Álvaro Arbeloa leaves spicy comment about Real Madrid’s next Champions League rivals
Real Madrid confirmed their place in the Champions League round of 16 with a victory over Benfica on Wednesday in Madrid. In the press conference following the win, Álvaro Arbeloa had something to say.
The new format of the competition doesn’t establish a full draw from the beginning. There’s a draw after the playoff round to establish matches between two possibilities for each of the main eight teams from the league phase.
For Real Madrid, Manchester City or Sporting will be the rivals. Arbeloa made a comment that may not be well received by UEFA officials: “People have gotten used to a City-Real Madrid. I’m sure we get that again. It doesn’t matter to us, it’s going to be hard anyway knowing the rematch isn’t at home. Let’s see what the hot draw ball says.” This implies the draw could once again pair them with Manchester City in a highly anticipated matchup.
Thibaut Courtois agrees with Arbeloa
The main person in the team for the hardest moments has been Thibaut Courtois. His presence covers some mistakes from the Real Madrid defense, giving his teammates confidence.
With his usual calmness on the field, he repeated the prediction that Arbeloa had as to who they are going to see in the next round. Unlike his manager, the goalkeeper’s answer was a simple “yes, we are seeing them.”
Courtois also referred to the possibility of playing against the Portuguese club Sporting: “It’s been a long time since I played them. It’s a nice stadium. It’s a hard rival, but we have history with City too, it’s the dream match for the lottery.”
The Champions League draw
The rivals for all remaining teams will be decided by a draw. This will take place on Friday, 27 February at 6:00 AM EST. Looking further ahead, the potential rivals that Real Madrid could get in the quarterfinals are Atalanta, Arsenal or Bayern Munich. From that side of the draw in the semifinals, one potential challenge could be PSG.