PSG had to finish first in their group to avoid a big one, but it failed.
Blame it on Benfica Lisbon, passed in front at the last minute of the final day.
The club of the capital must now turn to the draw which takes place Monday, November 7 in Nyon (Switzerland), with fear in the stomach.
As usual, by finishing second in their group, the club from the capital is sure to come across a group leader.
PSG can expect a big fish
Among the heavyweights to avoid,
Real Madrid
,
Manchester City
, and
Bayern Munich
are the scarecrow.
The people of Madrid, the most successful club in the history of the Champions League, could revive the same nightmare as last year for Parisians, at the same stage of the competition.
Another executioner of Parisians in recent years, Pep Guardiola's men could stand in the way of PSG, after having deprived them of the final in 2021. Last "big" to avoid and not least, Bayern Munich.
The Bavarians have, like every year, impressed from the group stages, being the only club to finish with 18 points, despite being in the "group of death" with Inter Milan and FC Barcelona.
Tottenham or Porto to breathe?
Among the more affordable draws,
Tottenham
showed great difficulty in getting out of a group within its reach with Olympique de Marseille in particular.
Porto
also suffered to get rid of Bayer Leverkusen, Brugge, and Atletico Madrid.
Another possible opponent,
Napoli
, leaders of Serie A, finished ahead of Liverpool but could see their momentum dampened by the World Cup.
Chelsea, European champions 2021, seem to have lost their luster and could be an affordable opponent.
Answer Monday, November 7.
The round of 16 will start on February 14/15, and February 21/22 for the first leg.
The return matches will take place the week of March 7 and 14.
Each year, the football statistician MisterChip makes statistical projections of possible opponents according to the rules of the draw for the round of 16 (two teams from the same country cannot meet, two teams having played in pools cannot to meet).
Thus, Paris would have an 18% chance of falling on Bayern, 14% on City, 11% on Madrid or 17% for Napoli.
Aquí tenéis la tabla con todas las probabilidades de todos los possible emparejamientos del sorteo de octavos de finale de la #UCL 2022-23.
Hay casi un 40% de opciones de que enfrenten Bayern (pleno en el grupo de la muerte) y Liverpool (mejor segundo de todos los tiempos).
pic.twitter.com/XX28zTuF8w
— MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) November 2, 2022
Hats :
1: Bayern, City, Madrid, Chelsea, Tottenham, Porto, Napoli, Benfica
2: Liverpool, PSG, Leipzig, Dortmund, Bruges, Inter Milan, Frankfurt, AC Milan