The draw for the last-16 of the Champions League has been made and football fans are already counting down until the ties are played.Fans have to wait two whole months for the return of European’s elite competition but, when it does return, it returns with a bang.There’s some mouth-watering ties to look forward to with Manchester United taking on Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham facing Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool clashing with Bayern Munich the pick of the matches.Meanwhile, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona will face Ajax and Lyon respectively.And it seems the two La Liga giants are just glad to have avoided Liverpool.With Jurgen Klopp’s side finishing second in their group, the respective group winners may have viewed last season’s finalists as a nightmare last-16 opponent.That certainly was the case according to one BeIN SPORTS reporter.Standing outside the Barcelona training ground, the Spanish reporter explained how both Barca and Real were glad to have missed out on a clash against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
“In Spain, every single fan, every single newspaper and every single member of the Barcelona squad and the Real Madrid squad they had one objective - to avoid Liverpool in the last-16 round,” he explained.
“And they still don’t want to face Liverpool in the next stages because they believe this is one of the strongest teams this season across Europe.
“They are leading the Premier League and they are in front of one of the best teams so far in Manchester City and they were the finalists last year against Real Madrid.
“One thing is clear in Spain, we have to avoid Liverpool.”
Well, the message is clear - everyone is running scared of Liverpool.
LIVERPOOL FANS REACT
The news report has, unsurprisingly, gone down very well with Liverpool fans and this is how they reacted after seeing it:
While the Spanish sides might be happy at avoided the Reds, Bayern boss Nico Kovac is “very confident” his side can progress to the quarter-finals.
"We can all look forward to such a great game. It’s the toughest draw we could’ve been given,” Kovac said, per the Liverpool Echo.
“Liverpool got to the final last year, they’re top of the Premier League and one of the favourites for the Champions League.
“We’re FC Bayern München, though, and I’m sure Liverpool know they’ve got to come here to Munich for the second leg. The chances are 50-50. We’ll see what happens. I’m very confident we’ll get through.”