Home » today » Sport » UEFA Champions League – What you expect from Bayern – Salzburg, Liverpool – Inter, Real Madrid – Paris, Man. City – Sporting CP should pay attention | UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League – What you expect from Bayern – Salzburg, Liverpool – Inter, Real Madrid – Paris, Man. City – Sporting CP should pay attention | UEFA Champions League
The first round of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second legs is just around the corner: can Salzburg put obstacles in Bayern’s path again? How does the duel between Real Madrid and Paris end? How will Premier League teams fare?
We take a look at the top themes from matchday, brought to you by Expedia.
Ultimate omen for Liverpool and Inter
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Victories for Inter are rare on English soil – there has only been one win in all four round of 16 appearances – but this win is one to look back on with fondness. Samuel Eto’o scored the only goal in Chelsea’s win at that round in 2010, which saw them win the tie 3-1 on aggregate and go on to win the competition.
In fact, the Nerazzurri have come from a two-goal deficit against Liverpool before, winning 3-0 in the second leg (albeit at home) of the 1965 semi-final – and lifting the title back then too.
The Reds won’t let that deter them too much, however, having prevailed in all 34 UEFA ties so far if they won the first leg. And the two times that a narrow home defeat followed a 2-0 away win ended up winning the competition: in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup against Roma and in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League against Graz.
It certainly doesn’t make Bayern feel good that it’s Karim Adeyemi, who started at the club aged eight, and who now has the chance to knock his hometown club out of the competition. Should the 20-year-old succeed there would certainly be a lot of headlines about Bayern’s decision not to keep him, so he was drawn to Austria when he was 16.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side will not underestimate their opponents, however, after needing a last-minute equalizer from Kingsley Coman to maintain a record of 22 away unbeaten runs in the Champions League.
At the same time, however, they must be careful that their former player does not regain form at the right moment – before the game he has not scored in 11 of his last 13 games, having scored at will at the start of the season. “I’m still confident,” he said after the first leg. “We’re young, we’re fresh, we can stress them out and we can win against any team.”
Real Madrid ready for more Messi threat
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—Highlights: Paris – Real Madrid 1:0–
Los Blancos have recently struggled again in the last 16 and have been eliminated in two of the last three seasons at this stage of the competition. They’re keen not to let this become a trend again, but now the Spanish giants face Lionel Messi.
As if meeting the most prolific round of 16 goalscorer and veteran of 45 Clásicos of his career wasn’t enough, Madrid need to banish memories of one of Messi’s best games ever.
The 2010/11 season was memorable enough as Madrid finally progressed after six eliminations in the round of 16. The final was within reach, only Barcelona stood in the way – and Messi. He silenced the Santiago Bernabéu with two goals in the last five minutes. Marcelo – one of the defenders who let Messi outplay him – and Karim Benzema, who was on the bench at the time, will hope a moment like this doesn’t happen again.
You can. City really get better?
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—Highlights: Sporting CP – Man. City 0:5–
Damage limitation is now the order of the day for Sporting. Before this encounter they had won all eight two-legged ties against Premier League sides, but now it’s probably more important not to repeat the 1-12 draw against Bayern in the 2009 round of 16 – also 5-0 started in Lisbon.
It doesn’t seem too likely, but if City is too precise and tireless, it can’t be ruled out. Pep Guardiola is convinced things could be even better – after the first leg he said: “Some players didn’t play that well. We lost the ball too many times. When that happens to you against top European teams, you give them a chance to counterattack . We have to improve. The players, they know me. The way we work, we can do better.”
After City trio João Cancelo, Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva – who scored twice in the first leg – played at Sporting’s city rivals Benfica in their youth, the Premier League leaders can be counted on to give their all.
