Liverpool's dream and nightmare routes to Champions League final ahead of draw
Liverpool finished top of the initial Champions League table but could yet face a nightmare path to the final, as Arne Slot's prepare for Friday's draw which will map out the knockout phase
by Nathan Ridley · The MirrorThe Champions League last 16 has been decided - and Liverpool are eagerly anticipating the draw for the knockout phase.
From 11am on Friday, the Reds will discover their potential route all the way to this season's final at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Liverpool finished top of the table after the initial league phase, winning all but one of their eight matches.
That earned them direct qualification to the last 16, with seven more teams joining them in January. The other eight sides were decided by an extra play-off round which was completed on Wednesday.
Liverpool fans are now trying to work out the best possible scenario for the draw - and the worst. They already know their first set of possible opponents, as one of Arne Slot's side or Barcelona - who finished second in the table - will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica in the round-of-16.
PSG are considered the strongest of the pair, having thrashed fellow French side Brest 10-0 on aggregate in their play-off clash. Meanwhile, Portuguese giants Benfica survived a late scare against Monaco to advance.
Friday's draw will also confirm which side of the draw Liverpool are placed on, and that'll pre-determine the Reds' potential opponents for the quarter-finals, semi-final and final. Should they beat PSG or Benfica, there are four possible opponents for Slot's men to face in the last eight.
Liverpool would play one of Lille, Aston Villa, Club Brugge or Borussia Dortmund. Given how Villa - managed by European specialist Unai Emery - held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Wednesday and given the fact Dortmund reached last year's final, Reds fans would likely fancy their chances more against Lille or play-off winners Brugge.
Those two, however, were separated by a massive 17 places in the table, with Brugge only scrapping through to the play-offs with a lowly 24th-placed finish. Lille, on the other hand, finished seventh, notably beating holders Real Madrid. They also narrowly lost 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in the league phase, and that was with 10 men.
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The semi-finals would be a sterner test, as Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Feyenoord, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and PSV Eindhoven come into the equation. Feyenoord, Slot's former club, finished lowest in the league phase and overcame AC Milan in the play-off.
Premier League rivals Arsenal were the best of the rest behind Liverpool and Barcelona. The Gunners finished third ahead of Inter, Atletico and Leverkusen in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Should Liverpool make it all the way to the final on Saturday, May 31, they could face any of those previously mentioned sides as well as Barca.
There'll be another draw after the last-16 draw takes places to determine who plays at home first in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Liverpool's dream route to the Champions League final
- Last 16: Benfica
- Quarter-finals: Club Brugge
- Semi-finals: Feyenoord
Liverpool's nightmare route to the Champions League final
Last 16: Paris Saint-Germain
Quarter-finals: Aston Villa
Semi-finals: Real Madrid
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