They are afraid of Liverpool and are running away, these players would lose Real Madrid, Ancelotti suffers

Carlo Ancelotti is strongly attached to some of the veterans he has at Real Madrid. That's why he won't let go of them for anything in the world, and today he defends them tooth and nail. They really are the team's protégés, who will always have a place in the Italian's eleven. And that will be the case as long as these players are active and he is in charge, because they are essential to the success of his bench.

Real Madrid will face Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League in a rematch of last year's final. Madrid beat Liverpool in both the 2018 and 2022 finals and the two giants will meet again in February after being paired together in Monday's draw, which also placed Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich head-to-head. That is a rematch of the 2020 final, which the Germans won.

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PSG got a big draw at this stage for the second season in a row. The French champions' quest for a first European title ended in March with Karim Benzema's stunning late hat-trick for Real Madrid, who went on to win the title. Real Madrid and Liverpool will meet in the last 16 of the Champions League in a rematch of last season's 1-0 Champions League final, the draw in Nyon, Switzerland, determined on Monday, while PSG and Bayern will clash in another star-studded clash.

The Reds, unseeded after finishing second in the group stage, will host Real Madrid on 14-15 or 21-22 February, before visiting the Santiago Bernabeu on 7-8 or 14-15 March.

<strong>Modric and Kroos could start</strong>

After the draw for the last 16, rumours began to swirl in Spain that two of Real Madrid's stars, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, could be living their last moments with the team, as they are veterans and wanted to continue their careers elsewhere, with the possibility even that they may no longer take part in the last-16 series.