The first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 is over, and while we have some predictable and expected results, we have others that are surprising.
Let’s start with the fact that PSG failed at home against Bayern Munich, so now they will have to travel to Germany to come back from behind and seek a place in the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Milan made the San Siro Stadium respected and defeated Tottenham by the minimum in a great match.
Benfica fulfilled their visit to Belgium and took a comfortable 0-2 lead into the second leg in Portugal. Borussia Dortmund extended Chelsea’s bad streak and dealt them a blow at home to leave them in the doldrums.
Liverpool let slip a 2-0 lead against Real Madrid and surprisingly ended up losing at home with a crushing 2-5 score. Napoli continues its excellent level of play and does not let its foot off the accelerator in any competitions it is playing in. Inter beat Porto at the San Siro by the narrowest of margins.
Finally, the most unexpected result of the day came in the match between Leipzig and Manchester City, where Pep Guardiola’s team could only manage a 1-1 draw despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute.
Below, we summarize what happened in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Round of 16: PSG can’t beat Bayern at home
When:
Tuesday, February 14th at 02:00 pm ET at the Parc des Princes
Moneyline odds:
PSG +190
Bayern Munich +128
Draw Offs:
+275
Where Can I Watch it?
CBS and Paramount+
PSG has only one goal every season: the Champions League. So they have been building their projects for several seasons based on what happens or not in the top continental competition. And this year will be no exception. The brutal defeat of the Parisian team in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern has taken its toll, and all eyes are now on Galtier.
PSG failed to beat Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes, as they were defeated 1-0 with a goal by Kingsley Coman and will now have to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, which will be played on Wednesday, March 8.
The Parisians had two opposing sides. In the first half, they were utterly overwhelmed by the Bavarians, although they managed to resist and went into the break level. Lionel Messi and Neymar started, while Kylian Mbappé came on in the second half.
In the end, PSG showed that they have what it takes to give Bayern a fight, but they will have to be at their best early in the second leg at the Allianz Arena. That’s three defeats in a row, with the stars suffering from physical problems. They now have a few weeks to recover and turn the page.
Round of 16: Tottenham’s fall on their visit to Milan
When:
Tuesday, February 14 at 03:00 PM ET at the San Siro Stadium
Moneyline odds:
Tottenham +163
Milan +170
Draw Offs:
+234
Where Can I Stream?
An early goal was enough for Milan to beat Tottenham 1-0 last Tuesday in the Italian side’s first Champions League knockout match in 10 years.
Brahim Diaz scored after just seven minutes to give the Rossoneri a lead they held until the end of the game, which they will look to preserve in London, where the second leg of the last-16 tie will take place on March 8.
Round of 16: Benfica deliver to win in Belgium
When:
Wednesday, February 15 at 3:00 pm ET at the Jan Breydel stadium
Moneyline odds:
Brugge +293
Benfica -109
Draw Offs:
+256
Where Can I Watch it?
Vix+ and Paramount+
João Mário converted a penalty, while substitute David Neres scored the second goal two minutes from time as Benfica put one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-0 win over Brugge on Wednesday.
Despite losing Argentine Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea, the Portuguese side showed its squad is still potent.
The technical superiority of Benfica’s players was evident in the first leg of the round of 16. The visitors made the most of virtually every chance they had to generate danger.
Round of 16: Dortmund deals another blow to an unrecognizable Chelsea side
When:
Wednesday, February 15th at 02:00 pm ET at the Signal Iduna Park
Moneyline odds:
Bortussia Dortmund +148
Chelsea +188
Draw Offs:
+232
Where Can I Watch it?
CBS and Paramount+
Thanks to the UEFA Champions League, soccer fans were treated to a real treat on Wednesday, February 15. In another first leg of the round of 16, Borussia Dortmund hosted Chelsea, and both wanted to hit hard in the first round. But it was the home side who came up.
The Signal Iduna Park was the stage where the team led by Edin Terzić faced the team coached by Graham Potter. After a first half of much friction and intensity in which neither of the two could open the scoreboard, everything had to be defined in the second half, where a great goal sealed the narrow victory with a score of 1-0 to reach the second leg in London with an advantage.
Round of 16: Real Madrid comes from behind to destroy Liverpool
When:
Tuesday, February 21 at 3:00 pm ET at Anfield
Moneyline odds:
Liverpool +137
Real Madrid +183
Draw Offs:
+255
Where Can I Watch it?
Real Madrid defeated Liverpool resoundingly 2-5 on the road in the opening leg of the Champions League round of 16 to further prove its superiority as the most successful team in Europe and a master of comebacks.
The 2-0 result once more proved to be “the most deceiving scoreline in soccer.” After a poor error by Thibaut Courtois, Darwin Nuñez (4′) and Mohamed Salah (14′) gave Liverpool the lead at Anfield just 15 minutes into the game.
Real Madrid, however, evened the score in the first half with two goals from Vinicius Jr. (21 and 26), who also took advantage of a clearance error by goalkeeper Alison Becker. With low spirits at the interval, Jürgen Klopp’s team was defeated by their rivals in the second period. Two minutes into the second half, Eder Militao made the comeback, and Karim Benzema (at 55 and 67) converted it into a trashing with a brace.
Round of 16: Napoli continues its excellent level of play and beats Frankfurt in Germany
When:
Tuesday, February 21st at 02:00 pm ET at the Deutsche Bank Park
Moneyline odds:
Frankfurt +226
Napoli +117
Draw Offs:
+255
Where Can I Watch it?
CBS and Paramount+
Napoli continues to be unstoppable and seems to be going solid straight to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The Italian team beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the first leg in Germany, and were superior for a large part of the match. The team coached by Luciano Spalletti is strong in all lines and could have won by many more goals.
Kvaratskhelia is an excellent figure on the team and the one in charge of the ideas in the last quarter of the pitch. The Georgian missed a penalty but was very important in creating plays.
Round of 16: Alarm bells ringing in Manchester after a 1-1 draw against Leipzig
When:
Wednesday, February 22nd – 03:00 pm ET at the Red Bull Arena at Leipzig
Moneyline odds:
Leipzig +330
Manchester City -129
Draw offs:
+290
Where Can I Watch it?
The Citizens’ initial dominance did not help them to win in Germany. The team indeed started very well but ended badly. And Gvardiol, that great and monumental center-back who wowed at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, frustrated Guardiola, leaving this tie wide open and witnessing a night when Haaland was wholly disconnected from his teammates.
Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring for the Citizens in the 27th minute, and Josko Gvardiol equalized for Leipzig in the 70th minute.
Manchester City took control of the match from the start against a Leipzig side that seemed to have the motto of trying to keep a clean sheet and looking for sporadic chances on the counterattack.
Everything will be decided at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg of this great round of 16 ties.
Round of 16: Inter beats Porto and clings on to the quarterfinals
When:
Wednesday, February 22 at 3:00 pm ET at San Siro
Moneyline odds:
Inter -124
Porto +357
Draw Offs:
+258
Where Can I Watch it?
Vix+ and Paramount+
Romelu Lukaku’s goal gave Inter the victory in their Wednesday match against Porto, which was quite well-matched. After Otavio was dismissed in the 78th minute, Porto, who hadn’t lost since October 21, already had 10 men on the field when the Belgian striker scored in the 86th minute.
Porto will attempt to make up ground in the second leg at the Do Dragao Stadium in order to go to the quarterfinals of this Champions League after the first leg concluded with a score of 1-0 at San Siro. Once more, Lukaku was the star, but Nicolo Barella’s cross and André Onana’s saves were also important.
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