Four Champions League knockout stages take place this week as we get closer to knowing who will be involved in the quarter-finals of the competition this season.
This quartet of matches ends on Wednesday when Manchester City take on Sporting Lisbon and Real Madrid take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Here’s a look at how each team could progress from this week’s links.
A reminder that away goals will not count as a tiebreaker starting this season. The calculation should therefore be quite simple for the rest of the tournament.
Real Madrid v PSG (0-1 on aggregate)
A late goal from Kylian Mbappe in the first leg put PSG in the ascendancy going into the second leg of this top-flight fixture.
How Real Madrid can qualify for the quarter-finals:
- Real need to get a win of at least one goal to force extra time. They need a two-goal win to advance into the final 90 minutes.
How PSG can qualify for the quarter-finals:
- A goalless draw or a win would ensure PSG progress.
Manchester City vs Sporting Lisbon (5-0 on aggregate)
City already have a foothold in the quarter-finals after a hugely impressive 5-0 first-leg victory that was secured with a brace from Bernardo Silva and goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling.
How Man City can qualify for the quarter-finals:
- A win or a draw would ensure progress for City, and they are in such a good position that a defeat of four goals or less – they can even afford to lose 4-0 – and they can still go through.
How can Sporting qualify for the quarter-finals:
- Sporting face the seemingly impossible task of having to score five goals without allowing a response at the Etihad Stadium in order to simply extend the game.
Bayern Munich vs Red Bull Salzburg (8-2 on aggregate)
That series was tied 1-1 after the first leg, with Bayern needing a late equalizer in one of the surprise round of 16 results. But Bayern showed strength in the second leg at home.
How Bayern can qualify for the quarter-finals:
- Bayern needed to secure a home win by any score and they did so with a lopsided scoreline: 7-1 for an 8-2 win on aggregate. ✔️
How can RB Salzburg qualify for the quarter-finals:
- A win by any margin would have been enough to see Salzburg progress, but they fell short by a wide margin. ❌
Liverpool v Inter Milan (2-1 on aggregate)
Liverpool are 2-0 up from the first leg thanks to goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in Italy. That advantage proved enough in the second leg at Anfield as Lautaro Martinez’s lone goal for Inter was not enough to overturn the aggregate goal streak.
How Liverpool can qualify for the quarter-finals:
- A win or draw on the evening would have seen Liverpool qualify, but they could also afford to lose by one goal and still go 2-1 on aggregate. ✔️
How Inter Milan can qualify for the quarter-finals:
- Inter needed a two-goal win to extend the game, and they needed a three-goal win to qualify. They only won by one goal. ❌
Are there away goals in the Champions League?
From this season, the away goals tiebreaker will no longer be in place in the Champions League.
The away goals rule, whereby away goals count double, had been in place since 1965.
Now, if the two teams are tied after 90 minutes, extra time (consisting of two 15-minute halves) will be played, with penalties to follow if the deadlock has still not been broken.
