Champions League round of 16: Who’s playing? Where is it? When is it? How will it work?

On Monday, December 18, two English clubs will find out their fate in the Champions League last-16 draw.

Holders Manchester City and Arsenal advanced to the next round of matches after winning their groups, but Scottish champions Celtic, Newcastle, and Manchester United were eliminated from Europe completely. 

Who has passed through to the last draw?

Seeded: Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad.

Unseeded: Copenhagen, Inter Milan, Lazio, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Paris St-Germain, Porto, PSV Eindhoven.

Where and when is the draw?

At 11:00 GMT on Monday, December 18, the Champions League last-16 draw will take place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

How does the draw work?

All unseeded teams who placed second in a previous group will be picked to face the seeded teams from each group. Clubs from the same nation or teams from the same group cannot be drawn by teams.

The last 16 will be played when?

In February 2024, on February 13 and 14, and on February 20 and 21, the first two legs of the last 16 will be played; the second legs will take place on March 5 and 6, 2023. Together, on Friday, March 15, the quarterfinal and semifinal drawings will be placed.

How the group stage finished

Group A

• Bayern Munich – 16pts
• FC Copenhagen – 8pts
• Galatasaray – 5pts
• Manchester United – 4pts

Four losses from their six group games meant that Manchester United finished bottom in Group A. The Red Devils finished last in their group for the first time since 2005–06, and it was their sixth consecutive failure to advance to the Champions League knockout rounds.

Galatasaray advanced to the Europa League play-offs knockout stage.Bayern Munich, the group champions, made it to the round of 16 with two games remaining, while Copenhagen made it to the next round for the first time since 2010–11.

Group B

• Arsenal – 12pts
• PSV Eindhoven – 8pts
• Lens – 5pts
• Sevilla – 2pts

PSV Eindhoven finished as runners-up after five games, while Arsenal emerged victorious from the group with one game remaining. To qualify for the Europa League, Lens had to win their last game against Sevilla.

Group C

Real Madrid – 18pts

Napoli – 10pts

Sporting Braga – 4pts

Union Berlin – 2pts

Sporting Braga lost to Napoli on matchday six, sending the Portuguese team into the Europa League and Napoli into second position. After winning all six of their games in Group C, Real Madrid advanced to the knockout stages for the 26th time in a row. The club’s inaugural Champions League season saw Union Berlin finish bottom in Group C.

Group D

Real Sociedad – 12pts

Inter Milan – 12pts

Salzburg – 4pts

Benfica – 1pt

Despite having the same head-to-head record, Real Sociedad emerged victorious in Group D, ahead of Inter Milan on goal differential. After a late goal by Arthur Cabral gave the Portuguese champions a 3-1 victory on the last matchday, Benfica overtook Red Bull Salzburg for third place.

It indicated that the teams had equal standings at the end in terms of goals scored, points, and head-to-head records. However, goals scored helped Benfica finish third; Roger Schmidt’s team scored seven goals compared to Salzburg’s four.

Group E

Atletico Madrid – 14pts

Lazio – 10pts

Feyenoord – 6pts

Celtic – 4pts

Feyenoord has been relegated to the Europa League, and Celtic has been eliminated, while Atletico Madrid defeated Lazio 2-0 in the decisive match to secure the top position in Group E.

Group F

Borussia Dortmund – 11pts

Paris Saint-Germain – 8pts

AC Milan – 8pts

Newcastle United – 5pts

After a 1-1 draw in their last match, Borussia Dortmund emerged victorious, followed by Paris St-Germain in second place. Newcastle was only 45 minutes away from the Champions League knockout rounds when they lost 2-1 at home to AC Milan, who had already secured a Europa League berth. As a result, Newcastle was eliminated.

Group G

Manchester City – 18pts

RB Leipzig – 12pts

Young Boys – 4pts

Red Star Belgrade – 1pt

Young Boys came in third place, with bottom team Red Star Belgrade failing to win any of their games, while Manchester City, the group winner, and runners-up RB Leipzig advanced to the round of 16 with two games remaining.

Group H

Barcelona – 12pts

FC Porto – 12pts

Shakhtar Donetsk – 9pts

Royal Antwerp – 3pts

For the first time in three seasons, Barcelona is participating in the knockout stages. After defeating Shakhtar Donetsk, who finished third, 5-3, Porto advanced to the round of 16, while the bottom has been taken by Royal Antwerp.