RB with hammerless in CL draw
FC Bayern meets Lazio Rome, BVB against PSV
December 18, 2023, 12:19 p.m
Exciting draws in the premier class: On the way to the final of the Champions League at the legendary Wembley in London, FC Bayern will face Lazio in the round of 16. Borussia Dortmund competes against PSV Eindhoven and RB Leipzig has to play against record winners Real Madrid.
FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund have achieved solvable tasks for the round of 16 of the Champions League, RB Leipzig will face record winners Real Madrid. The Munich team will start the knockout phase in February and March against Lazio Rome, who are currently in poor form. The Romans have only won one of the last six league games. BVB competes against PSV Eindhoven, which leads the Dutch league under former Dortmund coach Peter Bosz. This was the result of the draw at the headquarters of the European Football Union in Nyon.
“We knew that there would continue to be difficult tasks. Eindhoven is playing a perfect season at home, with 48 points from 16 games,” said BVB coach Edin Terzić. “We also know Peter Bosz very well from his time here. We’re looking forward to the draw. We have a great chance of moving into the next round.”
The first legs of the first knockout round will be played between February 13th and 21st. Leipzig will then have home advantage, Bayern and BVB will initially play away. The return matches are scheduled between March 5th and 13th. The goal of all remaining teams is the final, which will take place on June 1st at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Munich team had once again made it into the round of 16 with an almost flawless preliminary round. Five wins and one draw meant a confident group victory. Bayern are the clear favorites against Lazio, currently eleventh in the Serie A table.
New Champions League from 2024
Dortmund also won their difficult preliminary group and should have a good chance of progressing against Eindhoven. However, PSV has not lost in 17 competitive games. Leipzig entered the knockout phase in second place behind Manchester City and will start as underdogs against the Real star ensemble. 1. FC Union Berlin, the fourth Bundesliga representative, was eliminated from the European Cup as bottom of the group on its debut in the premier class.
In the other round of 16, defending champions Manchester City will face the surprise team FC Copenhagen, while FC Barcelona will play against the Italian champions SSC Napoli. Paris Saint-Germain caught a supposedly easy opponent in Real Sociedad San Sebastián. Arsenal FC has to play against FC Porto, Inter Milan duels with Atlético Madrid.
It is the last season in this format for the Champions League. From the coming season onwards, the European premium competition will become a kind of league in the preliminary round with 36 clubs, all of which are in a common table. There are then two more group games for each participant. In addition, there will be an additional knockout round for part of the field of participants: the playoffs for the round of 16.