Since Chelsea eliminated Barcelona and Milan at Manchester United in the 2004-05 season, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have never been left out of the Champions League quarter-finals at the same time. From there, nine trophies were distributed (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015 the Argentine; 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 the Portuguese) to become the great dominators of world football … until PSG and Porto crossed paths. Is an era over or is it a period and followed?
In any case, the fall of the two stars coincided with the appearance of those who appear in all predictions as future successors. Mbappé was a hurricane at the Camp Nou to condemn Barça, and Haaland was vital in Borussia Dortmund’s qualification against Sevilla. The quarterfinals ended with Luis Suárez extending his curse to Europe and being reported by Simeone that changed him when Atlético had to return and the feeling that almost everything had been resolved as expected.
Almost, because Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus KO, the eleventh stumbling block (it would not be fair to call it a failure) escaped the general logic. Porto, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, PSG, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea will enter the hype that will attract the quarterfinals on Friday. A pure draw with three English clubs, two German and one Portuguese, French and Spanish in which there will be favorites … but I’m no longer an ashtray.
CHELSEA 2-0 ATLÉTICO MADRID. A goal by Giroud froze Atlético’s hopes already in the first leg, played in Bucharest, and turned the challenge into a return capital, which on Wednesday, at Stamford Bridge, proved impossible. He came out for the whole team of Simeone, but his spirit and spirit were diluted and he was buried after Ziyech’s goal, shortly after half an hour of play, at which point the Tuchel, who already have twelve games in front of the blues, without knowing the defeat, took control of the situation. The special point deserves Luis Suárez, replaced by his coach at the time of the game and who already accumulates 2,160 minutes without registering in the Champions League as a visitor. The war that never stops …
BAYERN MUNICH 2-1 LAZIO. Once the tie was settled after 1-4 with which Bayern crushed Lazio in the first leg, the clash of the return was just a procedure without history. A penalty converted by the ineffable Lewandowski, who had already opened the victory in Rome, closed all discussions, extending the advantage of Choupo-Moting before Parolo reduced an advantage that did not give more than if it were a tie.
REAL MADRID 3-1 ATALANTA. Mendy took the first step in the first leg, and Benzema, taking advantage of an extraordinary assistance from Modric after Marco Sportiello’s blunder, led the qualification in the second way. Bold and vertical in the bet on Atalanta, Madrid prevailed without any other difficulties, putting the solvency of the game in the first place, condemning the equality with a penalty from Sergio Ramos to turn the last stage of the conflict into an unimportant time. Like, who liked Atalanta, it is usually not enough for challenges of such consideration. And less so when you face a team like Madrid.
MANCHESTER CITY 2-0 BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH. Like Bayern against Lazio or Liverpool against Leipzig, Guardiola’s Manchester City enjoyed a very comfortable second leg. Borussia wanted, from the beginning, to recover an option with a very offensive scheme, but it was quickly diluted after the goal, a great goal, by Kevin de Bruyne, which left the German team without option, already kneeling definitively after immediately 2-0 of Gundogan. As happiness is never complete, the discordant note was given by Kun Agüero, who complained bitterly that he was ignored on the field by his teammates.
PSG 1-1 BARCELONA. The resurrected Barcelona faced an impossible mission to Paris and said goodbye with a good face, but sad and strong, elimination. The key was guessed at the end of the first half, when with 1-1 on the scoreboard Keylor Navas, the great protagonist of the night with magnificent saves, rejected a penalty from Leo Messi who could, who knows, give another second color half. However, 1-4 in the first leg was too hard for Machado to dream of, and PSG took full revenge four years after suffering the worst comeback in the history of the Camp Nou tournament.
LIVERPOOL 2-0 LEIPZIG. For more than an hour, Leipzig miraculously held on, 0-0, thinking, perhaps, of scoring a goal that could give them hope to return from 0-2 in the first leg, but as soon as Salah put the team in front. the tomatoes are over. With no time to react, Mane made it 2-0 and Liverpool came back with absolute consistency and silence in the quarter-finals.
JUVENTUS 3-2 PORT. Optimal blow. If in the first leg Juve breathed a sigh of relief with 2-1 due to the late goal of Federico Chiesa to take over the role of favorite, a penalty converted by Sergio Oliveira in Turin who advanced to Porto caused an absolute nervousness in the Italians, turned it into the second half with a double by Chiesa himself to lead the duel in overtime. Orphaned by Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals, Andrea Pirlo’s team panicked in overtime, with no solutions in attack and demoralized until Oliveira himself equalized. In the end, Rabiot’s 3-2 final was useless for a Juventus that added a new disappointment, and they are already countless in Europe.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-2 SEVILLE. If Haaland was transcendental in 2-3 made by Borussia at Sánchez Pizjuán, Haaland was the lace that began to bury Seville’s hopes at Dortmund. He scored 1-0 at half-time and from a penalty, on the second attempt (one missed in the first half), increased the advantage after the break. En-Nesyri reduced and he himself equalized in the last breath, obtaining an insufficient draw and this, at all, made one think that Lopetegui’s team could dream of reaching extra time.