(ESP-ENG) Jornada de sorpresas.

Hello friends, good vibes to all.

https://imgmedia.libero.pe/652x359/libero/original/2024/03/13/65f1df6fb6e58d25e12c7c59.webp

Fuente.

The round of 16 has reached its conclusion, revealing the eight teams that will play in the quarterfinals: Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester City, Bayern, Barcelona, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Atlético de Madrid. The last 4 clubs were announced this week after the last matchday, matches that for me were a surprise as some teams that I really did not expect to see in this stage of the competition made it to the quarterfinals. Barcelona and Atletico are two of these clubs that caught my attention because knowing their current situation it could be presumed that they would lack an extra to enter but it was not so.

The round of 16 has reached its conclusion, revealing the eight teams that will play in the quarterfinals: Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester City, Bayern, Barcelona, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Atlético de Madrid. The last 4 clubs were announced this week after the last matchday, matches that for me were a surprise as some teams that I really did not expect to see in this stage of the competition made it to the quarterfinals. Barcelona and Atletico are two of these clubs that caught my attention because knowing their current situation it could be presumed that they would lack an extra to enter but it was not so.

Fuente.

In this second leg things were pretty even, just like the first leg, the difference is that the first leg was a real bore. The thing is that Napoli is not even the shadow of what it was last season, a cold team that finds it hard to press high and be more vertical. They were up against a Barca team and Cubarsi, a youngster of only 17 years old who gave an exhibition of what it is to defend, win duels and make good deliveries of the ball. Because yes, and it must be said, Araujo's present is not bad but he is very inconsistent. Barca took advantage of two minutes of Italian debacle to score two fleeting goals and sentenced the tie, Fermin and Cancelo were the authors.

Napoli tried to react but always fell short, I think they were no match for the blaugranas. I still say, for me it was a surprise to see them advance to the quarterfinals, I don't think anyone expected to see them here. As I said the doubts are still there, in the second half they disappeared from the field to the point that Lewandowski had to come to the rescue to give them peace of mind. Depending on their opponent we could see Barcelona in the semifinals. The point is that the remaining seven teams, for me, with the exception of Atletico, are in better form than them. To be in the semis would be a major bombshell.

Fuente.

Another of the big surprises of this round of 16 is the continuation of Cholo Simeone's team in the Champions League. If we are talking about the fact that the Culé team is not so solid, what can we say about the colchoneros? - a team that despite being fourth in La Liga, 14 points behind the leaders, has not looked convincing this season; they lost 2-0 against Cadiz, one of the bottom teams, last Saturday. Inter is the current leader in Italy, a team that is doing quite well under Inzaghi, they are 16 points away from second place, they had won the first leg by 1-0 playing much better than Atletico and still lost, on penalties, but they lost.

Yesterday's game should have been settled as quickly as possible and not give Atletico a chance, especially if they were playing at home in the Metropolitano. But Inter sinned of passivity, they had more of the ball but in a very sterile way, many passes in the defensive-midfield area but when it came to attacking, that's where the failure came. The game had its ups and downs, at times one was better than the other, those roles were changed throughout the ninety minutes but finally it was the red and whites who with 20 minutes to go pressed to get the tie in the aggregate score and thus force an extension. Oblak was extraordinary, saving 2 penalties and Lautaro, the least expected, was the one who missed to stay out.

Fuente.

At the end we have 8 big European teams, it has been a long time coming. Some with more history than others but some of the best this edition has to offer. The other surprise in these quarters is Bayern, who won against Lazio and who we already talked about. Favourites? - Well, I think City for everything they represent, both for Pep and for the great team they have, Madrid for their history and personally I would like to see Arsenal far away, if it can be until the final, even better. I think that the team led by Arteta is a great team, a young one and with a hunger for an important title that has been contained for years. Tomorrow is the draw and anything can happen: a Spanish derby, a Madrid-PSG that would be legendary because of the Mbappé issue, a German derby; actually I think that any cross will be epic and worth watching.

Well friends that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
Hugs to all, see you next time!