The wait was worth it.
The Champions is back and with it brings great matches, where the best teams of Europe will meet in death matches to try to qualify for the next phase of the tournament. In this post I will try to give you a visit through the different games that we can enjoy from Tuesday 13 February.
Within the matches that we will see, the most notable are the clashes of the continent's biggest teams, this is clear from the level of their players and the great moment that many of them live in football. We will also see teams that are not clear candidates to win "the big one", but still will be struggling with everything to try to surprise the heavyweights of the competition.
Real Madrid - PSG
Since the draw for the knockout phase has been the game that has most awakened the expectation of fans of the world of football, this is no doubt caused by the large number of stars who will be present on the field on the day of the game, are two of the teams with more economic potential in football at present, in fact, the PSG was the club that spent more money on signings last summer market hoping for results in this competition.
Two of the world's most expensive teams will face each other, but which team will advance to the next round? This is the question that we are all asking ourselves and it is very difficult to have the answer, both have practically the same possibilities to advance. Real Madrid, who currently lives a terrible presence in Spanish competitions knows that the Champions League is their last chance to lift a title this season. That's why coach Zinedine Zidane has prepared this game with great care and has taken care of his star players so that they are available and at the best possible level. For its part, PSG is looking forward to the duel against the merengue team with much ambition and expectation, as it will be the best opportunity to show that the high sum spent in summer to add new stars has been worthwhile.
Barcelona - Chelsea
Another Spanish giants, but this time in a duel to the death against one of England's greats. The Catalan team is going through an excellent moment in the league and is involved in the final of the Copa del Rey. The Blaugranas are the clear favourites to take the game, even knowing that they will not have it easy against Londoners. With Messi as a great referent, Barcelona is looking for its sixth Champions League and to be able to win the coveted "triplete".
The match is considered the second most interesting clash of the phase, because the Blue team is enough rival for the powerful Barcelona, has players of the highest level, as they are the case of Eden Hazard, Pedro who returns to meet his former colleagues, among other players who make up a highly competitive squad and will undoubtedly complicate the passage to Barcelona.
Juventus - Tottenham
One is the ultimate Italian champion, the other is the ultimate revelation of English football, a mix that results in two matches with plenty of quality football and great expectations for the date, the first leg will be played in Italy where Juventus will have the opportunity to go ahead with their people supporting in the stadium, on the other hand the' Spurs' will travel to Turin in search of visitors goals that make them return to London with less pressure.
Tottenham have high hopes for striker Harry Kane, who thanks to his goals and great Premier performances has become the world's best striker today and his partner in attacking Delle Alli, both have seen their careers soar in a matter of months and are now the main weapons of the English capital's team.
La Vecchia Signora, for the first time since several seasons ago, sees its championship in the league endangered, its fight to be a leader in Serie A has allowed to see great matches and great performances by its stars, such as the 7-1 win that sent him to Sassuolo on 4 February, where his forward and one of the main stars Gonzalo' El pipita' Higuaín stood out with his team-mate Gonzalo' El pipita' Higuaín.
Sevilla - Manchester United
The 'Red Devils' come from winning the UEFA Europa League and with great ambitions in the Champions League, Sevilla on the other hand is a hard team to beat that has high level players and can face Manchester United without problems. The Sevillian team that has conquered the Europa League on 5 occasions wants to give his first great season in the Champions League as he usually be eliminated in the group stage or this round of 16, dream of giving the surprise and leaving out the Mou.
Manchester United return to emerge and be candidates for big titles, after going through several seasons of bad football and poor results that were the result of Sir's retirement. Alex Ferguson as coach, there were several coaches who tried and tried to make Manchester emerge, but it was not until the arrival of Mourinho that the team was again a great banner in European football, achieving as we mentioned before the title of the last Europa League.
Alexis' arrival!
The Chilean Alexis Sanchez was the great incorporation of winter red devils, came from Arsenal and is already breaking it with the team of Manchester, now will have the opportunity to show in the Champions League that he is at the level of the greatest and at the same time help the United to advance in the tournament,' the boy wonder' has been eager to debut in Champions with Manchester and is expected to be of great help for the club.
Basel - Manchester City
Basel hosts City in Switzerland in what is expected to be a simple match for Manchester, a team that is breaking it in the current Premier League and this must be attributed to the great football they are playing, with a solid defense, a very creative and mobile center field and an almost unstoppable attack that has as main star Sergio Aguero, the Argentinean forward is having incredible numbers this recently initiated 2018, comes
This will not be the first time in the season that the Swiss will face a team from the city of Manchester, had already seen the faces with the equally powerful Manchester United in the two matches in which they were seen won one and lost one, which means that the City must not give anything for sure, the players look forward to the game and know that it is a challenge for all of them and want to overcome it declared the coach of the club.
Bayern Munich - Besiktas
The Bavarians want to reach the Champions League final and are confident that their coach Jupp Heynckes, an old acquaintance of the club and with whom they already won in 2013 can guide them to this point and help them win, face in this phase the Turkish Besiktas, a team that does not qualify as one of the European' giants' but if it is a very passionate and brave team. Not only are great matches expected on the pitch, we can also expect great spectacles in the stands, both teams have very loyal and abundant fans who always give us good atmosphere in the pre-matches.
The Germans will reach the clash as clear favourites, their great football, which is a mixture of physical and mental game make Bayern stand out not only in the Bundesliga (where he is a leader in solitary) but also in the Champions League and any competition that takes place. In Robert Lewandowski, they have a great figure, a striker with an insatiable goalscoring appetite and a spectacular technique. We can also mention the newcomer James Rodriguez, the Colombian is playing quality football in Germany and Real Madrid must be regretting not having it in their ranks.
Besiktas are not having their best season in the Turkish league, they are currently in fourth place in the standings. However, they are still a very dangerous team for any opponents, especially when they play at home. He has players of great level and with much experience in this tournament that can be of much help to complicate the match to the rival, as they can be Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma.
Porto - Liverpool
A series that can be very interesting, Porto will receive for the first leg the powerful Liverpool of Jürgen Klopp that has been sweeping the Premier League with its great attacking football. For its part, the port is also making a great season, is the leader of the Portuguese league and continues to reap triumphs. Most expect Liverpool to prevail in this match, but remember the bad reputation of the English teams in the Champions League, a competition that has not seen an English champion for 5 years, when Chelsea lifted the title for the last time, although this may be a good opportunity for the English teams, who are playing very well and have relatively easy rivals to advance in the tournament.
The Reds are playing attacking football, taking advantage of the speed of their strikers such as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino who take advantage of every neglect of the defensive lines to beat their backs and turn them into the goal.
The port has good players who can modify the rhythm of the game and surprise Liverpool if he makes mistakes, have in his right lateral Ricardo Pereira player right that can be key to try to slow down the 3 fast rival forwards.
Shakhtar - Rome
The first leg of the round of 16 will be closed in Ukraine when Shakhtar receive the visit of Roma at the Dombass Arena, the Romans will come to play as best they can to try to survive in the tournament. The team of' la loba' has become a must in recent years, in which it has not managed to achieve any important qualification for the final stages of European competitions, but they do have a very competitive team to achieve it and they will look for it all. The Ukrainians want to take advantage of their home advantage to take a positive result in the first leg and have more chances to visit the Roman coliseum.
At first glance we do not qualify this match as the most outstanding, but without a doubt if the teams go to all can give us a very interesting series, where we have the opportunity to see great players in both clubs.
It's only a matter of hours to watch the continent's top teams face off to see who will be the champions of this distinguished tournament.
I hope you liked my post.
See you soon!