17 March, England:
All of the current English teams in the Champions League Ro16 have qualified for the Quarter-Finals.
Except for Liverpool’s CL victory, English teams have struggled to advance to the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years.
However, the team has improved significantly this season, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool all dominating their opponents to advance in the competition.
Chelsea Defeats Atletico Madrid
Every time Chelsea plays Atletico Madrid, there will be drama and epic results. Over the last few years, these two teams have only met in the Champions League, with Chelsea coming out on top most of the time.
Chelsea has won four games in the last 12 years, lost two, and drawn the other three against Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid leads La Liga this season, while Chelsea is slowly regaining ground and currently sits fourth in the Premier League.
Atletico Madrid has had the same manager, Diego Simeone, for over ten years, whereas Chelsea has had several managers, the most recent being Frank Lampard, who was fired to make way for Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea Defeats Atletico Madrid in Full Time at Stamford Bridge: Chelsea Defeats Atletico Madrid to Advance to the Quarter Finals. (Source: Chelsea Football Club)
According to UEFA’s records, Atletico Madrid has never made a comeback after losing the first leg.
They have lost all seven Champions League matches in which they were defeated in the first leg.
This Chelsea team has been revitalized by Thomas Tuchel and is now a strong contender for the Champions League title.
This team has only conceded one goal from an opponent, Takumi Minamoto, and one own goal, bringing the total under Thomas Tuchel to just two goals.
Chelsea took the lead in the tie in the first leg away with a stunning Olivier Giroud goal.
Even in the first leg, Atletico looked out of sorts in comparison to their La Liga form.
The second leg began at Chelsea’s home ground, Stamford Bridge. The home team looked dominant right away and took the lead in the 34th minute through Hakim Ziyech, who was assisted by Timo Werner.
Atletico was stunned, and they attempted to respond, but Chelsea’s rock-solid defense kept their (Atletico’s) attackers at bay.
They made 5 changes in total, bringing in attackers in the hopes of scoring a goal and shifting the momentum in their favor.
However, none of their substitutes were able to make a difference in the game. Atletico Madrid legend Stefan Savic elbowed Antonio Rudiger in the middle of taking a corner during the game’s final stages. Savic was given a straight red card by the referee.
With only ten men, Atletico looked extremely vulnerable in the face of Chelsea’s high pressing and speed. Tuchel introduced Emerson and Ben Chilwell around the 92nd minute.
Ngolo Kante of Chelsea intercepted an Atletico Madrid ball and passed it to Christian Pulisic, who dashed towards the Atletico goal.
It was a three-on-one match, with Chelsea having the advantage. Pulisic passed the ball to Emerson, who smashed it into the bottom corner. It was his game-opening shot.
This goal gave Chelsea a 2-0 lead in the game, which grew to 3-0 over the two legs.
For the first time since the 2013/14 season, the Blues have advanced to the quarter-finals.
Chelsea is now looking forward to the draw, which will take place on March 19, 2021, to determine who they will face in the Champions League Quarter Finals.
Borussia Monchengladbach is defeated by Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s City maintained their unrivaled dominance by crushing German side Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League Round of 16.
City and Monchengladbach have met six times in the Champions League, with City winning each time.
Manchester City has scored 19 goals and conceded only four during this period against this opponent.
The first leg began in a neutral venue, and City dominated from the start. Bernardo Silva scored the crucial away goal in the 29th minute for the visitors.
Despite Borussia’s best efforts, Gabriel Jesus scored the game’s second goal in the 65th minute.
The game ended 2-0, giving City three crucial points and an away goal advantage going into the second leg.
The second leg was held at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium. Pep’s team’s home form is something that the entire footballing world would envy.
They have only lost one of their five home games, the Manchester derby, and have scored 14 goals while conceding only four. In the Champions League, they haven’t given up a goal in over 700 minutes.
The away team has been struggling lately.
They have not won a single game in their last eight games and have conceded 14 goals while scoring only 5.
The second leg began in the same manner as the first. Kevin De Bruyne scored in the 12th minute, and Ilkay Gundogan doubled the hosts’ lead in the 18th.
Without even playing 20 minutes, City had a 4-0 aggregate lead. The away team looked terrible throughout the game.
Manchester City has never advanced past the quarter-finals of the Champions League, having been eliminated three times previously.
However, this City team appears to be capable of winning the Quadruple this season, which includes the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, and Champions League.
Liverpool Defeats RB Leipzig
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool won the Champions League in the 2018/19 season, ending a 13-year European trophy drought.
Despite Liverpool’s struggles in the Premier League, their European performances have improved significantly.
Liverpool has dominated their group while also playing impressive football in the last few games in Europe.
RB Leipzig is currently second in the Bundesliga, trailing league leaders Bayern Munich by only three points. They appear to be contenders for the league title this season.
Although they perform very well in their home country, they have not performed as well in European competitions.
The first leg, like the others, took place at a neutral location. RB looked like they could win the game right away, dominating from the start.
They couldn’t, however, be as clinical as they had been in recent games.
Liverpool looked better in the second half than they did in the first, with Mohammed Salah opening the scoring in the 53rd minute and Sadio Mane adding a second in the 58th.
Liverpool looked like they could easily pass RB with a two-goal lead heading into Anfield, and they did just that.
In the second leg, Salah and Mane made Klopp’s team even more dangerous.
RB looked dominant in the first half, just like in the first leg, but it appeared that they didn’t have their shooting boots on for the game.
Salah opened the scoring in the 70th minute, and Mane added a second goal four minutes later to give Liverpool a 4-0 aggregate lead.
The European version of Liverpool is looking better than the domestic version, and if they keep up their current form, who knows, they might even make it to the Champions League finals.
Will the Champions League Return?
“It’s Coming Home” is a popular slogan in England, and it usually refers to the World Cup or something similar in which England participates.
The Champions League is the world’s most important European competition.
Since all of the English teams competing in the tournament have qualified for the quarter-finals, their form and performance have given fans hope that at least one of the English teams will bring the Champions League trophy back to England.
Chelsea won the competition in 2012/13, while Liverpool won it in the 2018/19 season. Manchester City, on the other hand, has never won this competition.
Learn more about: Eleanor Tomlinson, Yuji Itadori