BY: SAM CAROZZA; STAFF WRITER
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Down to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and each of the eight teams left wants their hands on Europe’s most prestigious club competition trophy.
In the Champions League, each team faces each other twice, once at home and once away. Four first-leg games took place this week, two on Tuesday, April 8th, and two on Wednesday, April 9th.
German juggernauts, Bayern München, hosted the reigning Italian champions Inter Milan, on Tuesday. Bayern made easy work of their first-round matchup against German rival Bayer Leverkusen, beating them 5-0 on aggregate. Inter was too strong in the attack for their first-round matchup against Dutch side Feyenoord, beating them 4-1 on aggregate.
Both teams are headlined by star-studded attacks. Bayern is led by English talisman Harry Kane, who sits second in the competition for goals scored, currently with 10 scored in 11 games. Inter have their attacking duo up top in Marcus Thuram and Laturo Martinez, who have combined for nine goals in the competition so far.
In the first leg, a late equalizer for Bayern’s Thomas Muller was nullified by a game-winner in the 88th minute by Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi. As Inter won 2-1 in Munich.
On Tuesday the reigning champions, Real Madrid, traveled to North London in a highly anticipated matchup against the Arsenal Gunners. Real is the competition’s most decorated team with an all-time high 15 Champions League trophies to their name. Arsenal advanced easily last round, routing Dutch side PSV Eindhoven to a 9-3 victory on aggregate. Real battled it out against their Madrid rival last round, just barely winning on a controversial penalty kick call.
Arsenal looks to make their first semi-finals appearance since the 2008-2009 season, while Real is looking to continue their repeat title charges. Real may have the most star-studded team, currently led by one of the world’s finest, Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe has seven goals in the competition so far after playing 12 games. Arsenal hopes their star player Bukayo Saka will be the difference maker after missing the last two months from a hamstring injury. Saka looks to make his first start since the injury. This is the third time ever these two have met in the Champions League with Real having taken the only win and the other game ending in a draw.
Two goals from Arsenal’s Declan Rice saw the Gunners cruise through the first leg at home, defeating Real Madrid 3-0.
The Spanish powerhouses, Barcelona, hosted German side Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Barcelona faced Portuguese side Benfica in the previous round moving past them 4-1 on aggregate score. Dortmund battled French side Lille in their round of 16 bout, just barely knocking them out with a late goal in the second leg to give them the advantage 3-2 on aggregate.
Barcelona is leading the tournament in goals scored with 32 in 10 games. Barcelona is led by their superstar front three: Raphina, who is leading the competition in goals with 11, Robert Lewandowski, a 36-year-old poacher who is third all-time in career Champions League goals with 102 and 17-year-old wonder kid Lamine Yamal, who is dubbed ‘the next Messi’. Dortmund came runner-up in last year’s tournament and is looking to win their second championship in club history. This will be the fourth matchup between the two sides, with Barcelona winning two and the other falling to a draw.
Lewandowski netted two second half goals, which extended Barcelona’s 1-0 halftime lead, and Yamal added one more for good measure, as Barcelona overwhelmed Dortmund 4-0 in the first leg.
The French capital saw Paris Saint-Germain hosting British side Aston Villa in Villa’s third-ever appearance in the competition. PSG’s electrifying speed up top has proven difficult for teams to contain. In their round-of-16 matchup with Liverpool, the match came down to penalties, with PSG advancing narrowly 5-4. Aston Villa made easy work of their matchup in the round of 16, beating Belgian side Club Brugge 6-1 on aggregate.
Aston Villa has one of the lowest goal totals of teams left in the competition with 19, but they’ve been defensively solid, conceding only seven goals. The squad is highlighted by new additions in January. Forward Marcus Rashford and forward Marco Asensio have brought new life into the club, helping bolster their attacking options. PSG has the fastest-attacking group in Europe, where the four strikers have combined for 14 goals so far. Both teams are looking to win their first final in club history, while PSG is looking to make their second final ever.
Despite a 1-1 halftime score, two second half goals gave PSG a 3-1 edge in the first leg at home, putting them one game away from the semifinals.
The second legs will be played next week April 15 and 16th while the first leg of semi-final matches start on April 29th and 30th.
