UEFA Champions League Draws: Arsenal and Man City set to face the demons in Europe

The last matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage had plenty of talking points, ranging from upsets to down-the-wire, nail-biting thrillers as 16 teams made their way to the next stage of the competition. England and Germany maintained clean bill of participation as all 8 teams from the two countries made it to the second round. Italy was at a major loss, as only AC Milan managed to scrape through.

Old Lady is sent home by Sneijder and Co.

The major upset came in the form of Juventus. The Old Lady were knocked out by Galatasaray in what was described as a dangerous and controversial, winner-takes-all match in Istanbul. The Turin outfit managed only one win in its 6 European outings and their points tally of 6 was not enough, their 1-1 away draw to FC Copenhagen playing a major role.

Chelsea suffered the same fate last season as they were knocked out by Shakhtar and Juventus in what sounded like an easy group at first. It was the same case for Juvetus this time around. They strengthened their side from last season with the addition of Tevez and Llorente but couldn’t stamp their authority in the matches as their 3-5-2 formation was ripped apart time and again. Antonio Conte addressed this issue by shifting to a back four, but the damage had already been done.

Group of Death spells doom for Rafa Benitez, Milan get the money.

Probably the most dramatic moment of this season’s UCL came from Group F, or Group of Death. Manchester City had the honor of getting themselves placed in the Group of Death in the previous seasons. But it was Arsenal’s turn this season.

Dortmund were pretty much accustomed to playing big teams in the first round, so it was usual business for them. Despite a big list of injuries, Klopp’s men topped the group after a nervy 2-1 away win at Marseille yesterday, knocking Napoli out, on goal difference.

Rafa Benitez was optimistic of his new team’s chances of qualification to the next stage before the competition began, but he couldn’t guide his injury struck team to glory like Klopp did with his team. Instead, Benitez and Napoli will now play in the Europa League along with Juventus on Thursday nights. This particular development will aid another Italian team, AC Milan.

Milan too had a nervy outing against Ajax on Wednesday, as all they needed was a draw to go through to next round. Ricardo Montolivo’s red card in 22nd minute didn’t help them one bit, but a determined Milan side led by Kaka, scraped through to earn a point on the night, and consequently, qualification to the knockout stage.

AC Milan will benefit financially from the qualification, with they, being the only Italian team in the knockout rounds and the TV money which gets allocated for the leagues of each nation filling the coffers in the red side of Milan. With no other team present to share the TV revenue, Milan will take home huge chunk of cash, should they manage to reach the Quarterfinals or further.

Pellegrini in need of a Math Tutor

Moving on to funnier side of things, Manuel Pellegrini will be kicking himself for not getting that one goal which could have sent his team to the top of Group D, and subsequently, pit Bayern against the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd, Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Round of 16.

Instead, now, they are the ones in the firing line along with Arsenal, who could potentially face any of Bayern (for Arsenal), Barcelona, Dortmund (for Man City), Real Madrid, Athetico Madrid and PSG. This gives us four explosive encounters involving Man City and Arsenal to relish in February.

Perhaps, a better math education for Pellegrini would have helped them avoid this inconvenience. But on the bright side, City have reached the second round for the first time in 3 years.

Round of 16, Permutations & Matchups

The draw for the Round of 16 of the Champions League will be held on 16th of December. These matches will be played in February and March, with two legged ties deciding the 8 quarter-final teams. A few rules which come into play for the draw are:

a) Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

b) The winners and runners-up of the same group cannot be drawn against each other.

c) The group-winners cannot be drawn against each other.

d) The runners-up cannot be drawn against each other.

e) The runners-up must play the first leg at home

This is how the pots look for the draw.

Pot 1	Pot 2
Barcelona	Bayer Leverkusen
Real Madrid	Olympiacos
Manchester United	Galatasaray
Chelsea	Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund	Arsenal
Athletico Madrid	AC Milan
Bayern Munich	Schalke
PSG	Zenit St.Petersburg

According to the above rules, Man Utd and Chelsea cannot be drawn against Man City or Arsenal, same goes for clubs from other leagues. But the advantage Man Utd and Chelsea enjoy is that, the other two English teams are the only strong ones in Pot 2. The others teams in Pot 2 are potentially easier opponents, relatively.

So, clubs outside England will be the ones hoping not to get drawn against Arsenal or City. It might as well be the other way round as Pot 1 has some very big teams, capable of winning the competition.

For Manchester City

This team has the quality to win any competition in the world. With arguably the third best player on the planet in Aguero, and likes of Yaya Toure, Navas and Silva, they can beat any team in the world on their day. Their only problem has been the lack of composure while executing a game plan. The frequent switch-off’s and set piece vulnerability will be a major concern for them.

The knockout rounds is a new territory for Man City. Over the years, their only knockout matches have been in regional cups. Champions League presents a challenge at a whole new level. Though Pellegrini has decent experience in the competition, it will be up to the players to deliver on the pitch against strong oppositions in PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Man City have failed to contain the attacks of teams in the local league, and now they are likely to face some of the fiercest attacks in the world. In PSG, they face the big men in Ibrahimovic and Cavani. Joe Hart will be a keen customer, should City draw PSG.

Barcelona might have gone down in unorthodox fashion in Europe last season, but this season has been different. They don’t have much possession of the ball, and have been concentrating more on retaining their shape in defensive situations.

If Messi remains injured, a contest between Barcelona and Man City will be a tight affair. A discussion on City’s matchup against Real Madrid can be rested. Ancelotti and Real Madrid is a combination no team would like to face, as there is clearly only one winner on all grounds.

For Arsenal

Unlike Man City, Arsenal are accustomed to playing in all stages of the Champions League, including the final. In the English League, they have been a real force this season, with only Everton proving a tough opponent for them. Their defense has been one of the best in the league, though one can argue the quality of the opponents they faced.

With the quality and experience they possess, Arsenal are capable of producing positive results against the likes of Barcelona or PSG, but Real Madrid and Bayern Munich pose an unprecedented threat in terms of squad depth and the managers in charge. Athletico Madrid is probably the easier opponent for both City and Arsenal, but one can only wait and see.

More on Champions League after the draw on 16th.