Man City have received yet another soft draw, but Atletico Madrid have been paired with the unseeded side everyone wanted to avoid

The draw for the Champions League last 16 has just been completed and, as ever, it's thrown up some fascinating fixtures, with Napoli's 'Diego derby' with Barcelona and Diego Simeone's return to Inter with Atletico Madrid arguably the pick of the bunch.

Hopes of an another English success have been lifted with Manchester City being paired with Copenhagen, and Arsenal paired with Porto, but Bayern Munich will also be supremely confident of seeing off a Lazio side that is struggling in Serie A.

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund should have the beating off PSV, while a Jude Bellingham-inspired Real Madrid will be expected to see off RB Leipzig with a minimum of fuss but what about Paris Saint-Germain, who must take on surprise package Real Sociedad?

Below, GOAL runs through the winners and losers of Monday's draw in Nyon…

Getty ImagesWINNER: Pep Guardiola

It was put to Pep Guardiola after Saturday’s draw with Crystal Palace that Manchester City have been a bit unfortunate of late – but the manager was having none of it. You make your own luck in this game and the Catalan knows that he has plenty of work to do at the moment, with the winning machine he has constructed at the Etihad showing signs of wear and tear in recent weeks.

A team bidding to become the first club to win four consecutive Premier League titles has taken just seven points from their past six games – that's not atrocious but it does constitute a crisis for City, who have some serious competition in England's top flight this season.

On the plus side, their hopes of winning a second consecutive Champions League have been seriously boosted by the last-16 draw. FCK did wonderfully well to beat Galatasaray and Manchester United to second place in Group A and they're a very awkward team to play at Parken, as City well know, having been held to a scoreless draw in Copenhagen just over a year ago.

However, the Danes are undeniably the weakest team left in the tournament, so Guardiola will be breathing a huge sigh of relief right now. Having already come through the easiest of groups, City really are benefiting from the luck of the draw in this season's Champions League and Pep will take all the good fortune he can get, even if he won’t admit it in public.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Xavi

Poor Xavi can't catch a break right now. After a humiliating midweek loss at Antwerp, Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Valencia on Sunday that means they now trail Liga leaders Real Madrid by seven points, meaning a successful title defence is looking seriously unlikely right now. Given the way they're playing, the Blaugrana may not even finish above Girona.

With all of that in mind, Xavi really could have done with a nice draw in the last 16. Instead, Barca have been paired with one of the most dangerous unseeded sides in Napoli. Obviously, the Diego Maradona derby will be an enjoyable nostalgia-fest. But Xavi won't be interested in dwelling on the past, given his future could well be on the line.

Barca have, of course, already achieved their primary objective by reaching the knockout stage for the first time in three years, which was of the utmost importance to the Catalan club's coffers, but the pressure is nonetheless mounting on their coach, given that the team's recent performances have been as underwhelming as their results.

Napoli have their own issues right now. Their own league title defence is already effectively over but Victor Osimhen & Co. do appear to be coming good again under Walter Mazzarri. The Partenopei have never beaten Barca in continental competition but they represent a real threat to the Blaugrana's hopes of reaching the last eight – and Xavi's job.

(C)GettyImagesWINNER: PSG

Boy did PSG need that! Things are not going well at the Parc des Princes right now. Luis Enrique's men may be top of Ligue 1 but they're not playing well and Kylian Mbappe does not look at all happy (when is he ever?!), as underlined by his surly demeanour in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Lille.

And let's be honest: were it not for a terrible penalty call against Newcastle, PSG would have suffered an embarrassingly early – and fully deserved – group-stage exit in the Champions League.

So, while there's absolutely no doubt that Real Sociedad will fancy their chances of upsetting the Parisians in the last 16, it's clear that PSG dodged a bullet in the draw.

The Basques boast the meanest defence in the tournament (just two goals conceded in a group containing Inter), which is brilliantly protected by the much-coveted Marin Zubimendi. In many ways, La Real are everything that PSG are not: a proud and wonderfully well-organised group of over-achievers. They will pose plenty of problems.

However, there's no getting away from the fact that the draw could have been a lot harsher on the French champions, who will doubtless believe that they should have sufficient firepower to get past a team that lacks both experience and a prolific goalscorer.

GettyLOSER: Serie A's hopes of an extra UCL spot

Two of Europe's biggest leagues will have five teams in the 2024-25 Champions League, with additional spots set to be allocated based on how each nations' teams perform in this season's tournament. As it stands, an additional qualification berth would go to both Germany and Italy.

However, despite seeing two sides (Newcastle and Manchester United) finish bottom of their Champions League groups, England remains very much in the hunt and a lot could change during the knockout stage. Indeed, the draw did not go well for Italy from a coefficient perspective. Lazio, who are struggling terribly in Serie A, have little hope of beating Bayern Munich, while both Napoli and Inter are in 50-50 clashes with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, respectively.

There is a very real risk that all three could go out, which would be a disaster, given Arsenal and Manchester City are almost certain to reach the quarters after being given soft draws. Serie A enjoyed a remarkable renaissance in Europe last season – something similar is likely to be required this time around if Italy is to hold onto that extra Champions League spot.