With the conclusion of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, we now know which 16 teams haveadvanced to the knockout round. However, despite their 2-1 victory against Juventus, Paris Saint-Germaindid not feel like celebrating. That’s because Benfica finished ahead of them in the Champions League group despite being tied with them on four other criteria.
Neither the French nor the Portuguese team needed the midweek’s results to advance to the Round of 16, but both were eager to improve their seeding for the next round. Since both teams had equal records in their matchups against each other, PSG entered the match with a one-goal advantage.
As a consequence of Joao Mario’s goal in stoppage time for Benfica, the two clubs were tied in the standings, having earned the same number of points and having scored the same number of goals, and allowed the same number of goals, respectively. Until Mario gave theEaglesthe lead in awaygoals, it seemed like the decision would come down to yellow cards.
UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Least and most likelyopponents for PSG
As a result, PSG might be pitted against teams like Real Madrid, Bayern, and Manchester City in the next round of the UEFA Champions League, increasing the likelihood that the French club would suffer through yet another disappointing tournament.
Given that top stars like Lionel Messi,Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe will all be competing for the second seeds, the round of 16 is sure to include some epic matchups.In addition, a simulation of the possible pairings revealed that the Parisians may meet Bayern or Napoliin the following round.
This is due to the fact that the Round of 16 draw has three unique requirements:Those who finish first in their respective groups will meet those who finished second, clubs cannot be randomly assigned opponents from the same nation, andclubscannot be drawn against another member of their previous group.
Considering the fact that Benfica are the only squad thatChristophe Galtier’s side can’t face,there is a sizable pool offeasible opponents they may be able to get drawn with. A supercomputer, via Reddit, has predicted that theRed-and-Blues will most likely end up meeting Bundesliga champions Bayernwho have thehighest 19.46 percent chance.
As a close second, Napoli has a 17.11 percent probability of meeting PSG in February. In addition, there is a 13.90percent chance that one of the English clubs — Tottenham,Chelsea, or Manchester City — will be one of the French winners’ nextChampions League adversaries. Eventually, the opponent that PSG are least likely to come across is Lionel Messi’s favorite victim, Real Madrid, with a 10.98 percent chance.
