The Champions League is here. The decisive phase of the tournament begins with the round of 16. Some duels marked by the pandemic and in some cases on neutral grounds. The end of winter and the beginning of spring always coincide with the return of the best club competition in the world. The heavenly music tournament, the one that brings together the best teams and the best players, begins its decisive phase with matches of real substance.
Bayern defends crown against the rest of applicants. LaLiga reaches this section with all its representatives alive. Madrid will face Atalanta with some doubt, Barça will have to face a failing PSG, Atlético will face Chelsea and Sevilla will face Dortmund. The Premier teams want to dominate again in the tournament and the Italians do not give up taking a step forward. The Champions in its purest essence. The tournament that we like so much.
Zidane goes through one of his worst moments as Real Madrid coach, if not the worst, since he coaches the white team in any of its two stages. Eliminated by a Second B in the Cup and with almost no options to tickle Atlético in LaLiga, the Frenchman clings to the Champions League to save a season that for now is to be forgotten. And he clings to it with his arsenal to a minimum. The Madrid squad is very punished by injuries and will have to face Atalanta, one of the most offensive teams in the world, without Ramos, Hazard and Rodrygo, discarded for the first leg, and with Carvajal and Valverde between cottons. Without a doubt, the loss of the captain is the most noticeable. Madrid has always suffered in the Champions League when he has not been. You just have to see what happened the last two years against Ajax and City. Ahead you will have an Atalanta who has very well assimilated game mechanisms that allow him to find many options to notice easily and who has barely noticed the departure of his star Papu Gómez to Sevilla.
The star of Real Madrid: Benzema
Without Ramos or Hazard, the Frenchman must assume the reins of the team, both those of leader, and those of being almost the only offensive flag of a team that finds it difficult to score. Without a doubt, he is Madrid's most decisive player in recent years, not only because of his goals (this season he has 15) but also because of the way he makes his teammates play.
The Atalanta star: Ilicic
After the clash between Papu Gómez and Gasperini, which ended with the Argentine's march to Sevilla, Josip Ilicic has become the Atalanta's franchise man. The Slovenian forms a great couple with Duvan Zapata, who despite having more goals, is not as influential in the rest of the facets of the game as his forward partner, who in addition to scoring five goals this season has distributed seven assists.
Koeman seems to have brought Barça back lately, although nobody forgets the enormous structural problems he has had to give the team an identity. What's more, this tie against PSG should be possible and should be settled in Paris because the Catalans gave up the first place in the group against Juventus at the Camp Nou when it was worth the draw. Barça has grown up around Messi after that. Players like De Jong, Pedri, Griezmann or Dembélé took a considerable step forward, which also allowed Messi himself to improve. Even so, the defensive problems and the doubt of Araújo, improvised star behind, pose a problem for him. Facing the PSG that aspires more strongly than ever to the Champions League, with Neymar tied for the next few years and Mbappé throwing into the air the desire that he wants to stay. Everything seems like a haven of peace since Pochettino arrived instead of Tuchel. The Argentine has hit the key and the 4-2-3-1, with Verratti as playmaker, empowers all his stars, although Di María is touched. Now or never for Parisians …
Barcelona's star: Messi
It was difficult for him to be in his historical numbers, but little by little his season is taking color with important performances and a good number of goals and assists. He has a thorn in the Champions League, after the disastrous end of the previous season with Bayern that led to his attempt to leave the club. With the end of the contract just around the corner, his option to go out the front door is to win the Champions League, something that in recent years has resisted him.
PSG star: Mbappé
Perhaps more leader in the field Neymar, but the one who really decides the games within the area is Mbappé. Very interesting scoring figures for one more season, and that began with doubts and certain problems to see the goal. With Pochettino he starts from the left, but has a lot of freedom to play inside. Even in many phases of the matches, his role is as a forward alongside Icardi in a 4-4-2. An unstoppable physical prodigy on the run and within the area.
Chelsea's millionaire project was blown up when Frank Lampard was fired. Renowned signings were not up to scratch and the wardrobe seemed lost by the legendary former player. Abramovich then opted for Tuchel, who had been released when he was also fired from PSG. With the German coach, a drinking Chelsea can be seen again, among other things because he has changed the system to one with three centrals and has recovered players who seemed lost like Marcos Alonso. Atlético, for their part, dominates the League and is looking to make the final leap in the Champions League as well. The arrival of Luis Suárez drives him to that. It is also true that the plague of Covid cases has plagued him lately and that for health reasons the first leg will be in Bucharest and not in Wanda. Therefore loses the locality, even if it was behind closed doors. Issues that can mark an even tie.
