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Champions League, playoff draw: possible opponents of Inter, Juventus and Atalanta

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After the last day of the Champions League single group stage, there are three Italian teams that will be able to continue their European adventure: Inter, Juventus and Atalanta. None of them managed to achieve direct qualification to the round of 16, while Napoli, even, was eliminated. Inter didn’t just need a good away win with Borussia Dortmund: in fact, the Nerazzurri finished tenth in the standings with 15 points, just one length behind Manchester City, the eighth and last club to qualify for the round of 16.

Luca GiorgettiThe goalkeeper’s goal (photos) brings Mourinho’s Benfica ahead in the Champions League

Benfica accomplishes the'impossible: beats Real Madrid 4-2 at the da Luz Stadium and qualifies for the next round.
Anatoliy Trubin scores the decisive goal in the middle of the opponent’s box: the Ukrainian goalkeeper beats Courtois by header.
Kylian Mbappé unlocks the match in the 30th' minute putting Real Madrid ahead. Schjelderup responds for the 1-1.
Vangelis Pavlidis transforms the penalty at 50' and signs Benfica’s overtaking Real Madrid.
Schjelderup extends for the Portuguese at 56' bringing Benfica to 3-1.
Mbappé brings Real Madrid back into the game at 58' with the goal of the momentary 3-2.
Raúl Asencio is sent off in the dying minutes, leaving Real Madrid down to ten men.
Even Rodrygo receives a red card, aggravating Real Madrid’s situation.
José Mourinho pushes Benfica to throw its heart over the hurdle.
Trubin’s goal in full recovery finally closes the game at 4-2 for Benfica.
Mourinho on cloud nine in the post-match: "The giant went up and scored a spectacular goal"
"A prestigious and economically crucial win" added the Special One.

Discourse is different regarding Juventus and Atalanta: the Bianconeri did not go beyond a draw against Monaco at the Stade Louis II (0-0), finishing thirteenth in the standings with 13 points; the same collected by the Orobici, defeated by’Union Saint-Gilloise away on the last day, who finished fifteenth due to a worse difference than Luciano Spalletti&#8217s own men and Atletico Madrid (fourteenth with 13 points).

Friday, January 30 at 12 noon in Nyon will be the draw for the Champions League knockout stage playoffs. The teams will be divided into two blocks: seeded (from ninth to sixteenth position in the standings) and non-seeded (from seventeenth to twenty-fourth position in the standings). Then four pairs are formed for the seeded clubs (ninth/tenth, eleventh/twelfth and so on) and four pairs for the non-seeded clubs (seventeenth/twelfth, nineteenth/twenty-first and so on).

The draw calls for the club pair (9th/10th) to be drawn with the club pair (23rd/24th), the pair (11th/12th) with the pair (21st/22nd). Inter, as ninth, could face one between Bodo/Glimt, 23rd, and Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, 24th. Juventus, as 13th, will face one between Club Brugge, 19th, and Galatasaray, 20th. Lastly, Atalanta, 15th, will face either Borussia Dortmund, 17th, or Olympiacos, 18th.

The team will face either Borussia Dortmund, 17th, or Olympiacos, 18th.

The matches valid for the playoffs will be played over eight days between the first leg, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Wednesday, Feb. 18, and the return leg, set for Tuesday, Feb. 24 and Wednesday, Feb. 25. All three Italian teams, as seeded teams, will play the return match at home.

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