On December 18, the draw for the knockout round of the Champions League has ended. During the draw process, the eight teams that top the group are seeded and will play away and home games separately and will be grouped according to the principle of the same national association and the same group avoidance.
Arsenal drew Portuguese Super League side Porto and were lucky;Manchester City "unexpectedly" drew the Danish Super League team Copenhagen, which can be said to be a "big package";And Grand Paris drew La Liga team Real Sociedad, and the signing luck was also very good.
The draw results for the Champions League 1 8 knockout rounds are as follows: Porto vs Arsenal, Napoli vs Barcelona, Paris vs Real Sociedad, Inter vs Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven vs Dort, Lazio vs Bayern, Copenhagen vs Manchester City, Leipzig vs Real Madrid.
It was a remarkable draw for Arsenal, who were the first team to be drawn against Porto. Whether it is the overall strength or the current form, Arsenal is better, it can be said that the draw has been drawn, so the possibility of re-entering the road to the last eight is very high.
The other team drawn was Grand Paris, who finished second in their group, avoiding the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Arsenal in favour of La Liga's Real Sociedad. The opponents are unbeaten in the Champions League group stage with three wins and three draws, and they are strong enough to play against the giants.
Still, it's clear that the Grand Paris deal is still very good. Manchester City's opponent is Copenhagen, who is also on the top draw. Copenhagen successfully suppressed Manchester United and Galatasaray to qualify, but in terms of overall strength, Manchester City, as the defending champion, is undoubtedly a "big package".
Copenhagen won Manchester United, and now Manchester City are hoping for revenge. The Inter vs Atletico matchup is also full of highlights, with Atletico Madrid being the powerhouse in La Liga and Inter Milan being the team in last season's Champions League final, both teams are very strong, and such a matchup can be described as a hard-fought battle for a ticket to the quarterfinals.
The Champions League knockout round 1 8 finals are scheduled to kick off on 13 February 2024 and will end on 13 March, with the draw for the 1 4 finals taking place on 15 March.