Champions League. "Real" or "Bayern" await "Manchester City" in the playoffs

After 18 matches played simultaneously on the night of January 30, the final table of the Champions League group stage, consisting of 36 clubs, was formed. The teams that took the first eight places immediately went to the 1/8 finals and will wait for their next opponents until spring, while the teams from 9th to 24th places will participate in the play-offs in February. The teams in the last 12 places said goodbye to the tournament.

On January 31, at 16:00 Tashkent time, the draw for the play-offs will be made. The basic principle: every second place in the table is important. For example, the team in 9th place can play the team in 23rd or 24th place (these are also the possible opponents for the team in 10th place). The conditional "Atalanta" or "Borussia Dortmund" or "Sporting" or "Club Brugge" will play. The 11th team will play either the 21st or 22nd team (if the 21st team is placed in the 11th team, then the 22nd team will automatically be the opponent of the 12th team), and so on. According to the UEFA website, this format was developed over six years.

During the draw, balls are first drawn with the 23rd and 24th teams. The first ball drawn is sent to the top of the grid, the second to the bottom. In the official UEFA graphics, this is the left part (silver) and the right part (blue) of the grid. Then the positions of the 21st and 22nd teams are determined. This process continues until the balls with the 9th and 10th clubs are drawn. That is, we already know that the teams ranked 9th to 24th have only two possible opponents. For example, according to the results of the draw, Manchester City will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich (these giants are also potential opponents for Celtic).

There are no restrictions on the draw - representatives of the same country can meet in the play-offs. For example, PSG (15th place) will play Monaco or Brest (17th and 18th places, respectively), while Milan could face Juventus (or Feyenoord).

If teams have played each other in the group stage, this does not prevent them from clashing again in the play-offs. For example, Borussia Dortmund will face Club Brugge with a 50% probability, although they also played in the Champions League in September.

Teams in 9th to 16th place are not only qualified teams, but also have the opportunity to play the return matches in the play-offs at home, which can be called an advantage. A similar scheme is provided for the Europa League and the Conference League in addition to the Champions League.

In all three European cups, there will be another draw after the play-offs. Then the teams will find out their opponents in the top 8. There, too, each club will have two potential opponents. At the moment, it is possible to say that one of Atletico or Bayer will face one of the following four teams: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Celtic.

The possible opponents for Liverpool and Barcelona in the round of 16, who took first and second places in the overall standings, are: 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th team: PSG, Benfica, Monaco or Brest. After the play-offs, two of them will be eliminated from the tournament, and only two options will remain at the final draw (February 21). That is, if Monaco and PSG survive the play-offs, they will face the two best teams from the group stage in the next round.

The two winners of the second play-off (Sporting/Club Brugge - Atalanta/Borussia D) will face Lille and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.

The two winners of the 3rd round (Celtic / Manchester City - Real Madrid / Bayern Munich) will face Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals.

Of the two winners of the 4th round (Feyenoord / Juventus - Milan / PSV), one will play Arsenal in the semi-finals, the other Inter Milan.

The first leg matches will be played on February 11 and 12, with the return matches on February 18 and 19.

The round of 16 matches are scheduled for March 4, 5, 11 and 12. The quarter-finals will be played on April 8, 9, 15 and 16, and the semi-finals on April 29 and 30, as well as May 6 and 7. The final will be held in Munich on May 31.

There is another nuance that is not related to the draw process. New players can be registered for the qualifying matches, this must be done by February 6. If a player has played for another team in the Champions League group stage, this does not prevent him from playing for another team in the playoffs, in particular, Abdukаdir Khusanov can play for City in the Champions League. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”