The first legs of this season’s UEFA Champions League round-of-16 ties are done and dusted.
Arsenal already have one foot in the quarterfinals thanks to their 7-1 demolition of PSV Eindhoven, but the rest of the matchups are mostly delicately poised.
How on earth did Paris Saint-Germain lose 1-0 to Liverpool? Which teams need to switch up their tactics? What can we expect next week? ESPN writers Gab Marcotti, Mark Ogden and Julien Laurens tackle some of the most burning questions after an excellent round of midweek action.
PSG vs. Liverpool: That first leg was wild. What happens at Anfield?
Laurens: In the same way that nobody could have predicted what happened on Wednesday night in Paris, nobody knows what will happen on Tuesday at Anfield. Anything is possible. PSG will go there and try to play their game, believing they are capable of reproducing the same performance in the second leg that they did in the first. But Liverpool won’t be as bad next week as they were on Wednesday. If the Reds attack more, they will leave more space for PSG to exploit. It will be an amazing encounter, tactically and psychologically. The final outcome? I think it could be a 2-2 draw and Liverpool to go through.
Ogden: I’ve seen the best and worst of PSG in the Champions League this season: a dismal defeat at Arsenal early in the league stage and then two dominant wins against Manchester City and VfB Stuttgart. But they were arguably even better against Liverpool than in those two games, yet still lost. And that’s the problem they have ahead of the second leg at Anfield. To be so dominant and end up with nothing will be a crushing blow to PSG’s morale because Anfield is probably the toughest away trip in the Champions League, especially when you’re trailing from the first leg. Liverpool have seen PSG’s best and survived, so the only realistic outcome next week is a home win. Arne Slot’s team won’t be so bad again.
Marcotti: In terms of how PSG approach the game, I expect more of the same. They have no choice: given the result in the first leg, they have to go for it. Plus, of course, Luis Enrique’s sides generally always play the same way. Liverpool will be a bit different, I imagine. Slot has a good record in knockout competitions, and he knows that this tie is very much in the balance (especially without the away-goals rule). Liverpool can’t allow PSG to manhandle them again the way they did on Wednesday. To be played off the park — especially when he made such a big deal of how he had a whole week to prepare — is not acceptable. I’d expect Cody Gakpo to be back and that will help. Plus, Mohamed Salah won’t be as bad as he was on Wednesday, in what was arguably his worst performance of the season. But yes, this is still very much in the balance. Liverpool can’t play the way they did away.
1:19
Leboeuf: I’m worried about Kylian Mbappe
Frank Leboeuf says it’s “worrying” for Real Madrid to see Kylian Mbappe having little impact during their 2-1 win vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 tie.
Rodrygo did well against Atlético. Has he become ‘undroppable’ for Real Madrid?
Laurens: I think Rodrygo is indispensable for this Real Madrid team. He brings balance, defensive effort when the team lose the ball, and incredible skills and pace — just as we saw against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday with his goal. Basically, he is a team player, not just a dribbler. And that’s what Real Madrid need. They need his mindset, especially when Carlo Ancelotti already plays Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior together.
Ogden: No player can play every game at the top level — they all need a rest from time to time — but the easiest way to spell out Rodrygo’s importance to Real Madrid is to ask: Would he be in Ancelotti’s team for the biggest game of the season, the Champions League final? The answer is a clear yes. Bellingham was playing Mr. Nice Guy when he said recently that Rodrygo was “probably the most gifted player in the squad.” He’s not at the level of Mbappé or Vinícius yet, but Madrid play with a front three and Rodrygo has absolutely claimed the third spot alongside those two.
Marcotti: I don’t think so. In terms of technical ability, Bellingham probably isn’t far off Rodrygo — I’d imagine he’d be third after Mbappé and Luka Modric. But that doesn’t mean Rodrygo needs to play every game or even every big game, because football isn’t just about technical ability. And if you’re talking about the third spot in the front three on the right, there will be games when you’re better suited to having Brahim Díaz or Federico Valverde out there. I don’t think the Atlético win is a good bellwether anyway for his chances to be a permanent fixture in the 4-3-3 (or 4-2-3-1) because he played an entirely different role in that version of 4-4-2. I’m not sure we’ll see that again very often, certainly not when Bellingham is available. That said, he has a tremendous scoring record in the Champions League and, yes, he often gets overlooked because he plays with bigger stars.
