Liverpool and Real Madrid face off in last 16

The finalists of the last edition of the Champions League will once again face off, on this occasion in the last 16. Liverpool and Real Madrid have been drawn together in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Kings of Europe, Real Madrid, are the only Spanish team left in the last 16. They are the only team flying the flag for La Liga with a first place which they nearly lost in Germany, but they managed to secure with an easy win over Celtic. That was proof that Carlo Ancelotti's men are playing very well.
Karim Benzema had to be the main man this season after what he showed in the 2021-22 season. However, the Frenchman has taken a back seat this season. Vinicius has taken on his role and he is among the best players in the world. As well as Vinicius, Rodrygo has been very good, especially in the Champions League and Fede Valverde is having the highest goalscoring season of his career.
This Madrid, however, would not make sense without Thibaut Courtois. In a year which is seeing Alaba not at his best, the Belgian is always excellent in goal to prevent any goalscoring opportunities in the area.
Real Madrid qualified as top of their group after a brilliant victory against Celtic, in which they also got back a player of Marco Asensio's calibre. Without Benzema's usual quality and without another number 9, Ancelotti's men once again showed that they can score a lot of goals as they ended the group stages with 15 goals.
Liverpool were the favourites to finish top of group A, but their inconsistent start to the season saw them lose 4-1 in their Champions League opener which saw they finish second in the group. After that defeat, they showed their best form with five straight victories.
The arrival of Darwin Nunez in the summer seemed to be Liverpool's perfect replacement for a more and more veteran Firmino, but the Uruguayan has still not fully settled at Anfield and he is as inconsistent as his team are in the Premier League. As well as that, they no longer have Mane, who has gone to Munich, and Jota and Luis Diaz have got injured. They have a weaker attack than in recent years.
Despite that, Liverpool were once again one of the favourites to reach the final stages... had it not been for Real Madrid. Last season's runners-up have Salah as their top scorer of the group stages with seven together with Mbappe and the experience of a squad who know how to win the Champions League despite not being the favourites.