In the early morning of February 14, Beijing time, the first round of the 2023-2024 Champions League knockout round, that is, the first leg of the quarterfinals, officially started, and finally Manchester City beat Copenhagen with a score of 3:1 away, while Real Madrid defeated Leipzig with a score of 1:0 away! Bayern will play Lazio away tomorrow morning, Paris will host Real Sociedad, and the first leg of the remaining four groups will kick off next week! At this point, I will conduct a wave of ultimate ** for the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League!
Four of the eight groups of matches in the quarterfinals of the Champions League have a huge difference in strength between the two sides, and the overall suspense is not very large, respectivelyManchester City vs. CopenhagenReal Madrid against LeipzigBayern against LazioandArsenal v Porto!In these four groups of matchups, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern and Arsenal are likely to easily advance to the quarterfinals, and the remaining four teams do not have an advantage in terms of paper strength or tactics, playing style, and tournament experience, and it is likely to be difficult to pose a substantial threat to the above four teams in the game! However, the difference in strength between the two sides of the remaining four groups of duels is not too big, and the overall suspense may be relatively large!
Real Sociedad vs Paris Saint-Germain
In recent years, the Royal Society has made significant progress in technology and tactics, and the style of play has gradually changed from conservative to mature, and in the group stage, it drew with Inter Milan twice before the game, won the top spot in the group, and became the only team in the round of 16 that was assigned to the fourth pot in the group stage group draw, but the Paris forward lineup is very luxurious, the offensive strength is more prominent, and the group stage was divided into the "super group of death" after being relatively dominant except for the away game against Newcastle, The competition experience is also richer, compared to this group of matchups optimistic about Paris, of course, the "strongest dark horse" in the group stage of the Royal Society is also likely to continue its "dark horse attributes" in the knockout round!
Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan
This should be the most evenly matched group of duels in the eight groups of duels, the strength of the two sides on paper is comparable, and the experience of the competition is also similar, Atletico Madrid's forward lineup is more luxurious and the tactics and playing style are more advanced, but the defensive strength is relatively lacking, while the Inter backline is relatively hard, the defensive strength is relatively top-notch and the performance in Serie A this season is very outstanding, and the recent game form is relatively good, but not very good at multi-line operations, Based on Inter's current Serie A title situation is better and Atletico Madrid's battle for the fourth place in La Liga is not so clear, this group duel is still relatively optimistic about Inter Milan winning!
Borussia Dortmund v PSV Eindhoven
These two teams are obviously better in terms of strength on paper, tournament experience, etc., and in the group stage, they won the top spot in the "Super Group of Death" with a home and away double defeat of Newcastle and an away victory over Milan in the first two rounds of poor performance, but PSV Eindhoven's performance in the league this season is very outstanding, and there is no obvious gap between tactics and playing style with the top teams, in contrast, Dort may not be too dominant in terms of tactics and play, And Dort's performance in the Bundesliga this season also lacks highlights, so this group of matchups is more likely to be upset, and it is relatively optimistic that PSV Eindhoven will win, and PSV is also more likely to become a dark horse team in the knockout stage!
Barcelona vs Napoli
These two teams were the champions of La Liga and Serie A last season, but this season's performance has declined significantly compared to last season, the reason why Barcelona was able to win the top spot in the group stage is largely due to the weaker opponents in the same group, and this season's performance in La Liga does not have many bright spots, Napoli's performance this season is even more indescribable, after the departure of former coach Spalletti and the departure of the main midfielder Kim Min-jae, the overall level of the team is close to the "relegation team", The tactics and playing methods are relatively conservative, and in contrast, this group of duels is still relatively optimistic about Barcelona winning!
To sum up, I think that the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League should be Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern, Arsenal, Paris, Inter, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, among which PSV Eindhoven may become a dark horse team in the knockout stage, and the "strongest dark horse" in the group stage Real Society may also continue its "dark horse attributes" in the knockout stage! Is there anything else you'd like to say about the Champions League? Feel free to leave a comment