Atlético's star: Luis Suárez
Atlético's great asset this season is through him. Although physically he is no longer who he was, he maintains a scoring nose that makes him an infallible forward. His challenge is to transfer his scoring ability in the domestic leagues to the Champions League, something that cost him a lot when he was a Barcelona player. A predator of the area, always placed in the right place at the right time.
Chelsea star: Werner
He is having a hard time finding his place at Chelsea, although with Tuchel, who knows him well, he has a higher degree of confidence than he had with Lampard. He can start from a wing as a false end to reach the area, or directly be the reference of the team. In any case, Chelsea fans expect a little more from a player who was signed with great fanfare in the summer.
When the draw on December 14th for Sevilla was Dortmund, the majority of Sevilla fans breathed as they avoided the big coconuts. It is clear that Hitz's team is more vulnerable than Liverpool, Bayern or City, for example, but they have a weapon that they all fear and desire: Haaland. To stop the Norwegian, who is beating all records of scoring precocity in the Champions League, Lopetegui's men must be a supportive team, regardless of whether they expect Koundé and Diego Carlos to do their job well. They will succeed if they manage to cut the rapid transitions of Terzic's team and take advantage of the ease that Sevilla has to attack spaces and hurt the Borusser team. A pity for Ocampos' injury, who could have shone in a tie in which aggressiveness, speed and talent are required at the same time. Even so, the moment of form of players like Jordan, En Nesyri, Bono or Navas make Sevilla, despite having started the season with some ups and downs, start as a slight favorite.
The star of Sevilla: Koundé
It is not unreasonable to say that Koundé is today the best central in LaLiga. Of course, it is in the top three. The French central defender has emerged as a tough, solvent, fast, precise player, who is doing well at the top and who also knows how to correct the mistakes of his teammates. He makes Diego Carlos one of the best defensive pairs in Europe. Sevilla will have a hard time keeping him next summer.
Dortmund star: Haaland
So much has been written about Haaland in such a short time that it is difficult to say something different and original. The best way to understand the phenomenon that has occurred since its emergence is to break down its figures in the Champions League: with 20 years it has scored 16 goals in the 12 games it has played in the Champions League. In the Bundesliga, their numbers are also fearsome: 27 goals in 30 games. If Haaland is fine, Sevilla will have a lot of difficulties to be in the quarterfinals.
Despite the fact that Pirlo's Juventus is the worst in Serie A in recent years, the vecchia signora should not have much trouble eliminating a Porto that is also in low hours. The Portuguese lost their two best players (Telles and Danilo) on the last day of the summer market and four months later, they have not recovered from their losses. Pepe is, at 37 years old, the hierarchical leader of a team that is having a hard time keeping up with Sporting CP in the Liga NOS. On the other hand, Juventus, despite its ups and downs in the Italian league, seems to be finding itself in recent weeks with a Cristiano who has just turned 36 but is still as lethal as ever. Even so, although Juve are clear favorites, they should not be trusted. Overconfidence already took its toll last season against Lyon that also reached the second round in low hours and ended up eliminating the Italians.
Juventus star: Cristiano
He has just turned 36 but is still in full football. His numbers indicate this: he has 23 goals in 24 games this season. Despite not having even reached the semifinals in the last two years, the Portuguese has been the best Juventus player in the knockout phase of the last two Champions League, scoring goals in all crosses (Atlético, Ajax and Lyon). Move like a fish in water in this competition. Let the Porto defense tremble.
The star of Porto: Pepe
Another veteran who seems not to pass the time. At 37 years old, Pepe is the absolute boss of the dressing room, the head of the defense of a team that feels more comfortable without the ball than with him. There are other more talented players such as Corona, Uribe and Oliveira, but none of them have the leadership capacity of the ex-Madridista, nor are they so noticeable when missing. Of course, it is increasingly difficult for him to have continuity due to the innumerable injuries.
