We’re halfway through the first knockout round in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s how the 16 teams rank.
1) Real Madrid
1st leg result: A 2-0 away to Schalke
The skinny: Los blancos essentially killed off this tie last week in Gelsenkirchen, collecting two precious away goals. Real has won 10 Champions League games in a row overall, and is unbeaten in 18 Champions League matches at home—winning 16—dating back to April 2011. There’s no reason to believe Schalke will end either streak.
2) FC Barcelona
1st leg result: A 2-1 win away to Manchester City
The skinny: The Catalans could be in a far more comfortable position had Lionel Messi buried that last-minute penalty attempt—or the rebound. Still, Barca is in a great position after dominating the English champions in the first half and then weathering the storm for the final 45 minutes. City will have to open up at the Camp Nou, and that’s going to leave that already questionable defence exposed. Look for Luis Suarez and Messi to pounce.
3) AS Monaco
1st leg result: A 3-1 win away to Arsenal
The skinny: The surprise of the round so far! Monaco is a good side, but few could have predicted that they’d have their way with Arsenal like they did in the first leg, especially without several of their key starters, including Ricardo Carvalho and Jérémy Toulalan. They’ll be back for the second leg at home, which spells all kind of trouble for Arsenal.
4) Bayern Munich
1st leg result: A 0-0 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk
The skinny: Yes, they failed to score in Ukraine, but they dominated proceedings and were a bit unfortunate not to find the back of the net. Pep Guardiola has the German champions in top form in the Bundesliga. Shakhtar will crash down to earth in the second leg in Germany.
5) Chelsea
1st leg result: A 1-1 draw away to Paris Saint-Germain
The skinny: It was hardly a convincing performance by the Blues in France, but Jose Mourinho’s men did claim a valuable road goal as they head home to Stamford Bridge where they’ve been virtually unbeatable under the Portuguese manager. Chelsea’s best players (Oscar, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas) were off their top form in the opener. They’ll have to be much better in the return leg.
6) Paris Saint-Germain
1st leg result: A 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea
The skinny: The defence was breached at home, but the French champions are still in this tie. PSG, for the most part, outplayed their opponents in the first leg even with Zlatan Ibrahimovic putting in a pedestrian shift. Edinson Cavani was inspired, and Laurent Blanc would be well advised to play the Uruguay hit man in his preferred forward position, as opposed to out wide.
7) Bayer Leverkusen
1st leg result: A 1-0 win at home to Atletico Madrid
The skinny: They gave very little away against Atletico Madrid, and controlled most of the game. Atletico will be without Diego Godin and Tiago for the second leg, two influential players in the spine of the Spanish side. Look for Bayer to take full advantage and replicate their physical performance from the opening home leg.
8) Juventus
1st leg result: A 2-1 win at home to Borussia Dortmund
The skinny: Not a bad result for the Italian champions, but another goal would have given them a lot more breathing room. Dortmund’s pressing game in Turin unnerved Juventus at times, and Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo looked far from their best on the night. Juve will have to be bit quicker in possession and transition or they run the risk of being burned by Dortmund’s speed in the second leg.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
9) Borussia Dortmund
1st leg result: A 2-1 loss away to Juventus
The skinny: Dortmund only knows how to play one way under Jurgen Klopp and their pressing style served them well in the opener in Turin. Marco Reus was marvellous against the Italians, and proved dangerous on the counter. Don’t expect Dortmund to abandon their game plan—they’re going to go at Juventus right from the start, and if they can find a way to protect Marcel Schmelzer (who is a defensive liability) Dortmund can turn the tie in their favour.
10) Atletico Madrid
1st leg result: A 1-0 loss away to Bayer Leverkusen
The skinny: One moment of brilliance—Hakan Calhanoglu’s gorgeous strike for Bayer—puts Atletico behind the eight-ball for the second leg. The Spanish side can’t stick to its tactical guns and play a defensive, counter-attacking game. They have to go for it. The problem is they’ll be missing Diego Godin and Tiago due to suspension.
11) Manchester City
1st leg result: A 2-1 loss at home to FC Barcelona
The skinny: Manuel Pellegrini got his tactics wrong with his four-man midfield set-up in the first leg, and as a result Man City has it all to do in the return leg in Spain. The English champs cant afford to play it safe—they have to go for it—and with Vincent Kompany well of his best form, that’s going to cause potential problems from the Blues against a Barca side that is capable of punishing them.
12) Porto
1st leg result: A 1-1 draw away to Basel
The skinny: Not only does Porto have the advantage thanks to a valuable road goal, but they are also unbeaten in their last eight European home games. Porto is still unbeaten in this season’s competition (six wins and three draws).
13) Shakhtar Donetsk
1st leg result: A 0-0 draw at home to Bayern Munich
The skinny: The Ukrainian side did well to hold mighty Bayern off the score sheet in the first leg. But can do they do it for a second time in Bavaria? It’s very doubtful. You’d have to think that Franck Ribery and his cohorts are going to turn on the style after being blanked in Ukraine last week.
14) Basel
1st leg result: A 1-1 draw at home to Porto
The skinny: As a former star with Benfica and Sporting, Basel manager Paulo Sousa has extra motivation against Porto in the second leg in his native Portugal. But the Swiss side has won just two of the seven UEFA competition ties in which they drew the first leg at home.
15) Arsenal
1st leg result: A 3-1 loss at home to AS Monaco
The skinny: That was a dreadful performance by Arsenal in the first leg, but they nearly got away with it—to an extent—had they not conceded that third goal. Instead, they now have a mountain to climb in the away leg, and team confidence must be brittle after that tame effort and suffering a heavy loss at the Emirates.
16) Schalke
1st leg result: A 2-0 loss at home to Real Madrid
The skinny: Down two goals and headed to the Bernabeu. Good luck with that.
