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After some enthralling football during the round of 16 ties, the UEFA Champions League was back this past mid-week with its usual thrills and spills. Some results were beyond imagination, some were not, and in the end, it was a perfect midweek footballing action for all the supporters around the world.
The usual suspects, such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona all registered convincing wins, but it Liverpool who stole the limelight with a thumping win against their domestic foes, and the Premier League leaders, Manchester City.
Real Madrid came up with the most convincing result of all as Juventus was handsomely beaten by the UEFA Champions League holders in Juve's own backyard. With 3 away goals in their pocket, it looks like a smooth sailing for Los Blancos at the moment.
Barcelona and Bayern too came up with routine victories against Roma and Sevilla respectively and look all set for a semi-final appearance in this campaign.
So without any further ado, here are the major talking points for this week's UEFA Champions League action:
#5 Ronaldo, Real, and the Champions League Conundrum
Champions League has always been unpredictable but it does not seem to be the case with Real Madrid. Los Blancos surely knows when to turn up the heat, even when the chips are deep, deep down. Nobody in their right had mind given Real Madrid a chance against PSG, considering the unfortunate turn of events, in which Real Madrid lost the plot domestically.
But they forgot Real Madrid deliver when it matters the most. The Spanish side have virtually sealed a birth in the semifinals of the Champions League with a thumping 3-0 victory away from home against the old lady.
While Paulo Dybala will be out of the 2nd leg fixture due to suspension, it will be a mountain too steep to climb for Juventus. Also, Cristiano Ronaldo has got the better of Juve defence time and again and has already scored 9 goals against them in the last 6 encounters. So, it is going to be an uphill task for Juventus to prevent him from scoring at Santiago Bernabeu.
The chances for Juventus look bleak at the moment but we will have to wait till it's all done and dusted at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.
#4 Sevilla took the game to Bayern in fine fashion
After steamrolling Besiktas in the round of 16, everyone thought this tie to be the end of Sevilla's European dream. It didn't help Sevilla's cause either as Bayern were coming to face them after a crushing win against Borussia Dortmund, whereas Sevilla drew to Barcelona after leading 2-0 until the 88th minute.
But Sevilla put the German giants to the sword, especially during the first half. They created several goal-scoring chances and should have had a 2-0 lead, if not for Pablo Sarabia's gilt-edged miss in the 20th minute.
Bayern, on the other hand, looked completely out of sorts especially during the first half, and if not for 2 massively deflected goals, one of which was an unfortunate own goal gifted by Sevilla, they looked all set for a rough ride at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern were unable to cope with the intensity of the match and it was Sevilla who gifted them the win on a silver platter. But they should be wary of Sevilla's threat, more so after Sevilla managed a dream win at the theatre of dreams, which sent Manchester United crashing out of the Champions League.
#3 Klopp's high pressing system is tough to cope with
Anfield has always been a daunting place to visit for Manchester City, considering the fact that the Citizens have failed to win a single game in Liverpool's backyard during the last 15 years. Wednesday night was no different as Klopp went on to outwit Guardiola yet again and it really was a tactical masterclass from the German mastermind.
To cope with Klopp's high pressing, Guardiola benched Raheem Sterling and started with Ilkay Gundogan to take control of the midfield. Kevin De Bruyne dropped deep alongside Fernandinho to play the ball out from the back. But The German gaffer had other ideas.
Instead of opting for the incessant high press, Liverpool pressed with purpose and forced the Citizen's defence to commit defensive blunders, all of which were ruthlessly punished by their attacking trident of Firmino, Salah, and Mane. But when Liverpool did press, it left Manchester City all over the place.
Liverpool's high pressing looks difficult to cope with right now, and with some slight tweaks here and there, Jurgen Klopp's underdog side can disrupt any side's momentum. With a foot firmly in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Liverpool has been the biggest surprise package in this year's Champions League campaign.
#2 Shambolic defending virtually knocks Roma out of Champions League
Let's be honest here. There is no way Roma are going to mount a comeback against the side who haven't lost a single game so far in La Liga as well as in Champions League. It doesn't help Roma's cause either as that side contains Leo Messi in their ranks.
Roma lined up in an unusual 4-5-1 formation in order to deny Barcelona the space to work with. But it didn't help Roma's cause when Alisson was wrong-footed by his defenders, not once but twice. Moreover, their failure to clear the ball out of harm's way was the main reason for the 3rd and the 4th goal that Barcelona scored.
Barcelona didn't actually need to come out all guns blazing to win the contest as it was Roma, who laid all the groundwork for the Catalans to pile misery on them. With such a lacklustre performance, the 2nd leg fixture looks more like a formality and it's just a matter of time before we find out who Barcelona is going to face in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
#1 A plethora of unexpected results
The tradition of unpredictable results in Champions League continued this week too as out of 4 games, 3 were absolute shockers in terms of final scoreline.
While the clashes such as Juventus vs Real Madrid and Liverpool vs Manchester City were expected to be closely contested, the scorelines of 3-0 in favour of Madrid and Liverpool were astonishing, to say the least.
On the other hand, the fixture between Bayern and Sevilla was a cagey affair and fortunately for Bayern, it went their way thanks to 2 heavily deflected goals.
Barcelona too looked subdued for most parts of the game and if not for some poor defending from the Romans, the contest would have been much closer than it turned out to be.
Champions League has a knack for coming up with surprising results, which is the primary reason why it is considered the most coveted club competition across Europe.
