The "best" Asensio in the win and the 'prize' of a draw with PSG and Liverpool as threats: "After last year..."

• Draw The pots for eighths

• Classification The groups of the Champions

• Chronicle Real Madrid thrash Celtic with more Asensio and too many penalties

"The objective is to reach the break as

and first in the

group ,"

said a few days ago.

And the Italian coach already has

achieved from him.

Real Madrid will land in the

(12:00) as the

the

, a circumstance that is always important in the round of 16.

Last year, for example, luck crossed him with a

that had finished second in their group and having

led to a comeback that is already the history of the white team.

On this occasion, Madrid, the

in the qualifiers, will have

, since they will not be able to face

having shared a group.

,

,

,

,

,

will visit

in the first fortnight of next March.

The French thing was surreal.

They beat

with goals from

's scoring frenzy

in Israel.

The Portuguese, second,

, the last goal in the last minute, and surpassed

PSG's

Having tied everything with the Gauls (points, goals for and against, individual duels...), the only thing left was that statistic.

The conclusion is the most morbid:

could face Madrid again in the same round in which last year they suffered

the history of the Champions.

Together with them, Liverpool appears as the other great rival of Pot 2 to avoid.

Despite not having their best season, Klopp's men are still one of the greats in Europe and a matchup against the Whites would recall the 2018 and 2022 finals.

"The draw? After what happened last year (the repetition by mistake), it's

," joked Ancelotti before knowing the rivals he could face.

As always, the

: "The only advantage of being first is playing the second leg at home. That helped us a lot last year", he added.

"We look with the perspective that it will be hard.

and those that we think are, complicate our lives," assured

, Madrid's 'Mister Champions', who has scored the most goals in the European Cup than in any other competition.

"It doesn't matter who touches.

", valued, ambitious,

.

"Marco has been the best"

And from Benfica's win, which has turned the draw upside down, to Madrid's, which came when it was most needed, after achieving one point in the last six between the League and the Champions League and pending, like almost everyone else, the break for the World Cup in Qatar.

A diversified 5-1, with goals from

, with a sensational performance by Asensio who scored again and with the return of Karim Benzema.

"

for me. When you are not happy you can have a positive or negative reaction.

reaction ", praised Ancelotti, who reflected on the number of players who have contributed in attack this season: "The improvement the players' top scorer this year is

."

Benzema

, absent due to “muscular fatigue” for the last two weeks, was back on the pitch and was ready for the last two league games before heading to the concentration camp in France:

.

The Frenchman, a substitute from the start, watched from the bench the three penalties awarded by his compatriot

in the first half, a milestone in the competition.

The referee, a pioneer in Europe and the first to referee the Whites in an official match, made Madrid-Celtic the fourth match in the history of the Champions League with

.

scored for Madrid and

missed

for Celtic.

It was the first big action this season for the Belgian, a compelling reason for Madrid winning the last Champions League, although he couldn't avoid the Scottish goal: "It was a fun game for me. I touched the ball at the free kick, but I didn't hit stop it,

, joked the goalkeeper.

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