With the first knockout round finalized and finished, here is a Champions League Round of 16 recap.
Advancing Teams
Bayern Munich
Bayern won 1-0 in the first leg in Paris, thanks to former PSG youth player, Kingsley Coman. Still, without their summer signing Sadio Mane, the Germans were able to carry the momentum of the win home with them
The second leg in Munich was a tight-fought match that almost went in Paris’s favor a few times. A man-of-the-match performance from Matthijs De Ligt and goals from Eric Maxim Chupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry sent the Germans through.
Real Madrid
The current Champions League holders drew tough opposition in Liverpool, making the first round a rematch of last year’s final.
In true Real Madrid fashion, they went two goals down fairly easily in the opening fifteen minutes of the first leg. In even truer Real Madrid fashion, however, they turned the game around and ended up winning 5-2.
This meant Liverpool had a massive uphill battle to fight in Madrid, but in the end, it proved too big a task for them. Karim Benzema extended Madrid’s lead in the second leg, and send the Merseyside club packing.
Benfica
Benfica managed to top their group, finishing above PSG and Juventus(who were sent to the Europa League), and was granted a favorable draw against Club Brugge in the RO16.
A 2-0 win away in the first leg set them up well, and when the second leg came to Portugal, they racked up five goals to make it 7-1 on aggregate and advance in the competition.
Chelsea
Chelsea are a club that is only just climbing their way out of a complete crisis.
Graham Potter’s men just couldn’t find the back of the net in Dortmund, and Karim Adeyemi would see that they return to London with a 1-0 loss. They continued to struggle domestically despite their new signings, and had it all to play for in the second leg.
Chelsea was the dominant side for most of the 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge. Raheem Sterling opened the scoring just before halftime, and in the 53rd minute, Kai Havertz took and re-took a missed penalty, ultimately sealing Chelsea’s comeback and spot in the next round.
AC Milan
Despite having the second most Champions League crowns of all time, AC Milan has not featured in the knockout stages since 2014 and hadn’t advanced past the last 16 since 2012.
A 7th-minute Brahim Diaz goal in the first leg would be all that Milan needed to knock out Tottenham. Ultimately the Italian giants were able to hold onto their early lead through both legs, and once again go further in Europe’s top competition.
Manchester City
Following a disappointing 1-1 draw in Leipzig, all eyes turned to the return fixture in Manchester to see if the Citizens would be able to push on to the next round.
Erling Haaland became the third player in history to score five goals in a Champions League match. He was subbed off before he had a chance to break the record and score a sixth, but goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne would eventually make the scoreline 7-1 on aggregate, sending the Cityzens through.
Inter Milan
Similarly to their city rivals, Inter Milan has a rich history with the European game but has not seen success lately. They made their return to the Champions League in 2018 but were unable to get out of the group stage until last season.
Pushing past Victoria Plzen and Barcelona in the group stage, they met FC Porto in the Round of 16. A first-leg victory in Milan through an 86th-minute Romelu Lukaku rebound would prove to be enough over both games.
Porto were threatening in the return leg, but were unable to provide a moment of brilliance and Inter Milan would go through.
Napoli
Napoli has been, somewhat unexpectedly, one of Europe’s top teams this season. They flew through their group, finishing first above Liverpool and knocking out Ajax.
The Italians found the first-leg to be an easy affair, especially after Frankfurt were reduced to 10 men just after halftime. The 2-0 win thanks to Victor Osihmen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo set them up nicely for the return leg in Naples.
Despite unfortunate circumstances regarding the fan situation in Italy, Napoli was able to extend their lead in the second leg, making it 5-0 on aggregate and continue, as this season ‘Dark Horse’.
Exiting Teams
PSG
Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge
Tottenham Hotspur
RB Leipzig
Porto FC
Liverpool
The Quarterfinal draw is set to take place on Friday, March 17 at 11 am GMT(7 am EST/4 am PST). Immediately after the Quarterfinals are drawn the path to the Semi-finals and Final will be drawn as well. You can follow the draw live on Uefa.com
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