Great start for the last 16 round of the UEFA Champions League. Two teams, both from England, have almost secured a spot in the QF. Arsenal crushed PSV 1-7, which is the biggest victory ever in an away match in the knockout stage. Odegaard led the Gunners to a great victory and I am wondering if Real Madrid are still missing him. Aston Villa also completed a great display in Brugge and have paved the way towards QF.
Real Madrid vs Atletico and Borussia vs Lille clashes will go to the second leg undecided, though the Merengues have a small lead (2-1).
Then, we move towards the second evening of this first leg. First of all, 6:45 PM CET, Feyenoord plays against the other Milano side, after beating AC Milan in the previous round. Inter seems a tougher rival though the pitch will decide. Feyenoord have not lost a match in the last month. Inter stays at the top of the table in Italy, where they conceded a draw last weekend against Napoli.
Moving on to the 9:00 PM matches, Barcelona pays a visit to Benfica where they already won in the group stage. It was an exciting match where the Catalans came back at the very last few minutes of the match to win it 4-5. Not sure if the match will be similar, considering that next week is the second leg, though Barcelona is displaying a great football under Flick coaching.
Also tonight, PSG will receive Liverpool. It looks like that this year, with Barça and Real Madrid's permission, could be a great year for the Reds. Staying at the top of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League looks promising. PSG destroyed Brest in the previous round but they have not performed consistently in the group phase. Liverpool seems favorite.
Finally, a German clash between Bayern and Leverkusen. Bavarians struggled to beat Celtic in the previous round, continuing with an average performance in the group phase. However, they are at the top in the Bundesliga , 8 points clear from their opponents tonight.
Good luck for stackers involved in tonight's matches and stay tuned tomorrow for the recap.