After the madness of the round of 16, it appeared that it might be a little difficult for the Champions League to continue to impress, but the quarter-final draw suggests that the thrills and spills are far from over.
Holders Real Madrid have been tasked with an unenviable visit to the Allianz Arena, while Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund will have to fight fire with fire when it comes to fluidity, goals and attacking verve when they come up against the competition’s dark horse, AS Monaco.
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Barcelona’s famous trident comes up against the immovable object of Juventus, while Leicester City’s European fairytale continues against a side who usually consider themselves the underdogs at this stage of this tournament.
Time to take a look at what these juicy quarter-finals have to offer.
Borussia Dortmund vs AS Monaco
Neither of these teams are strangers to finding the back of the net this season, with Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco averaging over three Ligue 1 goals per home game domestically. The French club scored six times against Manchester City to progress from the last 16 stage, and have racked up four or five goals in numerous games this campaign.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva are set to take the headlines and the brunt of the spotlight, but talents such as Thomas Lemar, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Radamel Falcao, Fabinho and Benjamin Mendy cannot be ignored. This could be a Monaco team that goes down in the history books for all the right reasons.
Dortmund progressed into this stage of the competition by trouncing Benfica 4-0 at Signal Iduna Park, and played out an energetic 2-2 draw with Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu during the group stages.
Legia Warsaw conceded a stunning eight on their travels to Germany against Die Schwarzgelben, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Ousmane Dembele will be hungry for more – as will key man, Marco Reus, when he returns from injury.
Atletico Madrid vs Leicester City
Leicester arrive in the quarter-final stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history and face a side who would arguably have shared a similar underdog identity in competitions gone by. Now, however, Atletico Madrid have made it to the last eight on four consecutive occasions.
Diego Simeone’s men are no strangers to navigating tough situations and defying the odds, but this time around, the pressure is very much on the La Liga club to live up to their favourites’ tag. Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro have been linking up well of late, but Craig Shakespeare’s side should be watched warily after knocking out Sevilla.
Jorge Sampaoli knew that the Foxes were dangerous and that a goal from Jamie Vardy could entirely re-galvanise their ambitions for the campaign, but Sevilla were eventually powerless to resist as Leicester denied their opponents from dictating play and having the game their own way.
While the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Vardy are yet to star in the knock-out phases, the unit and team spirit that the Premier League holders possess are their most dangerous weapons.
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid
Real Madrid have flattered to deceive in terms of putting in convincing performances in both the Champions League and La Liga this season, but somehow keep coming up smelling of roses. Sergio Ramos has netted 10 competitive goals for the campaign, with Cristiano Ronaldo also vital in terms of helping Los Blancos claw their way back into games they have no right to be winning.
Zinedine Zidane’s men lead the Spanish top flight, with Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich doing similarly in the Bundesliga. Robert Lewandowski has been in blistering form, as Die Roten keep on proving that there is indeed life after Pep Guardiola.
A 10-2 aggregate win over Arsenal in the last 16 sets the tone, with the Poland international having seven goals to his name in Europe this season.
Los Blancos offer a never-say-die attitude and a star-studded squad, while Bayern haven’t lost at home in the Champions League since April 2014. Real Madrid were the team to do the damage three years ago in a 4-0 victory, with Ramos and Ronaldo grabbing a brace apiece. Could they do the same again?
Juventus vs Barcelona
Barcelona’s presence in the Champions League is historic and unbelievable in itself, after Luis Enrique’s side smashed six goals past Paris Saint-Germain at Camp Nou to turn around a 4-0 first-leg defeat in France. The Catalan giants haven’t been at their best this season, but make no mistake, when they are good, they’re untouchable.
Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi have been performing as expected of late, with the former grabbing Barcelona by the scruff of the neck and dragging them into the last eight. Messi has 11 goals to his name in the Champions League thus far, and Enrique’s men aren’t showing any signs of slowing down due to their need to compensate for a leaky defence.
Juventus’ season is geared towards winning the Champions League, and if anybody is armed with the defence to frustrate Messi and company, it just might be Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Gonzalo Higuain is their top scorer with just three, but Allegri’s tactical prowess and solid system could prove to be enough to help the Serie A club scrape through due to their own resilience and cohesion.
