Champions League, the qualifiers: here's who goes to the round of 16 and who goes to the playoffs

Milan, 29 January 2025 - The first phase of the Champions League 2024/25 edition. After 18 matches played simultaneously, here are the first verdicts, with the teams qualified for the round of XNUMX, those for the playoffs and those eliminated. Of the Italian teams, only theInter wins a place in the round of 16. Atalanta (ninth), Milan (thirteenth) and Juventus (twentieth) will be involved in the play-offs. 

The teams in the round of 16 

Liverpool, Barcelona, ​​Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa are the teams already confirmed to play the round of 16. 

Who in the playoffs

Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Paris Saint Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord, Juventus, Celtic, Manchester City, Sporting Lisbon and Bruges are the teams that will have to fight for the pass to the round of 16 through the play-offs. 

The path of the Italians

Inter awaits in the round of 13 one of the winners of the matches between 14th (Milan) or 19th (PSV) and 20th (Feyenoord) or 23th (Juventus). Atalanta will face in the play-offs one of the matches between 24rd (Sporting Lisbon) and 19th (Bruges). Milan will draw one of the 20th (Feyenoord) and 13th (Juventus). Juventus will face one of the 14th (Milan) or XNUMXth (PSV).

The draws

The play-off pairings will be drawn in Nyon on Friday. Clubs are paired according to their positions at the end of the group stage to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13 and 14 and 15 and 16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21 and 22 and 23 and 24). The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn against the teams in each unseeded pair, as follows: club 9th or 10th v club 23rd or 24th, club 11th or 12th v club 21st or 22nd, club 13th or 14th v club 19th or 20th and club 15th or 16th v club 17th or 18th. The teams ranked ninth to sixteenth will have the advantage of playing the second leg of the play-off at home. The first leg matches are scheduled for February 11 and 12, while the second leg matches are scheduled for February 18 and 19. The draw for the pairings for the round of 21 will take place on Friday, February XNUMX. 

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