UCL: What to look out for in the first week of the round of 16
Another mouth-watering clash between Paris and Bayern is among the key storylines as the Uefa Champions League round of 16 commences tomorrow.
The Uefa Champions League makes a return and the knockout stages commence on Valentine’s Day February 14 with a repeat of the 2020 final between Paris and Bayern among the choice cuts on offer.
Here are som key talking points from the opening four round of 16 first legs.
Paris and Bayern lock horns again
Paris and Bayern have got to know each other pretty well in recent years with the heavyweights pitched together for the third time in four seasons. The German side will probably feel they have the psychological edge having won three of the last four meetings, including the 2020 final when the French outfit’s former winger Kingsley Coman scored the only goal in Lisbon to give the German club their sixth European Cup.
Paris exacted some revenge by eliminating Bayern on away goals in the 2020/21 quarterfinals with a 3-2 first-leg win in Munich, aided by a Kylian Mbappé double, proving decisive despite Bayern’s subsequent 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes. Thomas Müller, who scored for the Bavarian giants in that opener, summed up this tie: “Two very good teams with very good players. Sadly one cannot go through to the next round. A big game of football.”
Conte returns to Milan
Antonio Conte underwent surgery to have his gall bladder removed at the start of the month but will be eager to be on the plane as his side head for San Siro, the current Spurs manager having been in charge of Milan’s city rivals Inter for two seasons from 2019 to 2021. His teams tended to thrive in the derby, the Nerazzurri winning four of their five meetings with the Rossoneri and scoring at least twice in all those victories.
Key to those successes were a talismanic striker – Romelu Lukaku struck in all of those contests. That should be a good omen for current Tottenham forward Harry Kane, who recently became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer after overhauling Jimmy Greaves’ previous landmark of 266. Add in the fact that another Spurs striker, Peter Crouch, scored the only goal of the game and the tie, at San Siro when the London side beat Milan at this stage in 2011, and Conte’s charges should be optimistic.
Parker looking to revive fortunes of Club Brugge
Portuguese opposition has brought out the best and the worst in Club Brugge already this season so which version of the Belgian hopefuls will turn up at the Jan Breydelstadion? Will it be the rampant and resilient side that turned heads in this season’s competition with a 4-0 triumph at Porto on Matchday 2 or the porous one that were beaten by the same scoreline in the reverse fixture?
Scott Parker, who took the reins from Carl Hoefkens at the start of this year, has outlined what we can expect from him as Club Brugge coach: “How am I as a coach? The ‘no sweat, no glory’ mentality emphasises exactly what I am. If someone steps in as coach halfway through the season, you have to be able to quickly see what you want to change. I have no doubt that we can be successful with this team.”
Chelsea seek respite from domestic problems
Plenty can change for a team between the end of the group stage and the beginning of the knockout phase, and nowhere is that more in evidence than at Stamford Bridge. When Graham Potter’s men beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on Matchday 6 it was their seventh win in ten games, with just a single defeat in that spell. However, their following seven games brought only one win and five defeats, including two domestic cup exits, and a slump into mid-table.
“We have to keep improving and stick together because clearly we’re suffering as a football club and it’s not nice at all,” said Potter after a particularly bruising 4-0 FA Cup loss at Manchester City. “But that’s where we are at the moment.” Chelsea have responded with a flurry of activity in the transfer window, including the eye-catching acquisitions of João Félix, Enzo Fernández and Mykhailo Mudryk. They will be hoping the new blood can spark the sort of revival that saw them scoop the trophy in 2021.
Further ahead
The remaining round of 16 ties begin with Liverpool versus Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt against Napoli on Tuesday 21 February.
On Wednesday 22 February, Leipzig host Manchester City while Inter Milan welcome Porto.
Club Brugge, Benfica, Dortmund and Chelsea will play the second legs of their ties on 7 March while Milan, Tottenham, Paris and Bayern are involved in their deciders the following evening.
