The UEFA Champions League’s Round of 16 will wrap up with the second leg of each series being played between this week and next week. Several teams have already moved on to the quarterfinals, sending their Round of 16 opponents home in the process.
The draw for the remaining knockout rounds will take place on March 18, when the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be set, as well as which side will be the “home” club in the final at Stade de France in Paris on May 28.
Let’s take a look at who’s already qualified for the quarterfinal round, which gets underway at the beginning of April.
Who has qualified for Champions League quarterfinals
Liverpool (England)
The 2019 UEFA Champions League winners have qualified for the quarterfinals again, making it the second year in a row they’ve reached this stage. Last year, they were eliminated at this stage by Real Madrid with a 3-1 aggregate, but they’ll be looking for a better result this time as they aim for the semifinals.
The EPL giants dominated Group B this season, winning all six of their matches, finishing with 18 points and a huge +11 goal differential. They drew Inter Milan in the Round of 16, and got out to an early lead with a big 2-0 win in leg one on the road at San Siro. The return leg saw Liverpool hold Inter to a 1-0 win, giving the Reds a 2-1 aggregate win and a berth in the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Bayern Munich will look to reclaim the UCL title after winning the honors in 2020, but losing out last year as they were eliminated by PSG in the quarterfinals.
Munich won all six of their games in the group stage, finishing on top of Group E with 18 points and a tournament-best +19 goal differential. The Bundesliga leaders drew RB Salzburg in the Round of 16 and escaped the first leg in Salzburg with a 1-1 draw, thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Kingsley Coman.
The second leg saw Munich just put on a clinic on their home ground, thrashing RB Salzburg with a 7-1 scoreline as Robert Lewandowski set the record for the fastest hat trick in UCL history, scoring the first three goals between the 12th and 23rd minutes. With a massive 8-2 aggregate score, Bayern Munich moves onto the quarterfinals and will await their opponent in the draw.
Manchester City (England)
Last year’s runner-up club had no problems with Sporting in the round of 16. Manchester City went up 5-0 on aggregate in the first leg and was able to play the second leg out with no fuss. This organization has made the Champions League its top priority over the last few seasons and will now await an opponent in the quarterfinal round.
Real Madrid (Spain)
This was the craziest clash so far in the round of 16. Kylian Mbappe had put Paris Saint-Germain up 2-0 on aggregate and it looked like the Spanish club would be out of the competition.
Karim Benzema scored a second-half hat-trick, including a goal on a gift from PSG goalkeepeer Gianluigi Donnarumma, to help Real Madrid storm back in glorious fashion at home to win 3-2 on aggregate. This is one of the top comebacks in Champions League history, and has the added layer of Mbappe’s transfer rumors to Real Madrid. Those rumors will pick up once again after this result.
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Diego Simeone’s group found the lone goal in the round of 16 second leg, sending Manchester United crashing out of the competition. Atleti was able to successfully prevent any Cristiano Ronaldo heroics, and now moves into the quarterfinal round. This defensive juggernaut is always going to cause problems for opponents but they’ll need to be consistent in the final third to ultimately reach the final.
Benfica (Portugal)
The Portuguese club stunned Ajax with a late winner on a header a free kick in the second leg. After upsetting the Dutch powerhouse, we’ll see if this team can keep a nice run going. Benfica has been playing well domestically too, so this group is in a great place in terms of form heading into the quarterfinal round.
Chelsea (England)
Last year’s Champions League winners advance past Lille with ease. Christian Pulisic scored what would be the winning goal in the second leg, but Chelsea was through even without that strike. The big question hovering over the club is the status of Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, but the Blues are doing fine on the pitch for now.
Villarreal (Spain)
The Spanish side blasted Juventus in the deciding leg 3-0, with all the goals coming after the 78th minute. This team was a runner-up in the Europa League has season and has the defensive chops to create some chaos in the quarterfinal round. Villarreal has struggled in La Liga, so this competition will be the priority.