The champion league returned and with it being the quarter final, it’s all to play for to the last 8 teams left in the tournament. This showed with most of the matches this week so how did this round go.
Manchester City went against Atletico Madrid, and this match showed the most scared Diego Simeone and it showed on the field. Simeone lined up his men in a 5-5-0, meaning that he had 5 defenders and 5 midfielders and no strikers on the field. While Simeone is known for his defensive tactics, removing all his striking options so he can shut down Manchester City was extreme to say the least. While it did slow down Manchester City, the game didn’t completely shut them down with Phil Foden substitution. This gave Manchester City the speed and passing to get Kevin De Bruyne to sneak a 1-0 lead over Atletico. Overall, Simeone’s tactics gave him success with players he had in the past but the game is about speed and attack. It now seems like Simeone needs to adapt or get left behind in his ways.
Bayern Munich, who were the favorites to win the tournament, lost against Villareal but still have the home leg to play for. But this is concerning considering the high standards that Bayern have. In my opinion, it just seemed like a day that the Germans didn’t show up. The defenders were the main issue in this game;while they are good, they aren’t considered world class. With Manuel Neuer at age 36, this should be a point of concern for Bayern.
Liverpool unsurprisingly won against Benfica but showed some defensive shakiness that gave Benfica a lifeline coming in the second leg. Diaz looks like an absolute gem for Liverpool and at only 25-years-old, he still has time to make waves within Europe. While Konate did score a goal for Liverpool, he was definitely a concern defensively and his error gave Benfica a goal.
Finally Real Madrid went against Chelsea and this match showed that Karim Benzema is carrying Real Madrid at this moment. He scored a hat-trick against Chelsea giving Real Madrid a major advantage heading into the Santiago Bernabéu. Considering Real Madrid lost 4-0 against Barca when Benzema was not available for a game, it shows just how important he is for a Real Madrid game.
The second leg is important during play for all these clubs and shows the excitement at this stage of the tournament. More surprises are yet to show in this tournament and we’ll wait to see how the 12th and 13th will go to see who makes it for the semifinal.
