ON TO THE QUARTER-FINALS!

SportsBeat!

Written by Aaron Cantin

The round of 16 is in the past and the quarter-finals are upon us. The first round of elimination games had plenty of entertainment and a couple of upsets, too. The most recent matches this week saw Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Real Madrid all progress. Let’s look back at how these four sides made their way to the quarters.

The UEFA Champions League last 16; Photo from UEFA

Real Madrid 3 - 1 Atalanta

Los Blancos did as expected after taking care of business on home soil. The 1-0 road victory in the first leg helped Zidane’s side prepare for this game knowing the Italians will have to push forward. Madrid kept its calm and took advantage of a brutal mistake by Atalanta’s keeper to open the scoring. A penalty shot half-way through the second half doubled their lead and it was smooth sailing from there. The Spanish giants came away with a 3-1 win on the night progressing with a 4-1 advantage over the two legs.

Manchester City 2 - 0 Borussia Monchengladbach

As many assumed, City already had this one in the bag heading into the second leg up two goals to nil. A quick goal from Kevin De Bruyne diminished any hopes the german side had of a miraculous comeback. If that weren’t enough City added another for good luck minutes later. With City up 2-0 inside twenty minutes, it led to a boring affair for spectators. Exactly what the English side ordered.

Bayern Munich 2 - 1 Lazio

This one was straightforward as well as it was over from the get-go. The current champions of Europe took care of business in the first-leg taking down Lazio 4-1 in Italy. That breathing room heading into the second leg gave Bayern the flexibility of looking down the bench and giving players more minutes. Bayern still managed to come away with a 2-1 win and you have to feel they could have scored more if needed. Of course, they did not need to, eliminating Lazio with an aggregate of 6-2 over the two legs.

Chelsea 2 - 0 Atletico Madrid

This was the matchup everyone was curious about heading into the round of 16. The first leg was a forgetful one with Chelsea earning a 1-0 road win. The second leg had more excitement but still far off what the audience envisioned. Atletico did not look dangerous at any point during the two-leg’s. Perhaps it was a matter of “choosing your battles” as they currently sit four points ahead of Barcelona atop the La Liga. Not progressing in the Champions League means more rest and focus on the La Liga. If Madrid does win the Spanish league it will all be worth it. Chelsea meanwhile have found momentum after a sluggish

start to the year and may be a dark house candidate going forward.

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Now that we have our quarter-finalists - let’s break this down. The draw for the quarter-final matchups takes place tomorrow (Friday, March 18th). The biggest difference in the quarters is now there are no restrictions to who can play who. This means two teams from the same league can be matched up. The ties will be played on April 6th/7th and April 13th/14th. What’s different compared to past years is the semi-finals will be drawn tomorrow as well. After the four quarter-final ties are drawn, they will be assigned a number from one to four, which will then be drawn in a separate pot to determine the two semi-final ties.

To no surprise, Manchester City remains the betting favourite.

Man City +225
Bayern Munich +300
PSG +550
Liverpool +600
Chelsea +750
Real Madrid +900
Borussia Dortmund+1700
FC Porto +3500

Though City may have the best team and are in the best form it is impossible to feel confident picking the English side to lift the trophy come May 29th. PSG and Bayern Munich were the two finalists last year and it's hard to look past them again. PSG fell a goal short of winning their first Champions League in team history last season and it appears they have improved. Bayern meanwhile shows no signs of slowing down. Liverpool is aware they may have to win the tournament to compete next year considering where they stand in the domestic table right now. And then there’s Real Madrid still hanging around. Who will lift the trophy when all is said is done? Your guess is as good as mine (PSG).