The Champions League has been reduced from 32 to 16 teams, with the group stages now concluded and those who will participate in the knockout rounds known.
All four Spanish sides have booked their places in the last 16, with Real Madrid the only of the four to win their group. Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, meanwhile, face tough draws on Monday, having qualified in second place.
Real Madrid, by winning their group, will avoid draws against Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea and Dortmund will probably be seen as the weaker of the group winners, but it looks like the three LaLiga Santander sides are in for difficult draws ahead of the post-Christmas rounds.
RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Lazio…
Real Madrid, though, should face a more comfortable draw. As group winners, they cannot face Borussia Monchengladbach in the next round, nor any of the Spanish sides.
Angelino and his RB Leipzig teammates, who were semi-finalists last season, will be ones to avoid, as will Ciro Immobile’s Lazio.
Gian Piero Gasperini and his Atalanta side are back in the knockout rounds and, having won at Anfield and in Amsterdam, they look serious again.
Porto are another side that they could come up against.
