Champions League draw 2015, Round of 16: Results and analysis

AS Roma probably had aspirations of getting beyond the Champions League Round of 16 this season. Then they landed in a group with Barcelona, and they’ve drawn Real Madrid in the first knockout stage. Poor Roma. It’s really not going according to plan for them.

Key player: Cristiano Ronaldo

Someone at UEFA continues to play a sick joke on Arsenal. First they had to face Bayern Munich in the group stage, and now they get another knockout round date with defending champions Barcelona. This is likely to be the marquee tie of the Champions League Round of 16, though no one’s expecting it to be a particularly close one.

It’s not that they’re unbeatable; so far this season they’ve lost a grand total of twice, to Celta Vigo and Sevilla. It’s more that they’re nearly unbeatable, and they couple this with what appears to be a terrifying appetite for the big games. Think of last season’s final against Juventus, or the first leg of last season’s semifinal against Bayern Munich, or the recent Clásico. Three tough opponents. Three big games. And, after 90 minutes, nothing left but three big clouds of blood in the water.

The two best teams who didn’t win last year’s Champions League won’t both make it to the semifinals again. One of Juventus or Bayern Munich -- the Italian and German champions, respectively -- is going to get knocked out in the Round of 16.

Juve had their group all but locked up heading into the final day, but was the victim of a surprising loss to Sevilla, with their former player Fernando Llorente finding the winner. Their punishment for that loss is a date with one of the best teams in Europe, and they’ll be big underdogs against Bayern.