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Champions league football was back this week and wow! Although some results turned out as expected, there were still a few surprises such as Manchester City's home leg defeat to FC Basel.
Whilst the usual suspects such as Real Madrid and Juventus marched on to the quarterfinals, Liverpool also managed to do that after a wait of 9 years.
Here are 5 things we learned during the UCL action this week:
#5 Real Madrid sends a clear message
Although Real have received a lot of flak for their under-performance domestically, when it comes to the UCL, none can seemingly match their might.
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This will be Real's eighth consecutive quarterfinal appearance, only Barcelona can boast of a better track record than them (nine to be precise). Moreover, Los Blancos's march for an unprecedented 3rd consecutive Champions league title came at the expense of PSG, another favourite to lift the coveted trophy this term, which makes their achievement quite laudable.
By eliminating the mighty Parisians, Real Madrid have sent out a clear message, that none should underestimate them when it comes to the Champions league, even if they are having an indifferent season domestically this term. This is Real's last chance for a major silverware this season and they will fight tooth and nails for this no matter who the opponent turns out to be.
#4 Tottenham Hotspur belongs to the upper echelons of the European footballing world
Juventus versus Tottenham produced yet another classic Champions League encounter where Juventus ran out as winners. But what struck me most is Tottenham's performance on the return leg.
After going behind twice during the first leg encounter in Turin, the way the lily-whites turned things around against the old lady made me think them as the quarter finalists at the expense of Juventus.
The level of exhilarating football they displayed over the course of the two legs is a clear indication of the rise of Tottenham Hotspur as an European footballing giant. If they can keep hold of the core of their current group of players such as Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen etc for a considerable amount of time and keep manager Mauricio Pochettino aswell, then they is no stopping Spurs from lifting major silverwares, domestically aswell as in Europe.
#3 Liverpool could spring quite a few surprises in the upcoming UCL fixtures
Liverpool is one of two teams in Europe this season to not have tasted defeat yet, the other one being Barcelona. Although they havent crossed paths with a major European super-power thus far, it should not be the parameter to undermine their performance because the Champions league is highly unpredictable (ask Atletico Madrid).
Moreover, Liverpool is currently the highest scoring team, and has scored 28 times already in Europe's premier club competition. Outscoring the likes of PSG and Real Madrid. Although the loss of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona has certainly weakened their midfield, they have coped well thus far.
With the attack trident of Salah, Firmino and Mane in the form of their lives, coupled with a decent enough defence consisting of Virgil Van Dijk and Andy Robertson, expect Liverpool to be the dark horse in this year's Champions league campaign.
#2 FC Basel shows how it is done against Manchester City
After handing Basel a drubbing during the first leg, this game was just a mere formality for City. The team management went for major changes with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero not featuring at all.
FC Basel came with the intent to put the Premier league leaders to the sword and they did exactly that. Although they had only 22 percent of possession, they were clinical in front of goal, scoring twice from their 3 shots on target.
Although the sky blues have been pretty decent defensively, they have had their moments of weakness. The loss to Liverpool at Anfield being a prime example of that. Thus, having a go at them with purpose reaps rich dividends, something all of their European rivals should be aware of.
#1 Experience plays a crucial role in the knockout phase of the Champions league
This week's Champions league action reminded everyone why experience on the big stage plays an important role during the Champions league's knockout phase.
Real Madrid's approach during the 2nd leg of the tie is a prime example of that. Their players were conservative in their approach during the first half of the game. They kept things tidy and made sure not to concede.
This pushed PSG's anxiety levels to the brim and they decided to push higher up the pitch in search for goals. That's when the whites decided to switch gears and soon, Dani Alves lost the ball to Marco Asensio higher up the pitch, which led to their first goal and ultimately ended PSG's hopes of mounting a comeback.
On the other hand, Tottenham dominated the proceedings from the word go and didn't allow Juventus to settle down even a bit. But Juventus was patient enough to see out the first half with minimal damage. They waited for the right time to force a comeback, and when they did, they made sure to hold onto the advantage unlike Tottenham, who were complacent enough to let go of the advantage.
