Zidane, on Valdebebas's bench.AFP7 via Europa Press / Europa Press
Despite the fact that Real Madrid was the Spanish team that went through the most difficulties to close the classification to the knockout stages of the Champions League, now it is the one that comes more calmly to the draw to be held this Monday at 12.00 (Movistar Champions League ) in Nyon.
Zidane's men managed to pass as first in the group, the only Spanish club to do so, so they avoid facing the seeds, among which are the best teams in the tournament.
Barcelona and Sevilla, who had the classification to the second round assured, let the leadership slip away falling defeated in their own stadiums against Juventus and Chelsea, respectively.
Atlético, meanwhile, could do little to challenge Bayern Munich for first place and managed to close the pass on the last day.
The three will start in the draw from pot 2, which guarantees them a tall rival.
For this draw, the potential difference between the seeds and the runners-up is remarkable.
In Pot 1, in addition to Real Madrid, there are Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Dortmund, Juventus and PSG, all elite teams with prospects of going far in the Champions League.
On the other hand, in the second pot, apart from the Spanish teams, there are Mönchengladbach, Porto, Atalanta, Lazio and Leipzig, clubs with more humble aspirations.
UEFA regulations stipulate that teams from the same country or those that have already met in the group stage cannot yet meet.
In this way, Madrid can only be matched with Porto, Atalanta, Lazio or Leipzig.
The Portuguese are the least renowned of possible rivals, the only one who does not belong to one of the major European leagues (England, Spain, Germany, France or Italy), but these types of confrontations are the ones that are choking him. Madrid this season.
The toughest rival, a priori, would be Leipzig.
The Germans reached the semifinals for the first time in their history after eliminating Atlético last season, and in this they have left Manchester United, relegated to the Europa League, on the way.
The rest of the Spanish know that they will have a tough duel for sure.
Borussia Dortmund, who fired their coach this Sunday, would be the preferred rival since, despite having immense potential, they are not fully exploiting it in Europe and in their league.
On the contrary, Bayern Munich is the rival to avoid in the draw.
Barcelona and Sevilla have the recent memory of painful defeats against the Bavarians.
Simeone saved measured with them after sufrirles in the group stage, but could be
reunited with Cristiano Ronaldo after two years of
which
the Portuguese Champions dismount them a
hat-trick
in Turin.
The playoffs will begin on February 16 and the return matches will be played almost a month later, on March 9.
The seeds are secured the field factor for the second leg matches, in which the members of the quarterfinals will be decided.
Once the playoffs are over, another draw will be held on March 19 where the draw for the rest of the tournament will be set up.
The quarterfinals will begin on April 6, the semi-finals will begin on April 27 and the final on May 29 at Istanbul's Atatürk Stadium.
