We’ve seen the first leg of the Champions League knockout rounds and you have to say that everything is still to play for.
Man City were the only side that found a result that there may be no way back from, as they beat Sporting 5-0 in Portugal, and you can only see City sailing through to the next round after the second leg at the Etihad. But elsewhere things are much tighter.
We’ve seen some crazy comebacks in the Champions League in recent years so as fans we know to expect the unexpected now, and while Chelsea and Liverpool each have two-goal advantages, both sides know they still have lots of work to do to protect and improve on their leads to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
In Madrid, Atletico had to face their old enemy Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored so many goals against them through the years, but they kept him at bay on Wednesday night as they earned a 1-1 draw with Man Utd. Félix put the hosts ahead with a diving header seven minutes into the match, but Anthony Elanga equalized in the 80th shortly after coming off the bench to become United’s youngest ever scorer in the knockout stage.
Atletico are one of the toughest teams to break down and Diego Simeone is known for his defensive masterplans so an away goal is a great result for United, and will give them the confidence that they can beat them, even though UEFA has now scrapped the away goal advantage.
Juventus and Villareal also drew 1-1 in Spain, while Benfica came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Ajax. The biggest surprise might have been RB Salzburg’s 1-1 draw with Bayern. It was Salzburg’s first appearance in the Champions League knockout stages and it looked like it was going to be their first win against the German giants until Kinglsey Coman equalised in the 90th minute.
The last game to mention is Real Madrid vs PSG, where we saw Mbappe shine and score that amazing solo goal right at the end of the game. This is a clash between one team that wants nothing more than that first big trophy, and another team that has known so much success in the competition over its history. It will be exciting to see who progresses and if this is the year that PSG go all the way with their talent which is stronger than ever. #mmlove