The most successful club in European history are once again safely through to the knockout stages of the Champions League with 13-time winners Real Madrid progressing from Group A.
It was not all plain sailing for Madrid as they began with a heavy defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, ultimately finishing behind the French outfit, but they ended up eight points clear of third and had their last-16 spot secured before the final matchday.
Finishing in second leaves them in pot two alongside city rivals Atletico Madrid, Atalanta BC, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Lyon, Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur.
Los Blancos can therefore not face any of those teams, nor will they come up against PSG, Valencia or Clasico rivals Barcelona from pot one.
Zinedine Zidane's quest to become the first manager to win the trophy four times could still face a stern test in the last 16, though, with Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City and RB Leipzig their five potential opponents.
Should Madrid be drawn against six-time winners and current holders Liverpool then it would be a repeat of the 1981 and 2018 finals, the first of which went Liverpool's way and the latter of which went the way of Madrid.
The Spanish giants have won each of their last three meetings with Liverpool after losing all of their first three, while they are unbeaten in four previous games against English champions Man City.
Zidane could also face a reunion with former club Juventus in a repeat of the 2018 quarter-final which saw Cristiano Ronaldo - now a Juventus player - steal the show with a stunning bicycle kick.
Madrid went on to beat Bayern Munich in the semi-finals that year too, meaning that all of their knockout opponents from the road to their last European crown are in pot one this year.
Real will learn their fate when the draw begins at 11am in Nyon on Monday, with the first legs due to take place on February 18 and 19.
Barney Corkhill
