Champions League Draw: Winners & Losers

The Champions League knockout stage draw always has its winners and losers.

After an intense six-match group stage schedule, the rabbits are finally out of the hat.

Some teams got a relatively easy ride, while others have to ride the lightning.

Getting to bracket play means very little for  the big brands, while some teams simply feel lucky to be there.

Arsenal are the lucky ducks of the lot ,as they face AS Monaco. What with Rademel Falcao spending his vacation on Manchester United's bench and young gun James Rodríguez signed by the Blancos, Arsenal have very little to do here.

Speaking of Real Madrid, they could have wound up with a tougher opponent, as FC Schalke 04 should be an easy deal for them. Of course, given Real's current form, hardly any team should be a problem for them.

Now, let’s talk about clubs that could be considered losers, as if such a term can accurately be applied to any side reaching the lucrative Champions League bracket.

Chelsea have been drawn against PSG. It’s the Premiership favorites against the Ligue 1 front-runners. Two Blues will have to pull out every arrow in their respective quivers to go through to the Best Eight.

Manchester City’s touchy luck continued. The defending Premiership champs face mighty Barcelona. It took the Sky Blues until the sixth game in their pool to ensure qualification to the knockout stages.

Dudes! What'd you expect? QPR aren't in this draw.

Juventus also had to bust their patooties to wander into the Surviving 16, and now they face the biggest challenge of their campaign, Borussia Dortmund.

Yes, Dortmund are shaky in the league, but they've got a habit of rising to the occasion in the Champions League. This is a tough ask, even for an Italian regular like Juventus.

Well, to be the best you have to beat the best. Here's the schedule: