The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 is underway. The first out of 2 legs of each of the 8 matchups have already taken place. Some of the results were most definitely unexpected while some matchups resulted in neither team being able to score. Here is a brief recap of how each game went:
Roma: 2 Porto: 1
This match was full of close calls, especially for Roma. The whole first half, as well as more than 20 minutes of the second, went without a goal until Zaniolo, at only 19 years old, scored a goal that went through the defender’s legs marking Roma’s first goal. Six minutes later, after Edin Džeko’s shot hit the goal post, Zaniolo scored once again using the rebound. A few minutes later Adrian Lopez managed to net a goal for Porto. However, they were not able catch up with Roma in the first leg. Nonetheless, a difference of 1 goal can easily be overcome in the second leg.
Manchester United: 0 PSG: 2
Mbappe and Kimpembe were at the center of the whole game. Similar to the previous match in the Round of 16, the first half was full of opportunities, but it still went unattended by goals. In the second half, however, Kimpembe one touched a well-timed and aimed corner from Di Maria into the goal. This gave PSG enough momentum for Mbappe to score yet another assist from Di Maria. Not only did the Red Devils not score, but Paul Pogba, a crucial player in the Manchester United squad, was given a second yellow card which resulted in a red card.
Tottenham Hotspurs: 3 Borussia Dortmund: 0
The result of this matchup was one of the more unexpected ones out of the many others in the Round of 16. As seen before, the first half harbored no goals. However, in the first few minutes of the second half, Son Heung-Min one-touched a winger’s cross giving the Spurs their first goal. Much later on in that match, Vertonghen scored another goal. Nearly 3 minutes later, Llorente went on to score another goal by finishing a cross from Erikson.
Ajax: 1 Real Madrid: 2
Ajax seemed to score the first goal in the first half through a corner, but the header was deemed offside which resulted in the first half lacking in any goals. In the second half, Benzema netted a pass from Vinicius Jr. marking the first goal of the game. Nonetheless, Ajax retaliated by scoring a goal 15 minutes later and equalizing the score. However, in the game’s last minutes, Asensio finished a cross giving Real Madrid a 1-point-lead in the second leg.
Lyon: 0 Barcelona: 0
This match was one of two that went without a goal, not just in the first half like the games before. The defenders in Barcelona such as Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique did a good job keeping the ball away from the net while keeping more of the possession of the ball. From Lyon, Terrier and Depay also played well.
Liverpool: 0 Bayern Munich: 0
In this game, both of the defenses were on guard covering up for any mistakes. Both goalkeepers did a good job of protecting the goal. Robertson and Mo Salah helped and contributed to the many opportunities the Liverpool got to score. However, they were never able to get the ball in Bayern’s net. Lewandowski also had many opportunities to score. Nonetheless, he was unable to convert on any of those opportunities making this the second match in-a-row to go without a goal
Atletico Madrid: 2 Juventus: 0
The first half, as well as most of the second half, went goalless. However, at the 78th minute, Giménez scored a goal from the corner, and not much later, Godin scored from a free-kick. In about 5 minutes, Atletico had established a two-point lead that they would maintain until the end. This match was also part of the category of unforeseen games. Before this game, Juventus seemed to be most likely to win. With Ronaldo playing for Juventus in the Champions League for the first time, the Turin club had a good chance to be best in Europe. However, a two-point difference may prove too much for Juventus.
Schalke: 2 Manchester City: 3
This match was full of goals, and the only one with goals in the first half. To start off, Agüero nets an assist from Bernardo Silva. Due to a handball, Schalke was granted a penalty. Bentaleb successfully scored. Yet again, due to a foul, Bentaleb scored another penalty as the first half ended. Schalke was in lead for most of the rest of the match until Leroy Sane scored the equalizer by shooting the free-kick into the top right corner of the goal. Then, right as the game reduced to its final minutes, Raheem Sterling scored a goal using the long pass from the goalkeeper, catching up and surpassing Schalke in the score. Manchester City, with performances such as this, seem the favorites to win the title.
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