The UEFA Champions League draw for the Round of 16 brought us fewer marquee matchups than expected. The most interesting clash is expected to be between Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid, while Napoli and Barcelona duel also promises to deliver a lot of excitement.
The rest of the draw mostly features matchups with clear favorites. The defending UCL champions, Manchester City, face FC Copenhagen, the lowest-ranked club left in the competition. Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain play La Liga’s Real Sociedad, while Champions League powerhouse Real Madrid will meet Bundesliga’s RB Leipzig.
The Round of 16 for the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 season will also feature duels between Bayern Munich and Lazio, Porto and Arsenal, and PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund. The latter duel is particularly intriguing because it will see a clash of USMNT stars. Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest, who play for PSV, will face Giovanni Reyna, who is a member of Borussia.
The UEFA Champions League resumes in early February with the first leg of Round of 16 games being scheduled for February 13th, 14th, 20th, and 21st. The second leg will be played on March 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th.
UCL Finals are scheduled for June 1st, with the game set to be played at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium.
