Winners and losers of the Champions League draw

FT Desk

• 13 Dec 2021 14:54 GMT
• 6 min read

On Monday, the second draw for the 2021-22 Champions League last-16 was conducted and, as ever, it threw out some fascinating fixtures.

After an error-ridden first draw that had to be voided and done again, UEFA then pulled the balls from the bowls one more time and confirmed some interesting fixtures.

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Perhaps the most entertaining of the lot was Paris Saint-Germain being drawn alongside Real Madrid, while Manchester United will have to get the better of Atletico to reach the next round.

So who were the real winners and losers from this season’s draw?

WINNERS

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi's start to life in Paris hasn't exactly gone to plan. Once considered the centre of the footballing universe, the Argentina international has had to endure a gruelling transition period at Paris Saint-Germain.

However, if there is one bright spark of hope for the senior forward, it is the fact that his Champions League form for his new club has been nothing short of remarkable, with five goals in five games.

Now, with Real Madrid to face in the Last 16, Messi can continue his march to another Champions League medal by beating the one club that has stood against him his entire career. And fans of the world's greatest player will undoubtedly adore it.

Chelsea

There is absolutely no doubt that the luckiest team of the 16 clubs remaining in the Champions League is Chelsea.

The Blues finished second in their group behind Juventus after they failed to beat Zenit St Peterburg in Russia on the final matchday.

That left them with the very real risk of an extremely tough draw in the last 16. They could have met Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or high-flying Ajax, but instead were paired with the weakest possible opponent in Lille. Then, when the draw was re-done they were once again pitted against the very same side.

The reigning champions will be feeling even more confident of retaining their trophy now.

Bayern Munich

After finishing their group stage campaign with a 100 percent record, Bayern Munich would have surely fancied their chances against any club left in the competition.

Indeed, when they were first pitted against Atletico Madrid in the first draw, the German giants were considered notable favourites for the tie. Then, in the second draw, they got an even easier foe in Red Bull Salzburg.

Although the Austrian champions have a number of impressive players, they are a club that Bayern will know well and it's highly unlikely that the German giants will face too many problems in the next round.

LOSERS

Serie A

It is no secret that Serie A has been struggling in Europe over recent years. Indeed, the last time an Italian side won the Champions League was back in 2010.

Last week, then Serie A leaders Milan were outplayed and eliminated by Liverpool’s B team, while Atalanta were knocked out by Villarreal.

In the draw for the last 16, Serie A had two representatives and both received fairly tough ties.

Inter were drawn against one of the favourites for the tournament, Liverpool, while Juventus were drawn against Villarreal.

The Nerazzurri will certainly feel aggrieved as they were originally drawn against Ajax in a much more favourable tie, only to eventually get Liverpool in the second take of the botched draw.

Juventus, meanwhile, had a decent draw against Sporting and will now face Villarreal, who naturally come from a stronger competition in Spain.

Real Madrid

No team in Europe will perhaps be as angry at the Champions League draw as Real Madrid.

After topping a tough group alongside Inter, Shakhtar and Sheriff, and in impressive fashion, too, Los Blancos were awarded with the toughest draw possible in Paris Saint-Germain.

With PSG finishing second in their respective group with Manchester City, RB Leipzig and Club Brugge, it was likely we would be treated to a blockbuster clash in the knockout stage, with the French giants facing a group winner.

Real Madrid will now face the star-studded trio of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

The problem is, in the first draw they received winnable tie against Benfica.

The Portuguese side may be a decent side in their own right, but Real Madrid would have been heavily favoured in that one.

Now, however, they have gone from being favourites to the outsiders, having to take on PSG.

UEFA

Each draw for any Champions League round is usually a needlessly long and turgid affair, but this week’s event was at least broken up by some unexpected and certainly unintentional gaffes from the organisers.

In a spotless Zenit St Petersburg suit, Andrey Arshavin was tasked with picking the opponents from one bowl of teams. An easy enough task, if only his colleague had put the correct balls in his bowl.

Instead, Arshavin plucked Man Utd from the potential list of opponents to face the aforementioned Villarreal, even though the English giants couldn’t face their group stage opponents in the next round. The error was quickly fixed but not before a collection of red faces were tasked with carrying on and pretending that nothing had happened.

The situation then got worse – and more serious – when Man Utd were accidentally omitted from the teams who could be drawn against Atletico Madrid.

After various complaints, Uefa eventually made the decision to make the draw again, and many clubs were left furious.