Champions League Round Of 16 Recap

The UEFA Champions League round of 16 came to an end this Wednesday with four sets of matches finishing up the round. The English teams, Liverpool and Manchester City, dominated their German rivals, Bayern Munich and Schalke 04, as Juventus made a historic comeback against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona continued to be strong at home. Here’s a recap of this week’s games:

Ronaldo Saves ‘The Vecchia Signora’

Juventus managed to come back from a 2-0 loss in the first leg against Atletico Madrid in Madrid. A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick against one of Europe’s best defenses gave the ‘old lady’ the ticket to the quarterfinals. Two headers and a penalty were enough to eliminate Atletico Madrid who never had a response. It was Ronaldo’s eighth hat-trick in Champions League history, and 25th goal against Atletico Madrid, his second favorite victim.

English Teams Rule Europe

Manchester City and Liverpool became the third and fourth English team to advance to the quarterfinals. Manchester City trashed Schalke 04 7-0 in Manchester and ensured their role as favorites. Liverpool went to Munich and beat Bayern Munich 3-1 with a great performance by forward Sadio Mane who scored two goals.  It is the third time in history that four English teams will be in the quarterfinals. Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will all be on Friday’s quarterfinal draw.

The Camp Nou Is a Fortress

Barcelona beat Olympique Lyon 5-1 and remain undefeated at home in their last 30 games in the Champions League. A Lionel Messi brace and two assists ended with Lyon’s hopes, who complicated things for Barcelona in the second half. Gerard Pique, who scored the fourth goal, became the third defender with the most goals in Champions League history with 14 goals. Barcelona have never lost a Champions League tie when Messi has scored.

The quarterfinal draw will be Friday, March 15 at 4 a.m. Pacific time.