Champions League Quarter-Final Preview
After Barcelona and some Messi magic knocked Chelsea out of the round of 16 and Bayern’s triumphed over Beşiktaş 3-1, the quarter finals of the Champions League begin. The draw took place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Friday 16th of March hosted by Andriy Schevenko (the UEFA Champions League final ambassador).
So who’s in the quarter finals? The teams who have qualified are Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla (all ESP), Juventus and Roma (ITA), plus Liverpool and Man City (ENG) and Bayern Munich (GER).
The first leg will be played on 3rd and 4th of April and the second leg being on 10th and 11th April and the ties are:
Juventus vs Real Madrid
Sevilla vs Bayern Munich
Barcelona vs Roma
Liverpool vs Man City
Let’s meet the qualifiers for the quarter finals:
Barcelona- They are arguably currently the best team in Europe. Barcelona are leading La Liga, are 8 points clear of Atletico Madrid and 15 points clear of rivals Real Madrid. Their side boasts stars such as Messi (top scorer-6), Suarez(most assists-4), Iniesta, Coutinho and Ter Stegen. However, they are strong favourites but in their last quarter final in 2016/17, they lost 3-0 to Juventus.
Bayern Munich- The German giants remaining in the competition. They are destroying the Bundesliga with a lead of 20 points over second place. Their team bolsters talent like Lewandoski, (top scorer-5) Kimmich, (joint top assister-3) Vidal, Alaba,(joint top assister-3) Robben, Rodriguez and Coman (joint top assister-3). Their last quarter-final was in 2016/17 losing 3-6 to Real Madrid.
Juventus- The Old Lady performed a hit and run attack on Tottenham to reach the last eight, and are only leading Serie A by four points from Napoli. Higuain (top scorer-5), Dybala, Buffon and Matuidi are some of their best players. They don’t have a top assister with seven players on 1 assist each. They won their last quarter-final 3-0 over Barcelona and came runners up last year.
Liverpool- They are currently 4th in the Premier League. Liverpool have a good history with this competition, being champions of Europe five times. In recent years, they have struggled for 4th place but now things have changed, could Liverpool be a surprise threat? They’re line-up includes a dangerous front three, Salah, Firmino (top scorer) and Mané, as well as Lallana, Henderson, Milner (most assists) and Virgil Van Dijk. Their last quarter-final was in 2008/09 where they lost 5-7 to Chelsea.
Man City-Soon to be winners of the Premier League, City have dominated Europe and England, but can they challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid for the crown of European champions? Top scorer is Sterling and Agüero with De Bruyne having the most assists. Their last quarter-final was 2015/16 where they beat PSG 3-2.
Real Madrid- Current holders of the UCL, they look to defend their title but their recent form has dipped and there are concerns. Their top scorer is Ronaldo (12) and Bale has the most assists (2). They have a very strong squad and will still be a threat. They won their last quarter in 2016/17 (winning 6-3 against Bayern).
Roma- They are doing relatively well in Serie A, the Italian side have players like Dzeko and Nainggolan. Dzeko has the most goals and assists for their side. Their last quarter-final was in 2007/8 where the lost to Man United 0-3.
Sevilla-They have shown themselves to be a strong Spanish side, drawing 3-3 to Madrid. Ben Yedder is their top scorer (8) and Correa is their highest assister with 3. They have not reached the quarter finals in a long time, the last being 1957/58 where they lost 2-10 to Real Madrid.
As the Champions League heats up, time will only tell who will be crowned kings of Europe.