The Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League was done and the results gave a really exciting fixture for the rest of the season. It was a bit more predictable but, hey, we got to enjoy some big games in the next stage. FYI, this next stage will happen today and it will be an exciting watch.
However, before we talk about these amazing fixtures and possible future fixtures, let’s review the Round of 16’s results!
The Round of 16’s Results
As expected, the round of 16 did not give much exciting match. There is some excitement but I didn’t particularly enjoy much of it. However, at the end of the day, it gave us a good deal of insight about our quarterfinalist.
Arsenal vs FC Porto
First up was the fixture that a lot of people, including myself, weren’t looking forward to. The prospect of FC Porto focusing on defending, not having possession, and relying on counter-attacks is not good on paper. However, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.
Yes, they were focusing on defending more but that’s the game and Porto delivered. They managed to hold off Arsenal at home and the North London club could only get a goal in the entire fixture. They were forced to go to penalties. Sadly, Porto turns out not to be good with penalty. So, march on for the Arsenal!
Barcelona vs Napoli
Given both recent forms, this is a fixture I look forward to just to know what will both teams do and who will advance to the next round. The reason was that both teams weren’t doing good in their respective league at the time.
And, guess what? Napoli turns out to be the worst of the two. Even with Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, the Italian clubs could only manage a draw in Naples and sadly got annihilated 3–1 in Spain. With that, Barcelona is moving forward to the next round!
Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad
Another fixture that I thought would be exciting. At the time, La Real looks like they are doing well after managing to top a group with Inter Milan, Benfica, and RB Salzburg. Added all the news surrounding Mbappe, the mood in PSG wasn’t entirely the best.
However, PSG managed to crush any hope since the start of the fixture. By the end of both legs, the Parisian won 4–1 on aggregate. Thus, they advance to the next round as well!
Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan
This was a really interesting fixture indeed. Everyone manage to figure out that it will not be an exciting match. But, this is still probably the biggest match at that stage. With that weight on their shoulder, they delivered a quiet dramatic end of the fixture.
Inter Milan was 2–0 on aggregate at some points in the second leg. However, Atletico managed to draw them at the Metropolitano and forced them to go to the second penalty shootout of the season. At the time, Oblak’s two saves gave Atletico lights. Meanwhile, Lautaro Martinez missed gave a nightmare to the away team. So, Atletico Madrid advanced to the next round!
Borussia Dortmund vs PSV Eindhoven
With PSV Eindhoven form before the fixture, especially at Eredivisie, it’s such a shame that they couldn’t do much on their ground.
Even though it was projected that Dortmund would win this game, I still hope for a better fight from the Dutch side. At the end of the day, they couldn’t even get an open goal and lost 3–1 on aggregate. Because of that, Borussia Dortmund sails on to the Quarterfinal!
Bayern München vs Lazio
A fixture that some are looking forward to just because of Bayern’s current form. They are underperforming a lot and Lazio was not an easy team to unlock defensively.
It was a bit of a surprise that Lazio secured a win in the first leg albeit only by a goal. Still, Bayern München managed to get the job done at home by winning 3–0. So, Bayern München is now Quarterfinal bound!
Manchester City vs FC København
This is the least exciting fixture of all. Even with the Danish team heroic in their Group Stage run, FC København is no match for the current champion.
From start to finish, the club from Manchester managed to win 6–2 on aggregate against them. It was the fixture with the most goals but most expected and boring of all. With this results, of course, Manchester City are in the Quarterfinal!
Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig
Lastly, a more exciting fixture but doesn’t live up to it as much. Real Madrid was projected to win but RB Leipzig isn’t an easy opponent. There are a lot of points to prove for the Germans against the Los Blancos.
Alas, it ended up not being an exciting match to watch. By the of it, Real Madrid did manage to win 2–1 on aggregate against them. Because of that, Real Madrid are completing the Quarterfinals!
The Quarterfinal Draws
Even if the matches in the last round weren’t exciting, the results gave juicy fixtures for the Quarterfinals. In fact, after the draws, it could also give a possibly great fixture for the Semifinals and Final.
Before going to that, as a bit of a number nerd, I find it funny that none of the 3 Italian clubs made it to the next round. Meanwhile, the one and only Ligue 1 team, PSG, is advancing to the next round. Along with the Parisians, the other top 5 league teams advance to the Quarterfinals. 3 from La Liga and 2 each from the Bundesliga and Premier League.
And, after the draw, this is the (hopefully) exciting fixture that we will be witnessing soon:
Bayern München — Arsenal
Manchester City — Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund — Atletico Madrid
Barcelona — Paris Saint-Germain
With this fixture, the UEFA Champions League become an exciting watch again! Personally, I think all of the fixtures are an equal match that we could all look forward to. Manchester City vs Real Madrid will be the one that most people look forward to. Then, with the way both teams had played, Bayern München’s European pedigree will be put to a great test by Arsenal. How Luis Enrique will line up PSG against his former team will also be a good ol’ narrative match-up. And, what will Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund do strategically against each other could be something interesting to see as well. Besides that, we will also get a prospected Semifinals of either Bayern/Arsenal vs City/Madrid and Dortmund/Atletic vs Barcelona/PSG. How great was that?
So, I hope that the results of the rest of this season’s matches will be great and we can get a nice final at Wembley this season. No more 1–0, please!
When’s The Quarterfinal?
So, the Quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League will start today! The first match-ups will be Arsenal vs Bayern München and Real Madrid vs Manchester City. For the next day, it will be Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona. Furthermore, the second leg will be conducted on the 16th and 17th of April.
These will (hopefully) be some great matches to watch. To close it off, as always, may the best team win!
Final Thought: I can’t wait for these matches. Even though I am going to be a bit busy this month, I want to try my best to watch all the matches. It genuinely had great match-ups that anyone could win. I look forward to actually getting at least one dramatic match even though I might get disappointed later. The must-watch will still be the second leg as it’s an all-or-nothing for everyone.
Also, as I was going through my own article, I realized the level of excitement was probably oozing so much in there. I didn’t realize that I was actually that excited for these matches but, hey, it was great match-ups that I recommend everyone to stay at least up-to-date on all of it!
