What to look out for in the Champions League round of 16 second legs week two
We already know half of the quarter-finalists in this season’s UEFA Champions League, and the remaining four will be decided once the last tranche of ties are concluded.
Here are some key talking points ahead of the second week of round of 16 second legs.
Arsenal’s round of 16 struggles
It was a familiar story for Arsenal as Galeno’s stunning late winner condemned them to a 1-0 defeat in Porto. The Gunners have now lost their last seven first-leg matches at this stage, and have not progressed beyond the round of 16 since the 2009/10 season, being knocked out at this point on seven occasions since then.
They will be desperate to change that narrative in London in what should be a fascinating return. “I think it’s about keeping our heads,” said midfielder Declan Rice. “It’s hard to concede that leg. Knowing how we play at home, with our fans and energy, I think you’ll see a team on the front foot from the start and we’ll be looking to do that.”
Lewandowski vs Osimhen part two
The first leg between Barcelona and Napoli in Italy was a tale of two star strikers. Barça’s Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring with a fine finish for his 93rd Champions League goal, before the ever-dangerous Victor Osimhen levelled things up 15 minutes later to leave this tie finely poised ahead of the return in Catalonia.
While there is quality oozing all the way through both these evenly-matched teams, it would come as no surprise if this tie is decided by one of the two men up front. “Because we didn’t put the game to sleep, our rivals scored with their first effort on target,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, emphasising the importance of taking chances. “Now we’ll give a big push to go through in front of our fans.”
Inter’s front men with point to prove
For all the talk of Inter’s impressive attacking duo of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez being the main threat to Atlético de Madrid, in the end it was veteran forward Marko Arnautović who settled the first leg in Milan. The former Stoke and West Ham man came off the bench to make all the difference, firing home the winner with 11 minutes to go.
Arnautović, however, has been ruled out of the second leg with injury, meaning Thuram and Martínez will once more be seen as the Nerazzurri’s main potential source for goals. Can they make an impact at the Estadio Metropolitano and do enough to get their side through to the quarter-finals?
Malen looks to haunt PSV again
It just had to be Donyell Malen who opened the scoring for Dortmund against his former club in the first leg in Eindhoven. The Dutch forward, who broke through at PSV before his move to Germany in 2021, refused to celebrate after his powerful top-corner finish put BVB ahead just beyond the 20-minute mark.
PSV fought back, and in Luuk de Jong they have a striker who guarantees goals – his second-half penalty to level the tie was his 28th of the season in all competitions. So, which of these former European champions will progress? Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck seems confident that home advantage will see his side over the line. “There will be 80,000 people there on a Champions League night,” he said. “We are unbeatable there.”
