Champions League Is Where The Big Boys Chill Out (#club5050)
In the round of 16 playoffs, we have 4 English teams,(Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool) 1 from Germany,(Bayern Munich) 1 from France,(Paris st Germain, Lille) 1 from the Netherlands,(Ajax) 1 from Portugal(Sporting Lisbon and Benfica) 3 from Spain,(Real Madrid, Villarreal, and Atletico Madrid) 2 from Italy(Juventus and Inter Milan) 1 from Austria(Salzburg) and this complete the team for the round of 16.
Last season Champions League(Chelsea will battle last season France league champion(Lille) as they battle the first leg at Stamford Bridge. These 2 teams last met in group stage 3 years ago that the Blues won the match home and away. And one of the biggest deals so far between them was when Chelsea paid the Franch side $32m for Eden Hazard way back as in 2012 after the Champions League win against Bayern Munich.
Last year Europa League winner Yellow Submarine (Villarreal) will battle the Old Lady(Juventus) for the round of 16 as Juventus has more experience in this competition than the opposition but it is football and anything can happen.
Wednesday will give us another interesting with Benfica taking on Ajax in the first round as both clubs surprise a lot of teams this season.
The talking point for this week's clash will be Atletico Madrid Versus Manchester United at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium and we should not that the Spanish Champion is yet to win at home in this UEFA Champions League but with their Saturday convincingly win against Osasuna to end their 3 matches losing streak. Manchester United on other hand is 7 matches unbeaten in the league with 2 consecutive wins against Brighton and Leeds United respectively. But this is the Champions League and anything can happen but their respective form will come to play when they clash on Wednesday.
Quick Reminder
This year Champions League ruled out the away goal idea. You play to win and if the match ends in a draw in aggregate, a penalty shoot-out will decide. But looking at it from my angle, I think the English Team will maintain the Champions League title but we should not forget that the title is in England.
Any team is favored to win the title but with 4 English teams, England stands a better chance to win as both Manchester City and Liverpool are one step away from making it to the Quarter-Finals. I wish all the clubs a fruitful outing today and I hope to see beautiful games today as boys chilled out today.
