Uefa Champions League Round of 16: What to expect

football14 February 2024 08:20| © AFP
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      Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola scored second-half goals to give the French champions the advantage over their Spanish visitors in the first leg of the round of 16 tie. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne's form "extraordinary" after the Belgian was involved in all three goals as Manchester City beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 on Tuesday to close in on the Champions League quarterfinals.

      This week's results

      Tuesday 13 February
      - Copenhagen 1-3 Man City
      - Leipzig 0-1 Real Madrid

      Wednesday 14 February
      - Paris 2-0 Real Sociedad
      - Lazio 1-0 Bayern

      MAN CITY CRUISE TOWARDS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTERS IN COPENHAGEN

      Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne's form "extraordinary" after the Belgian was involved in all three goals as Manchester City beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 on Tuesday to close in on the Champions League quarterfinals.

      De Bruyne's early opener was cancelled out against the run of play by Magnus Mattsson.

      Bernardo Silva restored City's lead before halftime, but they had to wait until stoppage time to add further punishment for the hosts when Phil Foden turned home De Bruyne's cut-back.

      De Bruyne was sidelined for five months by a hamstring tear suffered on the opening night of the Premier League season in August.

      But since his return last month, the 32-year-old has scored two goals and provided seven assists in seven appearances.

      REAL CLAIM WIN AT LEIPZIG COURTESY OF SUPERB DIAZ SOLO EFFORT

      Real Madrid's Brahim Diaz scored a stunning goal after a solo run as they beat hosts RB Leipzig 1-0 on Tuesday to take a clear advantage into their Champions League last-16 second leg next month.

      The 24-year-old, filling in for the injured Jude Bellingham, struck against the run of play in the 48th minute.

      Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin then came to the rescue with a string of saves to protect the lead as the Spaniards made it seven straight wins in the competition this season.

      In a lively start the home side thought they had gone ahead when striker Benjamin Sesko headed in after three minutes. His effort though was disallowed following a VAR review.

      The Slovenian had another chance before Real gradually brought some balance to the game and came close themselves through Rodrygo, making his 200th appearance for the club.

      MBAPPE LEADS PSG ATTACK, REAL SOCIEDAD MISSING OYARZABAL

      Kylian Mbappe spearheads the Paris Saint-Germain attack in Wednesday's Champions League last 16 first leg against Real Sociedad, who are missing captain Mikel Oyarzabal at the Parc des Princes.

      Mbappe, who has 30 goals in all competitions this season for his club, is flanked by Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola in the PSG front line.

      The one real surprise in the French champions' line-up comes in defence, with Brazilian January signing Lucas Beraldo starting at left-back rather than Lucas Hernandez.

      Spanish international forward Oyarzabal missed Real Sociedad's weekend defeat against Osasuna in LaLiga and is not ready to return yet.

      Portugal striker Andre Silva, on loan from RB Leipzig, therefore leads the visitors' attack as Real Sociedad play a Champions League knockout tie for the first time in 20 years.

      Big-spending PSG have gone out of the competition in the last 16 in five of the last seven seasons.

      IMMOBILE HANDS LAZIO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ADVANTAGE OVER TROUBLED BAYERN

      Ciro Immobile fired Lazio towards a first Champions League quarter-final in nearly a quarter of a century in Wednesday's 1-0 win over Bayern Munich which plunged their troubled opponents even deeper into crisis.

      Italy forward Immobile slotted home the decisive goal from the penalty spot in the 69th minute at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to pile pressure on Bundesliga champions Bayern, who risk having a disastrous season by their own exalted standards.

      The spot-kick was won by Gustav Isaksen who was clattered by Dayot Upamecano with a rash tackle which earned the France defender a red card and left Bayern a man down for the final 20 minutes.

      Immobile's strike came days after he netted his 200th Serie A goal and allowed a raucous Lazio home crowd to dream of a first quarter-final in Europe's top competition in 24 years.

      FURTHER AHEAD

      Atlético de Madrid coach Diego Simeone will return to Inter and the Stadio San Siro on 20 February, having spent two years with the Nerazzurri as a player, winning the Uefa Cup in 1997/98.

      Napoli v Barcelona is one of the most eye-catching upcoming ties, with the first leg on 21 February set to unfold at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, named after a man who featured for both clubs.

      Arsenal are in the Champions League knockout stage for the first time since 2017, and face a tough trip on 21 February to Porto, who have lost just twice in 15 home games this season.

      FORM GUIDE

      The 16 teams still involved in the 2023/24 Uefa Champions League are battling for the ultimate prize in European club football.

      Arsenal

      Form: WWWWLL (all competitions, most recent first)

      Most recent result: West Ham 0-6 Arsenal, 11/02, English Premier League

      Next Champions League game: Porto v Arsenal, 21/02

      Bukayo Saka scored his 50th and 51st goals for Arsenal as the north London outfit downed West Ham 6-0 to record their biggest league victory since February 2012.

