After a very exciting Round of 16 that provided some really tight and exciting matches, alongside a few major upsets, here’s all you need to know about the upcoming quarterfinal matches!
Fluminense – Al Hilal
Two teams that very few saw coming this far before the ball started rollin in the States are now at the brink of a semifinal. Both have, very much, earned their place.
After successful group stage runs, both Fluminense and Saudi Arabia’s, and Asia’s, for that matter, remaining representative have been handed a difficult task of knocking out a European giant. Actually, it’s harder to say who’s task was more difficult.
Fluminense faced Inter, a team that knocked out Bayern München and FC Barcelona out of the Champions League and reached the final of the world’s most famous tournament just months before. They scored a very early goal to go ahead, defended patiently until stoppage time where they stung again to seal their ticket for the quarterfinals.
Al-Hilal, on the other hand, faced Manchester City. The fact that their season hasn’t been nowhere near that standard only made the Citizens more determined to make amends in the US, especially alongside a series of new signings and the return of Rodri. Simone Inzaghi’s men, however, had a different plan. In a thrilling encounter that needed extra-time to be settled, the Saudi team got the better of Man City with four goals to three.
Both of these teams will certainly be full of confidence when taking on their next rival.
Palmeiras – Chelsea
Similar to the cases of Fluminense and Al-Hilal, Palmeiras might have made it to where not a lot of people saw them. They did it all on their own merit. And they certainly don’t want to stop here.
Their round of 16 clash paired them with another Brazilian team, a well-known opponent, Botafogo. In the all-brazilian clash one team attacked, the other tried to protect their goal by all means. In the end, Abel Fereira’s proactive approach proved to be the right one, and he put his team into the last eight.
Chelsea, on the other hand, had quite an eventful Round of 16 match against Benfica. They went up 1-0 thanks to Reece James, and just when they looked good on protecting that lead until the very end, a storm appeared. Not in the sense that Benfica turned the game around, no, but quite literally, a storm. Play was suspended and the stoppage lasted for a few hours, with the teams returning to action to finish the remaining time of the game. Benfica then went on to score in added time to take the game to extra-time. There, Chelsea scored three more goals to seal an emphatic victory, but their manager was furious with the circumstances and the long delay.
Paris Saint-Germain – FC Bayern München
The third quarterfinal pairing is an instant classic. A clash of European powerhouses well worthy of a Champions League final.
Both have looked really strong throughout the competition, even though both suffered a minor set back in the group stage – PSG lost 1-0 to Botafogo, and Benfica beat Bayern by the same scoreline. The similarities continued into the knockout phase as well, as both Bayern and PSG put four past their opponents.
What makes number four even more interesting in the build-up to this one is the fact that Bayern München won the four last encounters between these two, the last one being in the first half of the season.
Will they make it five, or will PSG continue their charge to yet another title?
Real Madrid – Borussia Dortmund
The quarterfinals programme will be closed off by another clash of the European sides that know each other very well. It was not that long ago, just over a year actually, that Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund faced each other in the Champions League final. Real Madrid won that game, like they did with four of their last six encounters, with the remaining two ending in a draw.
A lost has changed since then with both teams now having new managers, two coaches that know each other from the recent seasons in the Bundesliga.
Xabi Alosno has got the better of Kovač twice, but this one could be different because his Real Madrid side is still getting used to their new way of playing, and Dortmund could exploit it with good old counter-attacking.
Either way, a fascinatinng watch is guaranteed!
