Real Madrid will take on Liverpool in the Champions League Round of 16 after the draw held at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon. The first leg will be played away from home on 21 February, with the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on 15 March. Both games will kick off at 9pm CET. Real Madrid are the only Spanish team left standing in the UEFA Champions League after finishing at the top of Group F. Rivals Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have all been eliminated from the competition.
The draw’s usual procedure: Two seeding pots were formed: one consisting of the eight group winners (seeded teams) and the other of the eight runners-up (unseeded teams). No team could be drawn against a club from their group or any side from their own association. Seeded group winners were drawn away in the round of 16 first legs and at home in the return matches.
Although they have been temporarily displaced by Barcelona at the Spanish summit after a few struggling performances and although they did lose to Leipzig, Carlo Ancelotti's side are still among the favorites heading into this knockout phase despite Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema's increasing fragility of late. However, the World Cup may be turn out very determinative on the form of the players and both Real and Liverpool have plenty of players representing their National Teams.
Karim Benzema has enjoyed his time against the Reds. Benzema has 16 goals in 23 Champions League appearances against English clubs in all, which is his best return against sides from any single nation. He'll want to increase that total against Liverpool after scoring seven against English sides last season as Real Madrid won the Champions League for the 14th time.
Jurgen Klopp's side finished second in Group A, level on 15 points with Napoli, heading into the last 16 following a 100% record at home and only losing away to the Italian outfit. Salah's seven goals see him among the top scorers in this season's Champions League. The Reds are currently eighth in the Premier League and have had a middling start to the season, while they have also been hit with injuries. But with the Round of 16 fixtures set to be played in February and March, they might have a full-strength roster by then.
Real Madrid and Liverpool have played each other nine times in European competitions, with the Whites having won five times, drawn once and lost three times. The last time the teams met was in the final of La Decimocuarta. The Merengues had beaten Liverpool in the finals of the 2017/18 season and had overcome Jurgen Klopp’s brigade in the quarter-finals of the 2020/21 campaign. The Whites have not lost a match to the Reds in their previous six meetings. That last victory came in the round of 16 on a famous night at Anfield in in 2009 when Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres inspired the home side to a 4-0 win.
Full last-16 draw:
Leipzig-Manchester City
Club Bruges-Benfica
Liverpool-Real Madrid
AC Milan-Tottenham
Eintracht Frankfurt-Napoli
Borussia Dortmund-Chelsea
Inter Milan-Porto
PSG-Bayern Munich
After the draw, it was Real Madrid's Director of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueño, whogave his thoughts on the Champions League round of 16 draw in Nyon: "It's a re-run of the last final. Two historic teams. It will certainly be a thrilling tie, exciting for the fans and it's something we're going to relish. We're the champions and we're going to try to defend the title, well aware of who we're up against. It's going to be a very exciting tie and we'll be doing all we can to make it into the quarter-final.
He added: "The World Cup is going to affect the whole season and we'll see what shape the players come back in. It's going to have an impact, but hopefully we'll be able to go into this tie in perfect shape and in the best physical condition, but the World Cup will obviously disrupt everything".
On Liverpool’s form and expetations: "The game is in February. They're a winning team and a winning club. They have a stadium that really gets behind them. They're going to be a very tough opponent, we know that, but we're Real Madrid and everyone understands what this competition means to us. We're the champions and we're going to enjoy it as much as we can. The second leg is at the Bernabéu in front of our fans, we all know that means and so does everyone in Europe. We'll do everything we can. We believe in our players and we'll see what happens".
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