Who Atletico Madrid can get in the Champions League last 16 draw
Atletico Madrid are through to the last 16 of the 2021/22 Champions League, with fans now eagerly awaiting who the club's next opponent will be.
This is everything you need to know about the last 16 draw and which clubs are available to face...
How Atletico Madrid qualified for the Champions League last 16
Atletico Madrid finished a distant second behind Liverpool in Group B and have reached the knockout stages with the lowest points tally among any of the 16 qualifiers - just seven.
A place in the last 16 was secured on matchday six away against Porto when both teams were battling for that place. That and away in Milan on matchday two were Atletico's only two wins, surprisingly taking only one point from a possible nine at home.
Who Atletico Madrid can get in the Champions League last 16 draw
The draw splits group winners and runners-up into seeds and non-seeds. At this stage all group winners will be kept apart, while no club be drawn with another from the same country. Atletico also cannot be paired with Liverpool by virtue of qualifying from the same group.
With Real Madrid also obviously off the table, Atletico will be randomly drawn against any of the other six group winners available to them. That means they will be facing one of Manchester City, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Lille or Juventus.
Lille would be most favourable of those options and they would probably be favourites against a struggling Juventus. But Ajax cannot be underestimated after taking maximum points from the group stage, Manchester United are an unknown quantity, and Manchester City and Bayern Munich are among the favourites to lift the trophy.
When is the Champions League last 16 draw?
UEFA will make the draw for the Champions League last 16 on Monday 13 December 2021. It will start from 11am in the UK (12pm CET) and will be live streamed on UEFA’s website and YouTube channel.
When will the Champions League last 16 be played?
Heading into 2022, last 16 first leg ties will be split across consecutive weeks on either 15/16 February or 22/23 February. The return legs will follow on 8/9 March or 15/16 March.
As group runners-up, Atletico will have to play the first leg at Wanda Metropolitano.
This is the first season in which the away goals rule has been scrapped, so extra-time is guaranteed if the aggregate score is level at the end of the second leg.
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