Luck is on Barça's side in the Champions League draw

BarcelonaBarça's path in the Champions League knockout stages 24-25 has been set. Hansi Flick's team will face Portuguese side Benfica in the round of 16, with the return leg at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on March 11 at 6:45 p.m. The first leg will be on the 5th at 9 p.m. The Lisbon side were the Blaugrana's opponents a few weeks ago in the league phase of the top continental competition. The match ended 4-5 at Da Luz in favour of the Barcelona team. The other big news from the draw that took place this Friday in Nyon is that there will be a Madrid derby in the round of 16. Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid will wear each other out in the continental fight, which could have positive effects for Barça in the League.

The round of 16, which will be played on March 4 and 5 and March 11 and 12, have been drawn as follows:

• Club Brugge - Aston Villa
• Borussia Dortmund - Lille
• Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid
• Bayern Munich - Bayer Leverkusen
• PSV Eindhoven - Arsenal
• Feyenoord - Inter Milan
• PSG - Liverpool
• Benfica - Barça

The draws have also determined what Barça's path to the final could be. Not only do the Blaugranas have an inferior opponent on paper to the Champions League last 16, but in a hypothetical quarter-final they would play the winner of Borussia Dortmund-Lilla, with the return leg away from Montjuïc. In the semi-finals they would face Bayern, Leverkusen, Feyenoord or Inter Milan, with the return leg also away from home. This means they avoid Liverpool, PSG and Madrid until a hypothetical final. The quarter-finals will be between 8 and 16 April, and the semi-finals will be played between 29 April and 6 May. The final will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich on 31 May.