The Champions League quarter-finals certainly lived up to their expectations.
Eighteen goals. Lots of talking points. And, above all, the four confrontations are still very much alive.
The Champions League quarter-finals are certainly living up to their expectations ahead of the second leg.
If the drama wasn’t enough on Tuesday when Real Madrid drew 3-3 at home to defending champions Manchester City and Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 draw at Arsenal, there was some even more so on Wednesday when Barcelona won 3-2 at Paris Saint-Germain. Germain and Atletico Madrid conceded late in their 2-1 home win over Borussia Dortmund.
It sets up some intriguing storylines.
Is this the end of Kylian Mbappe’s hopes of finally winning a Champions League title in his final season at PSG, or can he return to his best form to spark a turnaround at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys? After all, he scored a hat-trick on his last visit to Barcelona, in 2021.
Can Madrid, 14 times European champion, rely on its legendary status in this competition to end City’s title defense? Remember, City beat Madrid 4-0 in the second leg of last season’s semi-finals after a first-leg draw in Spain.
Will Bayern continue to excel in Europe during a season where Germany’s top club abjectly relinquished their Bundesliga title?
And can Atletico hold on to Dortmund’s legendary ‘Yellow Wall’ and return to the semi-finals for the first time since 2017?
Here’s a closer look at all four matches:
TUESDAY:
THE BARÇA RACE
When Xavi Hernández stunned Barcelona in January by saying he was fed up with his team’s inexplicable defeats, he added that he hoped his players would respond to his shock therapy by playing better before his summer departure. This ploy appears to have worked: Barcelona has yet to lose in 13 games since Xavi announced he was opting out of the final year of his contract. Reaching the Champions League semi-finals would be a step forward for a team that has not reached this stage since 2018-19. It would also improve the debt-ridden club’s finances with an additional 12.5 million euros ($13.3 million) in prize money. While Xavi has rejuvenated his squad by giving bigger roles to teenagers Lamine Yamal and, in particular, defender Pau Cubarsí in recent weeks, he will turn again to the established players that Barça signed at great expense ago two seasons after leading the team in Paris. Like Raphinha, author of a double in the first leg, and Robert Lewandowski, who will be well rested after serving a suspension this weekend. PSG will need an improved performance from Mbappe, who failed to hit the target on three shots, lost the ball 13 times and was caught offside three times.
THRIVE IN ADVERSITY
Adversity seems to bring out the best in Dortmund this season, so a one-goal deficit to Atlético Madrid in the first leg could just be the challenge needed to motivate Edin Terzić’s side. Dortmund beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday despite the sending off of Karim Adeyemi, but the victory came at the expense of injuries to strikers Sébastien Haller and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Dortmund’s league campaign was disappointing after almost winning the Bundesliga last season, but the team shone in the Champions League, finishing top of a group consisting of PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle, Saudi-owned, then finishing the job against PSV Eindhoven at home to reach the quarter-finals. Atletico revive memories of that period from 2014 to 2017, when they reached the final twice – losing both times to Real Madrid – and the semi-finals once under current coach Diego Simeone.
WEDNESDAY:
DIFFICULT TASK
Madrid may be the kings of European football, but the team has a tough task ahead before heading to the Etihad Stadium. City have not lost any of their last 27 matches in all competitions and are unbeaten in the Champions League in 22 matches – since a 3-1 defeat at Madrid in the semi-finals in 2021-22. Indeed, the reigning champions have scored exactly three goals in each of their nine matches in the competition this season, an unprecedented feat. The main focus is on Erling Haaland, whose performances haven’t matched those of last season – despite being the Premier League’s top scorer with 20 goals and tied for second in the Champions League with six. Haaland failed to score in any of the games against Madrid last year and was again well chained by Antonio Rudiger last week. With Aurélien Tchouaméni suspended, Nacho is likely to be partnered with Rudiger in central defense.
KANE A PAIN
Simply put, Harry Kane loves playing against Arsenal. After converting a penalty at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg, he scored 15 goals in 18 games against the team who were his biggest enemies when the England captain was playing in the Premier League with Tottenham. He was part of a Bayern attack that posed a threat on the counter-attack last week, causing Arsenal’s defense more problems than they have had in any game this season . The second leg could be different, however, with Bayern expecting to have more of the ball and Arsenal playing on the counter-attack, hitting Bayern’s often fragile defense thanks to the pace of wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. Arsenal have only reached the semi-finals once (in 2009) since reaching the final in 2006 and losing to Barcelona. Six-time European champions Bayern have lost in the quarter-finals in each of the last three seasons.
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AP Sports writers Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Ciaran Fahey in Berlin and Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed to this story.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP Football: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
