The Champions League round of 16 turned out to be quite a roller coaster ride. While favourites Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Chelsea claimed comfortable wins, the likes of Liverpool and Atletico Madrid were involved in tense ties.
Underdogs Benfica and Villarreal both pulled off shock upsets away from home, and of course, there was Real Madrid’s classic Karim Benzema-inspired comeback over Paris Saint-Germain.
Read on below as SBOTOP shares the key takeaway from each of the eight Champions League round-of-16 ties.
Man City the most complete team
There wasn’t much to take away from City’s comfortable 5-0 aggregate win over Sporting Club. City took care of business in the first leg in Lisbon, which allowed Pep Guardiola’s side to go into cruise control en route to a second-leg draw at home.
With their dominant first-leg performance, City highlighted once again that they are the most complete team left in the competition. With their amazing attacking weapons, they can score in bunches. Meanwhile, their defence remains arguably the best in Europe.
Of course, the level of competition will jump considerably in the quarter-finals. But with the impressive balance they have in their side, City still appear to be the team to beat in this year’s competition.
Bayern still trying to find right balance
Speaking of balance, Bayern Munich still seem to be looking for it at this late stage of the season. After almost suffering a shock first-leg defeat away to Salzburg, Bayern unleashed their full array of attacking talent at the Red Bulls, which led to a 7-1 win at home featuring another Robert Lewandowski hat-trick.
Julian Nagelsmann fielded a lopsided 3-2-4-1 formation as he threw on all his talented attackers. But while that strategy worked against arguably the weakest team left in the last 16, Bayern need a more balanced approach – notably, a more stable defence – to make it deeper in the competition.
The return of midfielder Leon Goretzka from a lengthy injury absence will hopefully help them regain this balance moving forward.
Liverpool ride Lady Luck’s roller coaster
Unlike fellow title favourites Man City and Bayern, Liverpool were handed a legitimate test in the round of 16 with Italian champions Inter – and the Reds just about passed.
Although, they won 2-0 in Milan despite being outplayed for most of the match and lost 1-0 at Anfield despite creating the better chances.
Those results show that even the very best teams are still subject to the whims of Lady Luck. And while fortune just about favoured Liverpool over the two legs, Jurgen Klopp and co. better be careful or they might not be quite so lucky next time around.
Madrid have Real shot with Benzema, Modric
Real Madrid were second-best for most of their last-16 tie against PSG. They simply sat back and defended in the first leg and were eventually punished by Kylian Mbappe. They were also on the ropes in the second leg thanks to another Mbappe goal.
But they went through anyway because the majestic duo of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric willed them to a famous comeback victory.
At 34 and 36 years old, respectively, Benzema and Modric should not still be this good. But they are, and with the two old heads leading the way, Real Madrid have a very real shot at claiming yet another Champions League title this year.
World-class Oblak reemerges for Atletico
As for Madrid’s other team, this year’s Atletico have been far from a vintage Simeone side, with their defence crucially falling way short of past standards. The subpar form of goalkeeper Jan Oblak, arguably the best keeper in the world a few seasons ago, has been a key factor in that decline.
But Atleti and Oblak turned back the clock with a vintage performance in the second leg at Old Trafford as he made some crucial saves to preserve Atleti’s 2-1 aggregate win.
Atleti are still in the lower half of teams in the last eight in terms of overall quality, but if Oblak keeps up the form he showed at Old Trafford, they will be a tough out for any team.
Benfica cause another big surprise
The Champions League 2022 betting odds were very much against Oblak’s old side, Benfica, as they took on an impressive Ajax side that finished with a perfect record in the group stage.
But just like in the group stage when they progressed over Barcelona, Benfica caused another huge shock as they beat Ajax 1-0 in Amsterdam and knocked the Dutch giants out 3-2 on aggregate.
The Eagles will once again be massive underdogs against whomever they get matched up against in the quarter-finals. But they proved over two legs against Ajax that they will not back down against any team.
Pulisic steps up for Chelsea amid off-field crisis
Amid the ongoing uncertainty regarding their ownership status, Chelsea eased past French champions Lille 4-1 on aggregate. The reigning European and world champions put in a professional performance over two legs to keep their title defence alive.
Christian Pulisic proved to be a crucial player in the tie as he scored two of the Blues’ four goals. With Romelu Lukaku still struggling to make an impact, Pulisic figures to be an important player for Chelsea moving forward.
Old Lady stumbles in last 16 yet again
In a round full of surprising Champions League 2022 results, Villarreal’s 3-0 thumping of Juventus in the second leg in Turin has to go down as the most unexpected.
The Spanish side rode their luck a bit in the first half, but they eventually made Juventus pay for their wayward finishing by scoring three goals in the last 12 minutes, with two coming from the penalty spot.
But while Villarreal deserve much credit for their victory, this result is more of an indictment on Juventus, who have now lost in the Champions League round of 16 in each of the last three seasons to Lyon, Porto, and Villarreal – good teams, but hardly Europe’s elite.
This latest setback is another sign that the Old Lady has a long way to go to return to the top of the European ladder.
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