FC Barcelona, Atletico And Bayern To Face Italians In European Knockouts
Italian clubs will host Spanish and German giants in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16.
Make no mistake, Inter, Napoli and Lazio go into these battles as underdogs, with every result counting towards next season’s reformed competition where the leading two European leagues will receive an extra spot. Serie A currently leads the UEFA association coefficient standings.
Which Serie A clubs qualified for European knockouts?
All seven Serie A representatives – including Roma, Milan, Fiorentina and Atalanta – will take part in the various UEFA club knockout stages. Of the remaining 16 UCL teams, Lazio is considered a rank outsider with Napoli touted as the dark horse and Inter, last season’s finalists, the most likely to qualify for a semi-final. Teams from the same country were not able to be drawn against each other.
The Maradona Derby is back
Defending Italian champions Napoli will host FC Barcelona at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The Partenopei, currently fifth in the Serie A standings, have never beaten the Blaugrana in four previous competitive clashes. In 2020, the two clubs played out a 4-2 aggregate win for Messi’s Barca in the Champions League last 16, then Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli were humbled 5-3 in the 2021-22 Europa League playoffs.
Lazio will meet tournament joint-favourites Bayern Munich at the Stadio Olimpico. The Biancocelesti were swept aside 6-2 on aggregate when the pair met in the 2020-21 second round when former coach Simone Inzaghi was at the helm.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan will entertain Atletico Madrid in the first leg at the San Siro. The two heavyweights have only ever met before in the UEFA Super Cup final of 2010, back when Javier Zanetti’s side lost 2-0 courtesy of goals by Jose Antonio Reyes and Sergio Aguero. Atletico occupies fourth place in La Liga at the time of writing.
The Italy-Spain merry-go-round began in the group stage where Napoli lost twice to Real Madrid, Lazio drew and lost to Atletico Madrid, and Inter were fortunate to extract two draws from Real Sociedad. From here, it will be up to Victor Osimhen, Ciro Immobile and Lautaro Martinez to help their respective sides into the quarter-finals.
The complete 2023-24 UCL Last 16 draw:
- Napoli vs Barcelona
- Lazio vs Bayern Munich
- Inter vs Atletico Madrid
- FC Copenhagen vs Manchester City
- RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid
- Porto vs Arsenal
- PSV Eindhoven vs Borussia Dortmund
- Paris Saint Germain vs Real Sociedad
Key dates following the Round of 16:
- Quarter-finals: April 9/10 and 16/17, 2024
- Semi-finals: April 30/May 1, 2024
- Champions League Final: June 1, 2024 at Wembley Stadium, London.
Europa League Playoffs
The UEFA Europa League (UEL) playoffs were also decided in Monday’s draw but unlike Milan and Roma, Atalanta was not involved. Fans will turn their attention to the playoff round where Champions League (UCL) third-placed group sides are pitted against the runner-up from each UEL group. The winners progress to the last 16 to join the UEL group stage winners.
Which Italian teams qualified for the UEL last 16?
Atalanta has already qualified for the UEL last 16 as one of eight group winners, along with West Ham, Brighton, Rangers, Liverpool, Villareal, Slavia Prague and Bayer Leverkusen. Group winners were not involved in the draw, advancing automatically to the last 16.
The eight runners-up from the UEL group stages were seeded, and the eight UCL group third-placed teams were unseeded. Milan, who finished third in their UCL group after rallying to defeat Newcastle United, will contest the UEL knockout round. With Roma clinching second spot in Group G, the Giallorossi are seeded.
Milan will host Rennes in the first leg on February 15th, with Roma travelling to Rotterdam for a replay of the 2022 Conference League Final with Feyenoord.
- Milan vs Rennes
- Feyenoord vs Roma
- Galatasaray vs Sparta Prague
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Marseille
- Braga vs Qarabag
- Benfica vs Toulouse
- Lens vs Freiburg
- Young Boys vs Sporting Lisbon
What are the rules for the UEL playoffs?
Each tie consists of a seeded and unseeded team, with the seeded team hosting the second leg on February 22nd. Teams from the same country were not able to be drawn against each other.
After the UEL knockout round playoffs are sown up, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium is the final destination in May. Liverpool and Milan are the UEL favourites alongside Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Galatasaray and Benfica.
- Knockout round play-offs: February 15 & 22, 2024
- Round of 16: March 7 and 14, 2024
- Quarter-finals: April 11 and 18, 2024
- Semi-finals: May 2 and May 9, 2024
- Europa League Final: May 22, 2024 at Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Europa Conference League
Fiorentina topped their Conference League (UECL) group and advanced straight to the last 16, avoiding the playoff round. So too has Lille, Viktoria Plzen, Club Brugge, Aston Villa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, PAOK and Fenerbahce.
Demoted from the UEL after finishing third in their respective groups, Ajax, Olympiacos, Union Saint-Gilloise, Real Betis, Servette, Sturm Graz, Maccabi Haifa and Molde all drop into the knockouts with unseeded status.
UECL Group runners-up Gent, Dinamo Zagreb, Ludogorets, Legia Warsaw, Bodo/Glimt, Ferencvaros, Slovan Bratislava, and Eintracht Frankfurt were all seeded for the playoff round. Teams from the same country were not able to be drawn against each other.
The completed 2023-24 UECL Playoff round:
- Ajax vs Bodo/Glimt
- Real Betis vs Dinamo Zagreb
- Sturm Graz vs Slovan Bratislava
- Servette vs Ludogorets
- Molde vs Legia Warsaw
- Olimpiacos vs Ferencvaros
- Union SG vs Frankfurt
- Maccabi Haifa vs Gent
The schedule for the knockout stages:
- Knockout round play-offs: February 15 & 22, 2024
- Round of 16: March 7 & 14, 2024
- Quarter-finals: April 11 & 18, 2024
- Semi-finals: May 2 & 9, 2024
- Final: May 29, 2024 at AEK Arena, Athens.
Last season’s finalists, Fiorentina, along with Aston Villa and Eintracht Frankfurt, are the favourites for the trophy. Roma, the 2021-22 UEFC champions, were the inaugural winners of the tournament.
