Winners and Losers from Champions League Round-of-16 Draw
The round-of-16 draw of the UEFA Champions League took place in Switzerland on Monday morning, with all the sides that made it past the group stage now knowing the next hurdle they will need to overcome on their quest for glory in Berlin in June.
With group winners being pitted against runners-up, there were naturally a few mismatches along the way. There are also some massive clashes to look forward to in February and March.
Here we've selected our biggest winners and losers from the draw, which is detailed in full below:
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea
Manchester City vs. Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid
Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund
Schalke vs. Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Bayern Munich
Arsenal vs. Monaco
Basel vs. Porto
Winners: Television Channels Carrying the Champions League
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Prize money in the Champions League is worth millions, especially once past the group stage, with the funds bumping up exponentially as the competition progresses.
Of course, much of that comes from television revenue, meaning big audiences are essential.
With PSG vs. Chelsea, Man City vs. Barcelona and Juventus vs. Dortmund all games with massive appeal to different kinds of fans, there will be no shortage of on-screen action to look forward to.
Losers: Schalke
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Last season, Schalke were obliterated by a rampant Real Madrid in the last 16, with the Spanish side winning 9-2 on aggregate after hammering the Germans 6-1 away from home in the first leg.
With pace, power, invention and a relentless clinical edge in front of goal, Real eviscerated their opponents without remorse en route to lifting the trophy in May.
It's the same nightmare fixture for Schalke this time around, with one key difference: Real are now the holders and intent on becoming the first team to retain the Champions League in its current guise. So far, so good for Real; they won all six group-stage games and are currently on a Spanish-record 20-match winning streak.
Maybe Schalke can spring a surprise.
Winners: Bayern Munich
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Meanwhile, another German team have received a draw they are no doubt very happy with.
Bayern Munich will face Shakhtar Donetsk; a long way to travel for the first leg, sure, but this Shakhtar side are not as formidable as they were a couple of seasons ago and are currently playing away from their own stadium—their three home group games took place in Lviv.
Bayern will believe they are capable of cruising through to the last eight and remain on course for a final appearance in their home country.
Losers: PSG and Manchester City
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There are two clashes of the giants that are immediately identifiable: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea and Manchester City vs. Barcelona.
All four met last season; PSG and Chelsea faced off in the quarter-finals, and City and Barcelona at this very stage. Chelsea and Barcelona went through last term, and we'll gamble on the same outcomes again in 2015.
Jose Mourinho's side look very strong, and PSG don't seem to have progressed much this term. City were "in crisis" only a few short weeks ago, and now it's Barcelona's turn.
Who knows what each side's form will be like come February, but either way, two teams will be exiting at least one round earlier than they would have hoped to reach as an absolute minimum.
City director of football Txiki Begiristain, who previously worked at the Camp Nou, was quoted by Sky Sports as saying, "It's unbelievable. I think we don't need to come because every tie is the same! Now we have to deal again with Barcelona as last season."
He added, "We now have plenty of confidence because of the way we got into the next round, beating Bayern Munich and then beating Roma away. We can arrive in a good moment for these games. We are more solid and stronger than last season."
Winners: The Unfancied Duo
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While those clashes of the giants will naturally attract all the attention, at least one of the less fancied sides will be making up the numbers in the last eight of the competition.
Basel and Porto were the final pairing drawn, and perhaps both will be thinking they have a chance of progressing on aggregate. A strong home performance for both will be key to their hopes of making the quarter-finals, with the Swiss side at home in the first leg.
Neither is considered anywhere near the favourites to win the tournament, but the prestige, prize money and chance to feature against the top sides in the latter stages will all be big motivators.
Losers: Borussia Dortmund?
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It's hard to pick a winner this early between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, but perhaps this is the year an Italian side can once again make a dent on the Champions League's latter stages.
BVB are struggling hugely domestically and sitting in the relegation-zone playoff spot at present, yet they topped their Champions League group ahead of Arsenal, Anderlecht and Galatasaray. In contrast, Juve are top of Serie A but needed a 0-0 draw at home to Atletico in their final group-stage fixture to make the knockout stages of the Champions League.
A lot can happen over the winter break, January transfer window and month of new-year football before European football starts up again, but you suspect Juventus will be fairly happy with their lot. Dortmund have a lot of work to do if they are to overcome their rivals.
