LOSC Lille (7th) or Aston Villa (8th) against the winner of Club Brugge (24th) vs Atalanta Bergamasca (9th). Partial advantage for Brugge, 2-1.

⚽Atlético de Madrid (5th) or Bayer Leverkusen (6th) against the winner of Manchester City (22nd) vs Real Madrid (11th). Partial advantage for Madrid, 3-2.

⚽Arsenal (3rd) or Inter Milan (4th) against the winner of Juventus (20th) vs PSV Eindhoven (14th). Partial advantage for Juventus, 2-1.

🏆Right side of the bracket:

⚽FC Barcelona (2nd) or Liverpool (1st) against the winner of AS Monaco (17th) vs SL Benfica (16th). Partial advantage for Benfica, 1-0.

⚽Aston Villa (8th) or LOSC Lille (7th) against the winner of Sporting CP (23rd) vs Borussia Dortmund (10th). Partial advantage for Dortmund, 3-0.

⚽Bayer Leverkusen (6th) or Atlético de Madrid (5th) against the winner of Celtic FC (21st) vs Bayern Munich (12th). Partial advantage for Bayern, 2-1.

⚽Inter Milan (4th) or Arsenal (3rd) against the winner of Feyenoord (19th) vs AC Milan (13th). Partial advantage for Feyenoord, 1-0.