A possible clash between Parisians and Madridistas could occur in the semifinals, should Real Madrid eliminate Manchester City and the winner of the Atalanta-Bayern Munich tie. On the other side, there could be an all-Spanish matchup in the quarterfinals if Barcelona and Atlético win their Round of 16 ties. Real Madrid has only won 3 of its last 15 official matches and is sixteenth in the English league, four points from the relegation zone. On the same side of the bracket as Real Madrid, the winner of the PSG-Chelsea tie will face the qualifier from the Galatasaray-Liverpool tie in the quarterfinals. The 'whites' are on the 'hellish' part of the bracket as defined by UEFA, while Barça and Atlético are on the blue side. The draw of the first ball already made 'Groundhog Day' a reality for Real Madrid with Álvaro Arbeloa and Pep Guardiola's team. The whites lead in goals, but only by one (26-25). The Round of 16 will be played on March 10/11 and 17/18; the quarterfinals on April 7/8 and 14/15; the semifinals on April 28/29 and May 5/6; and the final on Saturday, May 30, in Budapest. The star tie will be PSG, the defending champions, against Chelsea, who denied them their first Club World Cup trophy months ago. The last time they met was in the playoff round, where the whites eliminated the English side. Four wins and just one loss further cement the 'blaugrana's' status as favorites. The English side, who reached the Round of 16 after a straightforward playoff against Azerbaijani Qarabag, were twelfth in the group stage with 14 points, just two fewer than Barcelona. Real Madrid and Manchester City will repeat what has become another classic in the Champions League, with another Round of 16 encounter. Meanwhile, Barcelona avoided a tie with PSG and will face Newcastle, and Atlético de Madrid also dodged Liverpool to play Tottenham, which leaves the 'red' team against Galatasaray, the Juventus slayer, and Arsenal, the group stage leader, against Bayer Leverkusen. The draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, with the innocent hand of Croatian Ivan Rakitic, a former Sevilla and Barcelona player with whom he won the 2015 Champions League, brought about this triple La Liga vs. Premier League clash, as well as a replay of the 2025 Club World Cup final, the PSG-Chelsea match, which was settled in favor of the English side in New York. The draw also confirmed that there cannot be a Real Madrid-Barcelona or a Madrid derby until the final on August 30 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, although there can be a quarterfinal clash between the 'blaugrana' and 'rojiblancos'. After overcoming Bruges to be in today's draw, the 'rojiblancos' will play for a spot in the quarterfinals against Tottenham, with the second leg in England. The team coached by Croatian Igor Tudor qualified for the Round of 16 directly, although their performance this season has been somewhat inconsistent. In their 15 previous encounters, wins and losses have been shared, with five for each side and five draws.
