17 hours ago
9 
Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images
The Reds face a very tough test as they draw the in form Ligue 1 side for their first knockout round matches.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot had said his side would have to wait until the Round of 16 draw to find out if there was any real advantage to finishing first in the league phase of the new look Champions League. Now that the draw has been made, it’s fair to say there isn’t.
With the playoff round concluded with Liverpool and the rest of the top eight given a bye into the Round of 16, UEFA held the draw today and Liverpool drew Paris Saint-Germain as their opponents. They also could have drawn Benfica, who in the end were paired with second-place Barcelona.
If Liverpool were Europe’s in form side in the first half, PSG have arguably been Europe’s in form side over the last two months. In addition to dispatching Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the Champions League, they have taken 22 of the last 24 points available domestically.
The Reds, meanwhile, have seen their form drop, looking tired over the past month in particular. On paper, though, and assuming they can rediscover their own form in time for their March 4th and 11th meetings—with the first leg in Paris and the second at Anfield—they will still be favourites.
As much as Liverpool fans might not like seeing PSG in the draw—and as much as it’s a draw that suggests UEFA’s new league and playoff system could do with some tweaking—PSG will hardly be happier to have to face the Reds for a spot in the quarter finals.
In the next round, the winner of the Liverpool-PSG pairing will face off against either Aston Villa or Club Brugge. Arsenal vs. PSV and Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid are the other clubs on the Reds’ side of the bracket and potential semi final opponents for whoever makes it that far.
