Champions League draw: The knockout round with the biggest ramifications for the loser

A highly successful round of 16 tie was guaranteed the moment Barcelona and Juventus were placed together in Group G following the draw of the Champions League group stage on 1 October.

That guarantee was sealed last week when Juve beat Barça 3-0 at Camp Nou, ensuring that the former finished first while the latter came second in a group where Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros simply couldn’t compete.

It meant that Barça would face one of Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain or Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, and fate has faced them against French champion PSG.

February’s first leg at the Camp Nou will be their first meeting in four years, as Barça reversed a 4-0 deficit by winning the round of 16 second leg 6-1 at home, scoring three of his goals in the last minutes to complete The comeback – the biggest comeback in the history of the Champions League.

Barça lost their quarter-finals to Juventus in 2016-17, but for PSG the loss had huge ramifications, prompting the French club to sign Neymar from the Catalan club for a world record of € 222 million in one attempt. for becoming a European Force and the end of his long wait for the glory of the Champions League.

That wait still continues for PSG. They were close in August before narrowly losing to Bayern Munich in the final of the 2019-20 season, and now they must overcome a difficult round of 16 meeting to reach the last eight.

Of course, Barça is not the force it was, but this tie is by no means a gift for PSG, and it is difficult to look beyond the fact that there will be major consequences for the club suffering what will undoubtedly be considered a early departure. according to your own standards and expectations.

In February, Barça will have a new president, but their position in the league will depend on whether they have been able to resurrect their form, as they are currently eighth under head coach Ronald Koeman after losing four of their first 11 La Liga games.

Koeman will know that a winning streak is essential to keeping his job, but even a winning streak in the league could come to nothing if he loses to PSG in Europe.

The two-leg issue will also come at a time when Lionel Messi is free to discuss a move with other clubs, unless Barca somehow get the Argentine to sign a new deal beforehand. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner could well wait to find out who makes it to the presidency and who might be in the picture to replace Koeman – presidential favorite Victor Font has sounded Xavi – but it could be the negotiations on the pitch that that decides the future of Messi.

A total defeat to PSG could lead Messi to seek a new challenge, the first of his career at the senior club away from Barça, especially as he enters the twilight of his playing days. If he wins, he could commit to another season or more, especially if those around him – the players, the head coach, the new board – can show him that there is light at the end of this sad tunnel.

For PSG, defeat would also be costly. After a run of four quarter-final starts in the Champions League from 2012-13 to 2015-16, a three-season streak of knockout losses followed before finally reaching the final last season.

The club was finally within walking distance of the trophy, but tears ran down Neymar’s face when he failed to help the French champions pick up the silver they most desired.

The consequences, therefore, could be enormous if they return to the starting point again and taste another defeat in the first knockout stage. Could it be the end for head coach Thomas Tuchel? Could he have Neymar or even Kylian Mbappé seriously considering his future? These are questions PSG hope they don’t have to answer.

Either way, it is undoubtedly the tie of the round, and it seems that Neymar will return, with the ankle injury more “reassuring” than was feared at first.

The Brazilian will be central in this encounter between two forces that cannot allow themselves to think about defeat, and when facing his former team for the first time since he left them in 2017, he knows that he could land a blow that has been felt in Barça for some time. years to come.