1:40
Burley: PSV were an embarrassment vs. Arsenal
Craig Burley didn’t hold back in his assessment of PSV after their 7-1 demolishing at the hands of Arsenal in the Champions League.
Which under-21 player impressed most, and why was it Ethan Nwaneri?
Laurens: Lamine Yamal is the best U21 player in the world. But this week, it’s another teenager who impressed me the most: Ayyoub Bouaddi. The Lille defensive midfielder is only 17 but he bossed the game against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. He looked like a veteran: calm and composed, cool under pressure, intelligent, and making the right decisions. The future is so bright for him, as it is for Nwaneri or Yamal. This incredible generation of super-talented players are playing regularly for top teams, so they are already the present, not just the future.
Ogden: I’m sorry, as good as Nwaneri is, Yamal is the most outstanding U21 player in the Champions League, or any league, this season. Yamal is so good, and is so consistently outstanding, that his excellence has become the norm and he is perhaps now judged like a senior player when he is still only 17. But if we put Yamal on the pedestal above the rest — where he belongs — then Nwaneri is probably as good as any of the other young contenders. Arsenal have a potential superstar on their hands, and don’t be surprised if the biggest talking point surrounding Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad is a call-up for the Gunners teenager. Age is no reason to keep him out.
Marcotti: It’s not. Any answer other than Yamal is simply incorrect. Sure, he might have dipped a tiny bit, but his body of work is orders of magnitude greater than Nwaneri’s at this stage. That was Nwaneri’s second Champions League start of his career. And it came against a Petr Bosz team that turned into “The Muppet Show.” His other start was against an already eliminated Girona. He has 10 first-team starts in his career; Yamal has 10 since late January. So let’s pump the brakes, shall we? Nwaneri might one day catch up to or even surpass Yamal. But we’re not there yet. That said, he’s a very exciting player and, like Yamal, has a maturity and a physicality beyond his years. I am excited to see how he develops and where Mikel Arteta puts him. I’m not sure his future is playing out wide, it might be in Martin Ødegaard‘s position in central midfield, but of course, that space is taken right now.
2:05
Klinsmann: Bayern outstanding in UCL win vs. Leverkusen
Jürgen Klinsmann reacts to Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win vs. Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the round of 16.
Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Is this the return of the Bavarians as the best team in Germany?
Laurens: I’m a bit wary of praising this Bayern side too much. I’ve seen them play excellently at times this season, but I have also seen them be quite average. However, they dominated Leverkusen on Wednesday in a match that saw everything go against Xabi Alonso’s side from start to finish. And when Bayern score early, like they did on Wednesday, it’s even more difficult for the opposition to counter them. I’m not sure how far they can go in this competition as they are still defensively fragile at times. But attacking wise, they have some of the best talent in Europe.
Ogden: I was at the Allianz Arena for this one and it was one of those games in which Bayern looked like the superpower of German football against one of those distant challengers. But it was a night when everything went wrong for Leverkusen. They conceded early, then their goalkeeper gave Bayern another with a terrible mistake. Bayern then scored a third with a penalty after a dubious VAR review led to the spot-kick. And Leverkusen also had defender Nordi Mukiele sent off. So, while Bayern dominated and deserved to win, the gap between the two teams isn’t really as big as the result suggested. Leverkusen have a mountain to climb in the second leg and if they get an early goal, they have a chance. But Bayern showed their best and they will cruise into the quarterfinals if they are anywhere close to that again next Tuesday.
Marcotti: What this game showed is that Bayern weren’t traumatized by that horrendous display against Leverkusen in the league when they couldn’t manage a shot. That’s good and it speaks to Vincent Kompany’s man-management. And, obviously, the 3-0 result is great if you’re a Bayern fan. But I wouldn’t read too much into it. Two of the three goals were gifts from Leverkusen. So too was Mukiele’s silly red card. Bayern were deserving because you have to be ready to profit from your opponents’ mistakes and they were. But this was Leverkusen soiling the bed, plain and simple.
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