Champions League draw sets the stage for riveting quarterfinals as favorites avoid unseeded Inter and PSG

Man City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Arsenal all have relatively easy paths to the quarterfinals

By James Benge

Dec 18, 2023 at 8:05 am ET • 3 min read

Getty Images

The Champions League's round of 16 draw sets the stage for European's titans to slug it out in pursuit of the continent's ultimate prize. You're just going to have to wait a little while longer to see who lands the first blow.

Barcelona are in for a struggle against Napoli, a team as well suited as any to probe the deficiencies in Xavi's backline (the Joao Cancelo of 2023 might not have much of an answer to Kvicha Kvaratskhelia). Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid will presumably rain down blows on each other for the right to be the competition's dark horse.

However, the four favorites on the betting markets prior to the draw will feel their place among the leading contenders is even more assured thanks to the magic of the ping pong balls. Manchester City picked up Copenhagen. Bayern Munich will meet up with a Lazio side that has a negative goal difference in Serie A for a reason. Arsenal might find that Porto are a tough out, well versed in the dark arts of the knockout rounds, but there is precious little in their attack that ought to induce fear in William Saliba et al. Real Madrid, ravaged by ACL injuries, would be the least happy with their lot but RB Leipzig have hardly set the continent alight.

Those four can probably be pencilled into the quarterfinals, which already look like they should have the ideal balance needed for this competition to really catch light. In general you would want all the very best to make it to the business end of the tournament, ideally supplemented by one surprise addition who have laid low the big name with the glass jaw. Real Sociedad have drawn Paris Saint-Germain by the way.

Add into the mix from the Italy-Spain clashes, two fringe contenders eminently capable of winning it all -- Inter in particular could put together a run approximating Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea -- and you're almost there. The final tie between Borussia Dortmund and PSV Eindhoven is something of a win-even bigger win scenario. Either the quarterfinals get a side with a pathological addiction to the dramatic or they get the every shot, everywhere all at once energy of Johan Bakayoko and Noa Lang.

Don't miss CBS Sports Golazo Network's Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.

Given the state of the field, a good quarterfinals was perhaps all this competition could really hope for. This season's Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen would add true depth of quality, without them the grouping of genuine elite seems diminished. Even if Jurgen Klopp and Xabi Alonso were in the mix, however, they would not solve the essential heliocentrism of the 2023-24 Champions League. More so than any tournament in recent memory, there is a likely winner, a chasm and the rest. Nothing the round of 16 has thrown up could have changed that, certainly not Copenhagen against Manchester City.

Stopping the holders from retaining might just be a task beyond anyone, especially if Pep Guardiola finds himself blessed with fully fit versions of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Erling Haaland in the new year. But there are those who will have a puncher's chance against City. So far, it looks like they won't be knocking each other out before they face heavyweight opposition.