      Atlético de Madrid

      Form: LLDWWW

      Most recent result: Sevilla 1-0 Atlético de Madrid, 11/02, Spanish LaLiga

      Next Champions League game: Inter v Atlético de Madrid, 20/02

      Following a run of five consecutive wins, Diego Simeone's side have now gone three games without a victory (D1 L2), including their Spanish Cup semifinal first-leg loss to Athletic Club.

      Barcelona

      Form: DWWLLW

      Most recent result: Barcelona 3-3 Granada, 11/02, Spanish LaLiga

      Next Champions League game: Napoli v Barcelona, 21/02

      Barcelona have registered at least once in each of their last 19 games, but kept only three clean sheets in that time.

      Bayern

      Form: LWWWLW

      Most recent result: Leverkusen 3-0 Bayern, 10/02, German Bundesliga

      Next Champions League game: Lazio v Bayern, 14/02

      Harry Kane has scored 24 Bundesliga goals this season plus four in the Champions League.

      Copenhagen

      Form: WWLLDL

      Most recent result: Copenhagen 1-0 Galatasaray, 12/12, Group A

      Next Champions League game: Copenhagen v Man City, 13/02

      Copenhagen have lost only two of their 12 European matches this season (W6 D4).

      Dortmund

      Form: WDWWWD

      Most recent result: Dortmund 3-0 Freiburg, 09/02, German Bundesliga

      Next Champions League game: PSV v Dortmund, 20/02

      Donyell Malen struck twice and Niclas Füllkrug grabbed his fifth goal in four matches as Dortmund made it eight games unbeaten by downing Freiburg on Friday evening.

      Inter

      Form: WWWWWW

      Most recent result: Roma 2-4 Inter, 10/02, Italian Serie A

      Next Champions League game: Inter v Atlético de Madrid, 20/02

      Inter have won 24 out of 32 games in 2023/24, losing just two, while Lautaro Martínez has rattled in 22 club goals this term.

      Lazio

      Form: WLDLWW

      Most recent result: Cagliari 1-3 Lazio, 10/02, Italian Serie A

      Next Champions League game: Lazio v Bayern, 14/02

      Lazio ended a three-game unbeaten run (D1 L2) with victory at Cagliari.

      Leipzig

      Form: DWLLLD

      Most recent result: Augsburg 2-2 Leipzig, 10/02, German Bundesliga

      Next Champions League game: Leipzig v Real Madrid, 13/02

      Loïs Openda has scored in his last four games for Leipzig, while Benjamin Šeško has struck in his last three, but Leipzig have won just one of their last six matches in all competitions (D2 L3).

      Man City

      Form: WWWWWW

      Most recent result: Man City 2-0 Everton, 10/02, English Premier League

      Next Champions League game: Copenhagen v Man City, 13/02

      City have won their last ten games in all competitions. Erling Haaland struck twice against Everton in their most recent success, his first goals for the club since November.

      Napoli

      Form: LWDLWW

      Most recent result: Milan 1-0 Napoli, 11/02, Italian Serie A

      Next Champions League game: Napoli v Barcelona, 21/02

      Napoli's reverse away to Milan means they are now winless in their last six away matches in all competitions, losing five of those contests.

      Paris

      Form: WWWDWW

      Most recent result: Paris 3-1 LOSC Lille, 10/02, French Ligue 1

      Next Champions League game: Paris v Real Sociedad, 14/02

      Paris are now unbeaten in 16 games, winning 12. Kylian Mbappé stayed on the bench against LOSC Lille on Saturday but is in fine form, scoring 12 in his last nine matches.

      Porto

      Form: DWWWWD

      Most recent result: Porto 0-0 Rio Ave, 03/02, Portuguese Primeira Liga

      Next Champions League game: Porto v Arsenal, 21/02

      Porto were held to only their third draw in 32 matches this term (W22 L7) by Rio Ave as their eight-match winning run at home came to an end.

      PSV

      Form: WDWLDW

      Most recent result: Volendam 1-5 PSV, 11/02, Dutch Eredivisie

      Next Champions League game: PSV v Dortmund, 20/02

      Luuk de Jong has scored 26 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions this season for PSV, who are yet to lose in 21 Dutch league outings in 2023/24 (W19 D2).

      Real Madrid

      Form: WDWWWL

      Most recent result: Real Madrid 4-0 Girona, 10/02, Spanish LaLiga

      Next Champions League game: Leipzig v Real Madrid, 13/02

      Madrid moved five points clear of their main title rivals Girona after beating them 4-0 on Saturday. Jude Bellingham scored twice in the game, his 19th and 20th goals for the club he joined in the summer – although he also picked up an ankle injury.

      Real Sociedad

      Form: LDDDWW

      Most recent result: Real Sociedad 0-1 Osasuna, 10/02, Spanish LaLiga

      Next Champions League game: Paris v Real Sociedad, 14/02