March 18, (THEWILL) – Defending champions of the Europe’s most prestigious club competition Chelsea and Villarreal were the final teams to book their places in the quarter-final round of this year’s UEFA Champions League.
On Tuesday, they joined those that had already qualified: Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. These teams will be in the pot for Friday’s quarter-final and semi-final draw in their continuous push to reach the grand finale on May 28th.
Of the sides left in the campaign, Bayern presents one of the most formidable challenges. Aside from a shaky draw in Salzburg, Bayern has had a near-flawless season so far. The statistics speak for themselves: seven wins in a row, 30 goals scored, and only five goals conceded. Yet, the success of Julian Nagelsmann’s first season as coach will be determined by what they do from now on.
Just as formidable are the defending champions from Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were excellent in the group stage, with the highlight being a 4-0 victory against Juventus in the reverse fixture in London, barring an off-colour performance away to Juventus on Matchday 2. Chelsea advanced to the knockout stages, and in the first leg against LOSC, they were brutally efficient before surviving the storm in the second.
It will be foolhardy to underestimate the challenge that another English side brings to the competition, Liverpool. Only Atlético Madrid has never won the competition, out of Liverpool’s opponents so far. This makes their near-perfect record, with eight games and only one loss in the second leg against Inter, even more astounding. The Nerazzurri were the only team to constantly cause Klopp’s side problems, but like any great team, they found a way to win.
Then, there is three-time finalists Atletico Madrid. This season’s UCL has not been particularly memorable for Atletico, with Diego Simeone’s side scraping through the group stage by the skin of their teeth. They turned the clock back with a magnificent performance against Manchester United, and they might just be hitting form at the right time.
It gets even more interesting when Man City is introduced to the mix. Even if the side has not always turned on the style, there is still opportunity for development, which should be bad news for City’s last-eight opponents. The Group A victors only kept their first clean sheet of the season in their last-16 first-leg win in Lisbon, losing two of their three games away from home in the section, albeit narrowly. Despite the 5-0 win, Pep Guardiola felt that his team had more to offer, which is a terrifying prospect.
Real can often be a mixed bag. For how is it possible to lose to Sheriff at home and then advance to the quarterfinals with a tremendous performance versus Paris Saint-Germain? The route map clarifies everything. Madrid won nothing last season and are desperate to win both domestically and in Europe this season, according to their own admission. Madrid’s GPS was reset in the group stage after a 5-0 away win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Then came the setback in Paris, which prompted a new high-pressure strategy that paid off at the Bernabeu.
Unai Emery’s Villarreal are in the competition as well with the coach, popular for serial UEFA Europa League wins, showing he can replicate that in the UCL. His team has been without Gerard Moreno due to injury, but proven themselves by getting this far with their talisman relegated to a cameo role. Their build-up play saw them progress from their group, but knocking out Juventus in the last 16 sent a message to the rest of Europe.
Finally, there is Benfica. When they were drawn in the same group as Bayern Munich and Barcelona in August, few expected them to get to the last eight. Despite this, the underdogs had their day, with a legendary 3-0 win over Barca helping them finish ahead of the Catalan giants and second behind Bayern. The common thread that ran through Benfica’s last-16 encounter with Ajax was Darwin’s goals, Rafa Silva’s pace, and Nicolás Otamendi’s toughness, as they soaked up the punches before finishing forcefully.
On Friday, each side will know who they will meet next in their determination to lift the 2021/2022 UCL trophy with the draw of the quarter-finals and semi-finals fixtures.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
