UEFA

There were many surprises in the first legs, but now we are at round 2, which is crunch time, and every team will need to bring their A-game. Bayern are still the overall favorites, though Man City have shown some unexpected signs that they could be a challenger.

The first legs of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 were held on Feb 16 & 17 then the 23rd and 24th of February, with the 2nd legs played in March. Let’s take a look at the 1st leg and see which teams have a shot at lifting the cup.

Thursday 9th March 2021

Porto Vs Juventus – Allianz Stadium, Turin

Sevilla Vs Dortmund – estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, Seville

Wednesday 10th March 2021 

Barcelona Vs Paris – Parc Des Princes, Paris

Leipzig Vs Liverpool – Puskas Arena, Budapest

Thursday 16th March 2021
Atalanta Vs Real Madrid – Stadio Di Bergamo, Bergamo

Monchengladbach Vs Man. City – Puskas Arena, Budapest

Wednesday 17th March 2021

Atletico Vs Chelsea – Arena Nationala, Bucharest

Lazio Vs Bayern – Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Barcelona Vs Paris (First Leg: Barcelona 1 – 4 Paris)

Head to Head: Barcelona 1, 3 Draws, Paris 4.

The first leg resulted in a shock for a lot of fans as Barcelona were clear favorites to win. However, Kylian Mbappe bagged a Hat-Trick
Lionel Messi did start strong for Barca, scoring a first half Penalty, but that was the last time that PSG saw the back of the net.

Mbappe was obviously hungry to put on a good performance, as he had not scored a goal in the Champions League knockout stages for two years, and definitely made his mark in this match up.

This 2nd leg match will be held in Paris, which will make it hard for Barcelona to turn around after their first match. With no current injuries, it will be hard to not back PSG as they showed the composure to come back from 1-0 down in the first game to win 4-1. 

Our tip
PSG -1

Leipzig Vs Liverpool (First Leg: Leipzig 0 – 2 Liverpool)

Results say it all. Prior to their first leg match up, Liverpool were coming into the match on their worst form having lost three straight matches in their Premier League campaign. Leipzig were favorites going into the previous match, but Liverpool put their recent poor performances to the back of their minds and managed to win 2-0.

Liverpool have not taken this form back to the Premier League as they continue to lose and are now facing their 5th loss in a row in their next match. Mohammed Salah scored their opening goal in the first leg; however, there is news coming out of Liverpool that Salah may be dropped.

RB Leipzig, on the other hand, have been in great form, winning their last four matches, and this time they don’t go into the match as favorites. With too much noise coming out of Liverpool, RB Leipzig will be looking to get one back on Liverpool.

Our pick:
Leipzig Win H2H 

Porto Vs Juventus (First Leg: Porto 2- 1 Juventus)

Ronaldo returned to his home town in the first leg and there were a lot of eyes on him to give Juventus a comfortable win. However, that did not happen and Porto came out to shock Juventus fans.

Taremi gave Porto the lead after 63 seconds and then Moussa Marga netted an early second-half goal after 19 seconds. Federico Chiesa did score a late goal for Juventus in the 82nd minute. 

Ronaldo was kept extremely quiet, but so was the whole Juventus team as they seemed to not have much energy and lacked aggression.

With some recent good form, Juventus won’t miss this opportunity.

Our pick:
Juventus to win head to head.

Sevilla Vs Dortmund (First Leg: Sevilla 2 – 3 Dortmund)


Sevilla came into the first leg match with a nine-game winning streak. However, Dortmund ended that with a convincing 3-2 win.

Sevilla did take an early lead after seven minutes but from here it was all Dortmund as they scored the next three goals, with Haaland scoring a double to secure the win.

Before this win, Dortmund had won only one of their last six German league matches. It seems this win has given Dortmund some spark and they will come into this match as the favorites.

Our pick:
Dortmund to Win.

Atletico Vs Chelsea (First Leg: Atletico 0 – 1 Chelsea)

As expected, this was one of the matches of the first leg and it was close all the way until the final whistle. Chelsea did score in the 68th minute, but it looked like it was going to go either way until the end.

The only goal scored was a controversial goal as the linesman’s flag was instantly raised. However, the ball had deflected off Mario Hermoso rather than Mason Mount, which was spotted by the VAR. After three minutes of review, the goal was awarded.

Goal scorer Olivier Giroud was given the man of the match as his goal was stunning and was the winner for Chelsea. 

This match should also be a tight encounter but our pick will again be on Chelsea to win!

Lazio Vs Bayern (First Leg Lazio 1 – 4 Bayern)

Jamal Musiala became the youngest English scorer in the champions league as holders Bayern defeated Lazio 4-1. The 17-year-old scored the second goal for Bayern and they have most likely secured their spot in the quarter-finals.

Bayern will again dominate this match. 

Our pick:
Bayern -1

Atalanta Vs Real Madrid (First Leg: Atalanta 0 – 1 Real Madrid) 

Madrid had to wait until the 85th minute to score the only goal of the match and to take the win. Madrid will face Atalanta again and, with the win, it will be the first time in three years they have made the final 8.
Madrid have won four of their last five matches and, although Atalanta is coming off a big win of 5-1 vs Crotone, we see Real Madrid winning this match in another close game.

Madrid 2-1

Monchengladbach Vs Man. City (First Leg: Monchengladbach 0 – 2 Man City)

Man City don’t know how to lose. They haven’t lost a match in 2021 and look unstoppable.

Man City will win this match.

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