The group phase of the 2023-2024 UEFA Champions League is to conclude this month. Names of the sixteen clubs who will compete in the knock-out phase have been released. On Monday, 18 December 2023, UEFA conducted the draw for the last-16 round, at their headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Defending champion Manchester City came out from the draw with the biggest smile as they will face off with the arguably easiest opponent. Pep Guardiola’s team will Danish champion Copenhagen, who were down at 37th in the UEFA club coefficient ranking. As the current title holder, Manchester City is Number One in that ranking. This means a pairing of Manchester City vs. Copenhagen is the most lopsided one in the draw.

“It’s the most difficult draw possible,” admitted Copenhagen Coach Jacob Neestrup. “Manchester City are a team that is complete in their collective play and armed with great individuals. They are the best club team in the world.”

With a team worth 1.26 billion Euro in market value, Manchester City is the priciest team of the last 16. That number is nearly 20 times higher than that of the Copenhagen squad, which only shows a modest worth of 66.35 million Euro. Add that to the fact that Manchester City has progressed from the round of 16 in each of the last six seasons in the Champions League.

The last time Copenhagen played in the last-16 in the Champions League was in the 2010-2011 season. They were beaten by Chelsea, with a 0-2 aggregate. That was also their best season in the UEFA competition.

Nielsen’s Gracenote has been analyzing the data since the Champions League last-16 draw was made. They give Manchester City a 97% chance of reaching the quarter-finals while Copenhagen has just a 3% chance of advancing. Compared to Manchester City, other seeded teams in the draw will face tougher opponents.

Unlucky Atletico Madrid, who ranked 13 in UEFA, draws a black ball to face Inter Milan (ranked 6 in UEFA), last season’s runner-up.  “We know how complicated the Champions League is; every match presents new challenges and different issues,” Atletico’s coach, Diego Simeone, mused. “Last year Inter went on a great journey in this competition. It will be a very difficult match.”

Inter Milan also recognized that a tough challenge awaits them. “Atletico are a difficult team to face. There were so many great teams; we knew it could be a complicated draw,” admitted Inter vice-president, Javier Zanetti.” “We have great respect for Atletico: we know their history and their culture. They will be difficult to beat.”

Bayern Munich (2) paired with Lazio (35). Barcelona (12) will clash with Italian champion Napoli (17), in one of the most heart-stopping matches in the round of 16. Arsenal (21) got a favorable draw against Porto (19) but must be careful, because their opponent has a strong tradition in the competition.

Real Sociedad (38) is the surprise team in the group phase, as they finished above Inter Milan and Benfica in Group D. But in the round of 16, they oppose a very difficult Paris Saint-Germain (4). Borussia Dortmund (11) will face PSV Eindhoven (31) and Real Madrid (3) could step on a potential banana skin in the form of RB Leipzig (7).

The first legs of the round of 16 will be played on 13, 14, 20, and 21 February, and the second legs will be played on 5, 6, 12, and 13 March 2024.

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UEFA has provided 200,000 euros ($214,000) on Friday to help with relief work in Türkiye, the country that will host the Champions League final in June.

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Mehmet Büyükekşi had previously announced UEFA had offered around 300,000 euros as a show of solidarity.

To organize more fundraising activities in the days leading up to the final on June 10 in Istanbul, it is also coordinating work among its 55 member associations to contribute to a disaster relief fund.

Initial donations included 150,000 euros from UEFA to the TFF and a combined 50,000 euros for the UEFA Foundation for Children charity to support two organizations working in the disaster area in southern Türkiye and Syria.

Moments of silence will be held before games next week in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, UEFA said. One European competition game will be held in Türkiye on Thursday. Trabzonspor will host Basel in the Europa Conference playoff round and players will wear black armbands.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes on Monday killed more than 20,000 people and devastated the region.

Source : Daily Sabah

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