Tottenham Hotspur will face Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
After finishing fourth in the group phase, the North London outfit avoided the playoffs and made it through to the knockout stages directly.
Ahead of the draw, it was already known that Tottenham would face one of Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray, with the two teams making it to this stage of the competition after wins against Club Brugge and Juventus, respectively.
And now, Tottenham’s opponents have been confirmed, setting up a tantalising two-legged clash set to be played in mid-March.
Tottenham to play the second leg at home
As an advantage of qualifying as one of the seeded teams in the competition – alongside the likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Manchester City – Tottenham will play the second leg at home, which could prove to be a massive advantage for them.
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Tudor is yet to take charge of a European game at the club, having overseen just one game so far, which was a 4-1 defeat to North London rivals Arsenal.
Thomas Frank took charge of each of Tottenham’s group phase games. And while his team were languishing in 16th place in the Premier League at the time of his sacking, they actually fared quite well in Europe, finishing above the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s side are competing for the La Liga title this season and have been Champions League regulars in recent seasons, so the game promises to be an intriguing contest.
The first leg of the Round of 16 ties will be played on March 10th/11th, with the second legs scheduled to happen a week later on March 17th/18th.
Tottenham’s path to the final emerges
Budapest is set to host the Champions League final this year. Tottenham last reached the final in 2019 before losing out to Liverpool 2-0 under Mauricio Pochettino.
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This year, if they manage to beat Atletico Madrid, they will face the winner of the Newcastle United vs Barcelona clash in the quarterfinals, while the rest of their road to the final can be seen in the graphic below.
Tottenham have flattered to deceive domestically, but Europe could prove to be a welcome distraction for the club.
Over the years, a handful of clubs have produced dream runs in the UEFA Champions League despite faltering domestically, so here’s to hoping Tudor’s experience really comes into play in club football’s biggest competition.
