Liverpool are waiting to discover who they could face in the Champions League round of 16 next month
Liverpool are waiting to discover who they could face in the Champions League round of 16
Liverpool are waiting to discover who they could face in the Champions League round of 16(Image: Francesco Scaccianoce - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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Liverpool are still no nearer to discovering their potential opponents in the Champions League knockout stages after a dramatic round of play-off games.
The Reds progressed directly to the last 16 by virtue of finishing in third place in the opening league table behind Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
The UEFA draw path means Arne Slot's side already know they and fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur will face one of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge and Galatasaray in the first knockout round, with the quartet having finished 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th in the table respectively.
Those four teams have been paired off into two play-off games, the first leg of which took place in midweek with the return matches taking place next week.
And Wednesday evening saw a dramatic encounter in Belgium with Club Brugge, for whom former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet started, snatching an equaliser with one minute of normal time remaining to earn a 3-3 draw against Atletico.
The home side had been unfortunate to find themselves 2-0 down at half-time before dragging themselves back on level terms by the hour, only to concede an own goal with 11 minutes to go.
The previous day saw Galatasaray take a strong grip on their tie against Juventus by claiming a 5-2 win in the first leg in Istanbul.
Juventus, who came from behind to lead 2-1 at half-time thanks to a Teun Koopmeiners brace before slipping 3-2 in arrears by the hour mark, were hampered by a red card for two bookable offences by Juan Cabal midway through the second half, which allowed the home team to twice further their advantage during the closing 15 minutes.
With the Italian side having never before overturned a three-goal deficit in Europe, Galatasaray - who beat Liverpool 1-0 in the league stage in September - are odds-on favourites to progress.
Liverpool will discover their round of 16 opponents and their full path to the final when the draw takes place in Nyon on Friday week. The first knockout round takes place on March 10/11 and March 17/18.