England teams are playing this week to avoid being wiped out Champions League round of 16 The reputation of the Premier League is at stake.
Last week all six English clubs – a record number for any country in the competition – failed to win the first leg, leaving Premier League leaders Arsenal the only team with a clear chance of progressing at the moment.
Arsenal host Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, with both teams drawing 1-1, making them the team most likely to represent Europe’s richest league in the quarter-finals.
A hat-trick of three goals conceded – all against superior opponents – led many commentators to quote Michel Platini’s famous quote about England’s exhausting season.
Platini, who was UEFA president from 2007 to 2015, said, quoting a phrase that seemed to describe English football as “a lion in winter and a lamb in spring.” I came from the former Yugoslavia. Decades ago.
Manchester City open on Tuesday 0-3 win against Real Madrid at home and chelsea 5-2 loss to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.
tottenham trail 5-2 at home to Atletico Madrid Liverpool will hope the home aura of Anfield will help them overcome a 1-0 first-leg defeat against Galatasaray. Newcastle will face Barcelona in a 1-1 draw.
In the two games without the England team, Notable Norwegian underdog Bodø/Glimt It takes 3-0 lead On Tuesday they faced Sporting Lisbon, and on Wednesday Bayern Munich beat Atalanta 6-1 at home.
Here are some photos from the round of 16.
Arbeloa like Zidane
10 years ago Real Madrid promotes former player He took over as first-team coach in January, a largely untested position from within the club, after just a few months before sacking his storied predecessor.
It worked out well for Zinedine Zidane. He replaced Rafa Benítez, who had previously lifted the trophy with Liverpool, winning that season’s Champions League title, and the next two Champions League titles.
10 years have passed since then, Alvaro Arbeloa appointed as Madrid manager It was the same situation as Zidane, who played very rarely in the 2015-16 season.
Arbeloa passed his biggest coaching test last week against Man City, two months after he was surprise internal selection to replace Xabi Alonso. The latter is another former Madrid star who was poached by the club last year. very successful job In Leverkusen.
The inspiration behind Josep Guardiola’s victory over Man City was: Captain Fede Valverdeplayed well in a team without an injured superstar and scored an impressive hat-trick in the first half. Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.
Mbappe will make his return from a left knee injury in Manchester, the stadium where he scored one goal in each of the three games he played for Monaco, then PSG and Madrid.
The big stage of Bodo/Glimt
Bodø/Glimt need not fear going to Sporting’s 52,000-seat Jose Alvalade Stadium, which is more than six times the size of their home stadium.
Ketil Knudsen’s side have already won in front of bigger crowds and more enthusiastic atmospheres this year at Atlético’s Metropolitano Stadium and against Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Mr. Grimt Shocking 2-1 win against Atlético In the final round of league play in January, 23rd place meant they would advance to the 24-team final tournament. 36 team standings. In the final round of the play-offs in February, Milan won 2-1, completing the scoreline of 5-2.
Both teams missed their domestic league matches scheduled for the weekend in order to prepare and will be fresh in Lisbon.
chelsea huddle
Before kick-off at Stamford Bridge, all eyes will be on Chelsea’s players. another team gathers Near the center spot.
Premier League referee Paul Tierney evoked strange images on Saturday as he was surrounded by crowds before Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. The widespread reaction across English football was to ridicule Huddle and Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior’s claims that his players wanted to show “respect for the ball”.
Last week in Paris, Chelsea were booed for the second time by PSG fans as they swarmed before the kick-off of the second half.
All eyes will be on Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic’s positioning on Tuesday.
Quarterfinal pairings
If Bodø/Glimt passes, Arsenal or Leverkusen will next play the first leg at the 8,000-seat Aspmila Stadium in the Arctic Circle on April 7th or 8th.
Real Madrid and Bayern are on track for their next match 11th knockout phase The Champions League era began in 1992.
Despite being European champions a combined 21 times, Madrid, who have won a record 15 times, and Bayern, who have won six times, have never faced each other in a final in the competition’s 71-season history. They clashed in eight semifinals.
Half of the draw also includes PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool and Galatasaray, who will form one of the quarter-finals.
In the other quarter-final, Atlético is likely to face either Barcelona or Newcastle.
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