Champions League Round of 16 Continues

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Eight teams remain in the fight for one of the most prestigious club trophies in the world. (Courtesy of Twitter)

Over the past month or so, the Champions League continued with the round of 16. As a reminder, the winner of the tie is determined by the aggregate score of the two legs. If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, extra time and, if needed, penalties are used to determine the winner. Here were all eight ties:

Club Brugge vs Benfica

AC Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur

Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea

Paris Saint Germain (PSG) vs Bayern Munich

Inter Milan vs Porto

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Napoli

RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

Liverpool vs Real Madrid

In the Brugge vs Benfica tie, Benfica stormed to a 2-0 victory in the first leg, setting themselves up for a good chance to advance to the quarter finals. And in the second leg, Benfica didn’t rest on their laurels and put Brugge to the sword, scoring five more goals in a 5-1 thrashing of Brugge to punch their ticket to the quarter finals with a 7-1 aggregate score.

For the Milan Tottenham tie, it was a clash of seven-time champion league winners against a team that has never won it. In the first leg, Milan got off to a dream start and scored within seven minutes, courtesy of Brahim Diaz. Both teams then had multiple chances but were unable to convert any of them. Milan were able to hold onto the win and take the 1-0 lead into the second leg. In the second leg, Tottenham were hunting for the goal to level the score on aggregate. However, the Milan defense stood firm and after 90 minutes, the second leg ended 0-0, meaning Milan passed on the slim 1-0 aggregate.

For the Dortmund vs Chelsea tie, the first leg saw both teams pressing on the attack. Both teams had excellent chances but to no avail. However in the 63rd minute, Karim Adeyemi collected the ball on his side of the field and scored a wonderful solo goal to give Dortmund the lead. That goal was the difference in the first leg with Dortmund taking a 1-0 lead to the second leg. In the second leg, Chelsea pushed for the equalizer and eventually found it courtesy of Raheem Sterling in the 43rd minute. Shortly after halftime, Chelsea were given a penalty and Kai Havertz stood up to take it. Havertz’s penalty was saved but it was retaken due to encroachment, with Havertz slotting the retake into the back of the net to knock Dortmund out 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the quarter finals.

In the PSG Bayern leg, it was a feisty affair between these two European giants. However, Bayern scored the lone goal in the first leg courtesy of Kingsley Coman. Coman’s goal against his former club gave Bayern a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg. In the second leg, PSG had a golden chance to level the score but were denied by a goal line clearance. Bayern then scored two goals in the 61st and 89th minutes to win the match 2-0 and advance to the quarterfinals 3-0 on aggregate.

As for the other Milan team, Inter faced off against Porto. The first leg saw both teams trying to break through but lacked that final touch to put it in the back of the net. However, Porto were reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute and Inter increased the pressure. In the 86th minute, Inter finally broke through with Romelu Lukaku to give Inter a narrow 1-0 aggregate lead to the second leg. Porto tried to level the score but were unable to, with the second leg ending in a 0-0 draw and eliminating the Portuguese side from the competition.

In the Frankfurt vs Napoli tie, Frankfurt were left with 10 men in the first leg after a poor challenge from Randal Kolo Muani. Napoli continued their excellent form and scored two goals to give them a commanding advantage into the second leg. In the second leg, Napoli continued their sensational form and scored three more goals to cruise to the quarter finals 5-0 on aggregate.

Erling Haaland joins Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano as the only players to score five goals in a single Champions League game. (Courtesy of Twitter)

As for the Leipzig vs City tie, Manchester grabbed an early lead in the first leg and scored in the 27th minute. However in the 70th minute, Leipzig equalized to make it a 1-1 score on aggregate heading into the second leg. However, City thrashed Leipzig 7-0 to easily advance into the quarter finals. City striker Erling Haaland scored five goals to continue his unstoppable form, scoring 10 goals in the Champions League in only 402 minutes. Haaland is the third player to ever score five goals in a single Champions League game, joining Luiz Adriano and Lionel Messi in this exclusive club.

In the final tie, it was a rematch of last year’s final. In the first leg, Liverpool got off to a perfect start, scoring two goals within 14 minutes and looked set on avenging their loss last year. However, Liverpool imploded as Madrid scored five unanswered goals to win 5-2 on the night and take a stranglehold on the tie. In the second leg, Madrid added a cherry on top by scoring an additional goal to knock Liverpool out of the competition with an aggregate score of 6-2.

As we look towards the quarter finals, here are the upcoming ties:

Benfica vs Inter Milan

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich

Real Madrid vs Chelsea

AC Milan vs Napoli

With only eight teams left, the competition is only getting stronger as they all fight for one of the most prestigious club trophies in the world.