It sounds almost the same as previous seasons, with a City launched at this point but always with doubts when the mollar moment of the season in the Champions League arrives. Thus he re-enters the key knockout round, absolute dominator in the Premier with an incredible winning streak and a style of play that goes beyond the players he has. What's more, the team is pungent like few times before and that Agüero, their scorer, is injured. But people like Ferran or Foden, irreverent young people, have taken a step forward and the team has grown a lot, especially also because of their new facet of a rocky team in defense. In this section we must highlight the figure of Rúben Dias. The Portuguese center-back has given a package to the rear that he lacked and has made his dance partner, John Stones, much better. Of course, they are measured against a Gladbach who is tremendously dangerous on the counterattack. That is the greatest virtue of coach Marco Rose, who has found in Embolo, Plea or Thuram true arrows to attack spaces. Precisely there, in surprising the counter, lie the minimal options of the Germans.
Gladbach's star: Plea
Both he and Thuram had an extraordinary season last year, very fast and vertical, always making life difficult for the opposing defenses. After some magnificent campaigns in France, Gladbach made a strong financial outlay for having him and little by little he has been gaining weight in the squad and in the team. He is powerful and fast, but also has a very necessary pause point within the area that makes him very effective in front of goal, either as a winger or as a nine.
City star: De Bruyne
A true artist, injuries have been complicating his life lately, but the reality is that he has managed, through Guardiola, to become one of the best midfielders in the world. Amazing ease for the last pass and to generate attack actions, he has gained a lot in recent years in terms of tactical concepts and collective efforts. A phenomenal footballer who is the perfect icing on a great team.
Klopp will have to travel to Budapest, where the first leg between Leipzig and Liverpool will be played, instead of returning to his native Germany to battle his most gifted student: Nagelsmann. The very young RB coach (33 years old), declared an admirer of the Liverpool manager, will challenge his compatriot in what is expected to be one of the great duels on the bench in recent years. Both understand football in a similar way: forward pressure, verticality and speed are the three pillars on which the game of their teams is founded. By players and history, Liverpool are favorites, but the Reds already showed last season against Atlético that this role is not enough to surpass a team with fewer names but well trained. The Anfield team have yet to put an end to the defensive instability that caused Van Dijk's injury in October and suffered in some parts of the season. Through that gap lie the aspirations of a Leipzig that has already eliminated United and that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
Liverpool star: Salah
Another year, the Egyptian is Liverpool's great offensive reference. Despite having suffered a bump in January (like the whole team), in recent days Salah has recovered his best level and has already scored 22 goals in 31 games this season. His understanding with Firmino and Mané, key in the successes of the Anfield team in recent years.
Leipzig's star: Dani Olmo
In a very choral team in which Upamecano, Poulsen and Angeliño shine, to give a few examples, Dani Olmo gives Leipzig that touch of distinction and magic that only the brightest and most talented players can bring. The Spaniard is the great engine of Leipzig's offensive game and has eight assists and three goals so far this year. His connection on the left with Angeliño is one of the most prominent in Europe.
Bayern reach the Champions League crossroads after having won the Club World Cup, their sixth title in 2020, although the tournament was played in 2021. A success only available to Guardiola's Barça, which speaks clearly to what this team has achieved. Flick resurrected a team that was dead after Kovac's impeachment and the response was immediate. Six titles and an aggressive and overwhelming style of play that finds no opposition. Maintaining that bar is now the challenge for a Bayern that has shown signs of laziness this season, although it solves them with an unstoppable Lewandowski. The Germans are very favorites against an irregular Lazio, but on the rise at this point in the championship. The problems between management and Luis Alberto were solved and Immobile continues to mark as many opportunities as they appear. Still, eliminating the mighty Bayern seems like a feat available to very few.
Lazio's star: Luis Alberto
Never valued enough in Spain, it has been in Italy where he has found much deserved recognition as Lazio's soccer leader. Not only does he bring genius and class with the ball, but he has also established himself as the leader of the team due to his character and his ancestry over the rest of the players. A benchmark like the laziale outfit hadn't been in for a long time.
Bayern star: Lewandowski
He comes from a daring season in which he won The Best and was the top scorer in the Champions League and the Bundesliga. It seemed impossible to improve those records, but his numbers this season are even better than the previous one. There is no defense in Germany to stop him and very few in Europe as well. He dominates the area like very few forwards in the world, but he also knows how to play outside. The icing on the cake for a colossal Bayern.
Which club dominates the record?
Madrid is the clear owner of the Champions League record. He has 13 titles, four of them in the last decade, and is followed in the standings by Milan, who have 7. Liverpool and Bayern, with 6, are third. Of the teams that are still in competition and that can scratch Madrid a title, Barcelona stands out, which has five Champions League titles.