Champions League power rankings - Every team rated after last-16 draw

The Champions League Round of 16 draw was staged on Monday …and then it was staged again, after Uefa reported a 'technical error'.

It continued a dramatic competition this season which saw clubs such as Barcelona, Sevilla, Atalanta, Porto, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund fall at the group stage phase.

All four Premier League representatives remain in the competition, with each of Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United among the strongest sides remaining.

There were also eye-catching group stage campaigns from Ajax and Bayern Munich - each of whom won all their group stage matches, although Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Atletico Madrid all underwhelming.

Who is the strongest side remaining in the competition? And who are the best sides standing in their way?

Let's get ranking.

16. Lille

The French champions won the Ligue 1 title in fairytale fashion last season but, somewhat inevitably, have found things tougher going this time round.

A nightmare start to the campaign has been put behind them - Lille are unbeaten in nine matches across all competitions, dating back to October.

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They won each of their last three Champions League matches - against Sevilla, Red Bull Salzburg and Wolfsburg - to roar into the last 16.

They remain 11 th in Ligue 1 and firm outsiders in the draw, with the futures of star players such as Sven Botman and Renato Sanches unclear.

15. Red Bull Salzburg

Salzburg are the first Austrian side to get through a group stage since Sturm Graz in 2000/01 and their progress was well-merited.

They finished one point off group winners Lille but won all three home matches and were unfortunate in being held to a 1-1 draw at Sevilla, a game they dominated for long phases.

They are a young and supremely talented group of players, led by teenage forward Karim Adeyemi - who has 18 goals so far this season including four in the Champions League.

Unlikely to go beyond the Round of 16, but a club who are increasingly at home in the biggest club competition - and currently 14 points clear at the top of the Austrian league standings.

14. Benfica

The Portuguese giants qualified through to this stage at the expense of Barcelona, whom they defeated 3-0 in Lisbon and held to a scoreless draw at the Camp Nou.

Jorge Jesus is however under pressure in his position as Benfica boss after finishing third domestically last season and behind rivals Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto this campaign.

Another firm outsider, but Benfica are a massive club who play in an intimidating atmosphere and will be a gruelling encounter for any side.

13. Villarreal

The Europa League winners progressed through a tough group at the expense of Italian side Atalanta.

Unai Emery's side are struggling this campaign and languish 13 th in La Liga with just four wins from their opening 16 matches.

Emery is the master at ensuring his side's overperform in knockout football and their tendency to draw lots of games makes them complicated opponents for any side.

12. Sporting CP

Boss Ruben Amorim led Sporting to their first league title since 2002 in his first full season at the Lisbon giants.

The Portuguese side impressed in this year's group stages, doing the double over Turkish outfit Besiktas and edging out Borussia Dortmund on their head-to-head record.

Pedro Gonçalves has four goals in three Champions League appearances with Spain international Pablo Sarabia and Portuguese forward Paulinho adding to a dangerous attack.

11. Juventus

Juventus somehow topped their Champions League group despite underwhelming performances and a four-goal defeat at Chelsea.

Max Allegri's side have won just eight of their opening 17 Serie A matches this campaign and languish in sixth place - far from the standards that saw them win nine successive league titles up until 2020.

An ageing defence, conservative tactics and the lack of an elite striker count against the Old Lady, but with the knockout stages still two months away - they will doubtless find better form.

10. Atletico Madrid

As with Juventus, Atletico Madrid are enduring a difficult campaign and are currently performing far from the level which saw them reach the Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016.

They scrapped through a tough group with a bad-tempered final day win over FC Porto, but they were somewhat fortunate to still be in contention with a contentious win in Milan earlier in the group.

Atleti have won just half of their opening 16 La Liga matches and look set to surrender their title long in advance of the end of the campaign.

9. Inter

Serie A champions for the first time in 11 seasons, Inter lost star players Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi this summer along with boss Antonio Conte.

Yet Simone Inzaghi's side are the early frontrunners in Serie A with 40 points from their opening 17 matches and clicking with new signings Edin Dzeko and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Ranking second in a group with Real Madrid, Inter have had a dreadful European record in recent years - aside from their run to the Europa League final in 2020 - and would consider a quarter-final place a successful European campaign.

8. Manchester United

Despite erratic performances, United topped a tricky Champions League group with Cristiano Ronaldo showing his true worth in the competition with five goals in five outings.

United have enjoyed a modest upturn in form in December with three successive Premier League wins and unbeaten in six matches across all competitions.

Ralf Rangnick now has two months of a kind domestic run of fixtures without European football to get his side playing in his style and to build momentum ahead of their Round of 16 tie.

7. Ajax

The Dutch side were the story of the group stage with six wins out of six against Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas.

Ajax scored 20 goals in the group and Sebastien Haller - playing for the first time in the competition - remarkably scored half of them, and at least once in each match.

Erik Ten Hag's side play scintillating football and have regenerated following their stunning run to the semi-finals two years ago.

Outside of the richest and most powerful clubs, Ajax are a serious contender to go far this year.

6. Chelsea

The holding European champions were edged out to top spot in their group by Juventus but will once again look to make major inroads in the competition.

The Blues are less favoured than Premier League rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, but Thomas Tuchel has reached the showpiece in successive seasons with two different clubs.

To be major contenders this season, Romelu Lukaku will likely have to re-find top form while the Blues re-find their superb defensive record of the opening months of the campaign.

5. Real Madrid

Despite a shock defeat at home to Moldovan champions FC Sheriff, Real Madrid recovered to win their group comfortable ahead of Inter.

Winning 13 of their opening 17 La Liga matches, Carlo Ancelotti's side are flying with Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema forming a deadly attacking partnership.

Thibaut Courtois is arguably the world's best goalkeeper, David Alaba and Eder Militao are thriving in defence while their midfield trio of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro is enviable.

With four Champions League titles in the past seven seasons, you can never count Los Blancos out of the running.

4. Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain have Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe - but the jury is still out over whether they have a functioning side capable of winning the Champions League.

No less than European success will do for Mauricio Pochettino's side this campaign and despite running away with the Ligue 1 title this season, their performances are less than convincing.

PSG are relying almost exclusively on individual performances in the opening months of the campaign - if they are to win the ultimate prize, they must perform stronger as a collective unit.

3. Manchester City

Just as with Les Parisiens, Manchester City are still waiting on that first European crown having been edged out by Chelsea in last season's final.

A lack of central defensive cover and the absence of a world-class striker may work against them, but City are an incredibly well-drilled winning machine.

It would need to be a special team to stop Pep Guardiola's side this campaign - but their lack of European success will continue to generate doubts over whether they are the very best team in the world.

2. Liverpool

While City have enjoyed multiple Premier League successes over Liverpool as the two dominate the league - three league titles to one since 2018 - the Reds maintain the upper hand in Europe.

Liverpool landed the Champions League in 2019, having reached the final the year prior to that while their 2021 attempts were derailed by a multitude of defensive issues.

No side will want to draw Jurgen Klopp's side over two legs and their ferocious style of play makes them prime title contenders.

What counts against them? A lack of squad depth and the world-class form of Mohamed Salah dropping off. They are highly fancied.

1. Bayern Munich

The 2020 winners were eliminated at the quarter-final stage last season amid multiple player absences, including Robert Lewandowski.

Even then, they lost to PSG on away goals and six group stage wins from six this season suggest they are back and looking formidable once again.

Comfortably the most dangerous side outside of the Premier League at present, Bayern are a winning machine and will believe - without a nightmare draw - they will be favourites again this year.