The UEFA Champions League 2021-22 group stage is already in the past. Now, the teams remaining will start the knockout phase with the hope of continuing in the most important soccer competition in Europe. Here, check out when the round of 16 is going to take place.
So far, Ajax, Bayern, Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Lille, Juventus and Manchester United all won their groups. While Paris Saint Germain, Sporting CP, Salzburg, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Benfica and Inter qualified as runner-ups in their respective groups.
The ties will be decided by a draw, which will take place on December 13. For the ties, clubs can’t face another team from the same national association nor opponents they met during the group stage. The ties consist of two legs, with the seeded playing the second leg at home.
When do the 2021-22 Champions League Playoffs begin?
The UCL Playoffs begin on February 15, 2022. The first leg matches are set to be played from Feb. 15 to 23, while the second leg matches are scheduled from March 8 to 16, 2022. All fixtures will begin at 3:00 PM ET.
After the round of 16, there will be another draw to determine the bracket from the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. For this edition, there are some changes. The most important being that the away goals rule was removed.
That means that every tie after the 180 minutes will go to extra time no matter how many goals each team has scored away or at home. This change was implemented due to the decline in home advantage.
