The reward of Manchester City for scraping the next phase of the Champions League is a collision against European heavyweights Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
The side of Pep Guardiola earned a 3-1 victory over the Belgian side club Brugge on the Etihad on Wednesday evening, although the end result failed to paint a precise reflection of the tense encountered encounter.
City was behind the break, knowing that only a victory would extend their European adventure. But the 2023 champions produced a performance that was very lacking this period and responded with goals from Mateo Kovacic, Savinho and his own goal from Joel Ordonez.
The treacherous passage of the Manchester Club to the Play-Off Round was best the attraction of the renewed Champions League and their next opponents further emphasize the benefit of the size.
City has to pass Madrid, who dumped them out of the competition 12 months ago on their way to a 15th triumph or German Giants Bayern to join the fellow prime minister League parties Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa in the last 16.
Their opponent is confirmed when the draw for the next phase of the competition takes place on January 31.
If City makes it through that glove, they will meet Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
Liverpool came in the last competition phase matches that were guaranteed to end in one of the top two positions, and despite the defeat by PSV Eindhoven, they finished the first phase on top of the 36-team table.
Prior to the match, Arne Slot revealed that he decided to leave 12 players in the first team at home before the game because he was not sure whether he was top position of their future prospects in the competition.
That is still unclear, however, the Reds now know that they are probably facing a French side in the last-16, with Monaco, Brest, PSG and Benfica their potential opponents.
Elsewhere, Arsenal ended the third phase third, level at points with Barcelona in the second and only two points behind their Premier League rivals.
Their 2-1 victory over Girona provided a meeting against one of AC Milan, Juventus, PSV or Feyenoord.
The Gunners will feel like their chances against all four teams on their day, but each could cause problems for the Mikel Arteta outfit.
The last recording in the Top-Acht was Aston Villa, who booked their place in the next round with an exciting 4-2 victory over Scottish Champions Celtic in Villa Park.
The side of Unai Emery will undoubtedly be delighted to have protected a place under the European elite in their first campaign in more than 40 years, but their relatively humble position opened them for a heavy knockout round collision.
However, the Midlands Club seemed to have avoided a gigantic European side for the time being. Their potential matchups are against Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon and Bruges.
The Italian side would be the only outfit that Emery can lose, can lose sleep to try for game plan.
Away from the Premier League teams, Celtic is now also confirmed that the Madrid or Bayern is playing for a place in the last 16.
The renewed competition has also yielded a number of potential heavyweight collisions, including the last 16 ties between AC Milan and Inter Milan and a real US Atletico Madrid Derby.
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