The experienced teams showed their value as they press on to the next round in the Champions League.
As usual the Champions League Round of 16 entertained, frustrated, and delighted fans across the world. This knockout phase of the champions league has held many fans to raise their flag with pride while other mourn the loss of the two-legged tie. Just over a month ago I made predictions of how the round of 16 would pan out. Far to say not the best of predictions from myself.
The old lady once again proved how important experience is in the competition. After a entertaining 2-2 first leg in Turin, Spurs just needed just a draw or allow less than one goal to advance. The second leg, a perfect start for the London club with Heung Min Son scoring 39 minutes in. Juventus changed tactics by bringing on wing-back Stephen Lichsteiner, asking him and Alex Sandro, left wing-back, to push up the field. Just four minutes later, Higuian struck the back of the net after the ball was played in from the right side. Minutes later Paulo Dybala scored winner on his return after being sidelined for months. Aside from Kane hitting post in stoppage time, Tottenham had no answer for the Italians. Juventus were able to finish the tie 4-3 on aggregate to send them through.
FC Basel vs Man City 1/2
Manchester City took care of business in the first leg (4-0) to send them through over FC Basel. The Swiss side did show some fight after winning 2-1 in the second leg against City reserves. Basel did expose City on the counter attack which can cause concern for the Cityzens. With De Bruyne, D Silva, Ederson, Kompany, Otamendi, Walker, and Fernandinho all on the bench, many analysts have dismissed this game as nothing to worry about. Questions still linger if City can perform against big European opponents like Barca, Madrid, or Bayern. Time will only tell if Manchester City are real contenders or if they are just talk.
A match up with stars written all over it, Real Madrid and PSG was set to be a match of the week. Ronaldo, Neymar, Mbappe, Bale, etc were all on display. Real Madrid finished the first leg strong with two goals with 10 minutes left to give Los Blancos a 3-1 advantage. In the final 15, Marco Asensio provided both assists in the final two goals after coming on a substitute. A 1-1 draw would have been favorable to the French side but collapsed in final minutes. PSG were than compounded with the news that Neymar would miss the second leg after sustaining a foot injury in a 3-0 victory vs Marseille.
Neymar’s creativity and experience in Champions League were only chance to send them through. Zinedine Zidane and Madrid have now only the Champions League to focus on after Copa del Rey elimination and La Liga out of sight. Madrid will try to be first team to win three European championships since Bayern Munich from 1973-1976.
Porto vs Liverpool 2/4
Liverpool have been firing on all cylinders and have picked up confidence since their victory against Manchester City. The trident of Mane, Firmino, and signing of the summer, Mo Salah, were all on target in Portugal putting five past the dragons. 5-0 was enough to book Liverpool a spot in the next round. The second leg provided a chance for squad player to play under the lights in a 0-0 draw. The only question of Liverpool has been there defense. The quarterfinals will test them as they will play much stronger defenses and more dominate teams.
As Roma vs Shakhtar Donetsk 3/5
Just as predicted a close fixture between the two. Shakhtar got out to a great start winning 2-1 in Ukraine after a fighting back from a 1-0 deficit. Each team were compact and broke on the counter. Eden Dzeko was the man to send the romans to historic victory over Shakhtar with a 1-0 victory enough to send them through 2-2 on away goals. Dzeko has been the man all season leading the line with 13 goals, double of his closest teammate. Whatever team matches up against Roma will have problems handling the toughness and physicality.
An upset is an understatement as Man United were dumped out of the Champions League at the hands of Sevilla. After 0-0 draw where Sevilla had 23 shots, could not beat David De Gea, while the Red Devils could only register one shot on target. The second leg saw Jose Mourinho’s side spring to life as they showed purpose going forward. A scoreless first half saw both managers change tactics with substitutes making a big impact. For United, Paul Pogba came on to provide more attacking instincts than Marouane Fellaini while losing the defensive ability of Fellaini. For Sevilla, Wissam Ben Yedder injected the pace needed to challenge David De Gea.
Ben Yedder went on to score two goals within his first eight minutes of being on the field. A defensive mistake and poor marking on a set piece were the results of the goals that sent Sevilla through to the quarter-finals for the first time. Lukaku was able to pull one back late in the match put it wasn’t enough. Sevilla now have put teams on full attention after that victory as they can dominate possession and strike when asked.
Bayern vs Besiktas 4/7
Experience was to much for the Black Eagles to overcome as Munich cruised through to a 8-1 aggerate win. The first leg buried the Turkish side as they went down to ten men just 16 minutes in and went on to concede five goals. Lewandowski, Muller, and Coman were all on target in the first leg, and Wagner, Thiago, and an own goal was to much for Besiktas. Both legs were all Bayern as the Germans strengthened their case as the best in the World. So much depth and ability can trouble any team that would come in there path. To make matters worse goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is set to return before the end of the season and if Bayern do go to Kyiv, you can expect the captain to be in between the posts.
A rivalry renewed entertained both fans. A first leg draw at Stamford Bridge gave a both teams an opportunity win the second leg. The first leg was dominated by the Blues who were on rough form losing two games on the bounce to Watford and Bournemouth. Chelsea sat back and allowed Barca to hold possession while they created multiple chances. Willian hit both posts before beating Ter Stegen and with Messi pouncing on a mistake to settle the game at 1-1. The second leg started quickly as the Catalans and Lionel Messi scored two minutes in. This allowed Barca to sit back and absorb pressure from Hazard, Giroud, and Willian. Messi than fired an assist to Ousmane Dembele just 20 minutes later. The Blues seemed done from there. Messi tacked on another in the second half to send the Spanish side to the next round.
The quarterfinal draw is set for Friday March 16th at 7:00 am Eastern and 12:00 (CET). Let me know what match-ups you want to see in the Quarter-finals. Have any opinions on the topic or want me to pick a different topic be sure to comment your thoughts. Follow me on Twitter @CamB_PerSources to join the conversation and keep up with more articles.