Of course, it's Barcelona...

As excited as some fellow Liverpool fans are about drawing reigning champions Barcelona in the round of 16, I cannot say that I would not have preferred to see them later on in the tournament. This is the one potential matchup I had any serious trepidation about. At the very least, we'll be home for the second leg and that's a huge advantage. A match between the last two CL winners? Wow. Mouthwatering.

The thing is, though, if we could pull off the magical run of '05, who knows what we're capable of come March. My only concern is that we come out in that opening away leg looking like the sides who showed up in BIG matches this season against ManUre and the Arse.

It is interesing, however, that Liverpool always seem to play it's best when written off. Last season, we drew Benfica in the round of 16, were huge favorites, and were easily dispatched of. But there's something special about a Rafa-coached side, playing underdog on a European night. In Rafa we trust!

Glancing at the other matchups, Inter Milan v Valencia and Real Madrid v Bayern Munich (the only remaining German team in the tournament) are also standout ties, while it looks like the scum at Manchester United "won" the proverbial lottery by drawing Lille. If I had to rate the remaining clubs, 1-16, it'd look like this:
1. Barcelona
2. Lyon (you had better believe it)
3. Chelsea (you cannot beat them for depth)
4. Manchester United
5. Real Madrid
6. Valencia
7. Liverpool (they and Valencia are neck and neck, to me)
8. Inter Milan
9. Bayern Munich
10. PSV (crushing everyone in the Eredivisie)
11. AC Milan (they look rather pedestrian in Serie A, so far)
12. Roma
13. Arsenal
14. FC Porto
15. Celtic (by no means a "gimme," Milan have their hands full)
16. Lille