After the smoke of the Champions League 1 8 final gradually dissipated, the midweek European game was undoubtedly the focus of fans' attention. After fierce competition, we made four striking discoveries. These findings not only show the competitive charm of European football, but also reveal the strength and potential of each team. It also added more highlights to the next games, and also made fans look forward to future events.
1. Is the Champions League a turning point for Bayern Munich?
Kane expressed hope Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Lazio could be a turning point for the club this season, after the Bundesliga champions came from behind in the first leg to progress to the quarter-finals.
Bayern brought in two strong players last season, Kane and Kim Min-jae, but Bayern's performance in their home country is still not satisfactory, and Bayern are 10 points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga standings.
Barring an unexpected collapse from Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich's 11-year domination of the Bundesliga looks like an end is coming to an end, with the Champions League emerging as their best hope for success.
Although Bayern's squad has been far from convincing for much of the season, they are still capable of challenging any team in this competition. Bayern will face a tougher test than Lazio, who finish ninth in Serie A this season, but Bayern seem to have found confidence to win from Kane's equaliser six minutes before the break.
The England captain has scored 33 goals in 33 games since arriving in Munich from Tottenham and will be key to Bayern's seventh Champions League title.
Second, who else in Paris can stand up besides Mbappe?
Mbappe's impressive performance saw PSG progress to the quarter-finals, with the French striker scoring three times over two legs.
Rumours of Kylian Mbappe's move to Real Madrid have been the main topic of conversation around Paris Saint-Germain this season, but the Ligue 1 giants will focus on the immediate issues. Paris Saint-Germain did not perform well in the group stage, but in the knockout rounds they impressively beat Real Sociedad on aggregate, who topped the group ahead of Inter Milan.
Mbappe is the focal point of this team both on and off the pitch, but Luis Enrique needs more help to ease the team's reliance on the 34-goal striker. No other PSG player has scored in double figures so far this season, while Colo Muani and Barcora, who have won a combined 1The striker, who was signed for £3.2 billion, has scored just one goal in 590 minutes of playing time in the Champions League this season.
Meanwhile, another high-profile new signing from Barcelona, Dembele, has scored just one goal in 30 games in all competitions.
3. Leipzig exposes Real Madrid's weaknesses
Despite a lackluster performance in the 1 8 finals, Real Madrid managed to advance to the quarter-finals. After winning six consecutive group stage games, the Spanish giants risked their luck in a fierce showdown with RB Leipzig. Leipzig created and wasted plenty of chances in two games, which laid bare Real Madrid's problems in the defensive end, but luckily they avoided going out prematurely.
Antonio Rudiger, who has recently recovered from a hamstring injury, has been consistent under pressure this week, while Real Madrid will be hoping more key figures will return before the tournament reaches the final stage. David Alaba's sidelines for the remainder of the season have been confirmed, however, Militão and Thibaut Courtois are likely to recover from cruciate ligament injuries next month.
The draw for the quarter-finals will take place on 15 March, with the first leg on 9 and 10 April and the second leg a week later. Given the injuries of Thibaut Courtois and Militão, it would be unwise to expect them to return in the best form right away, but it would be a huge boost for Real Madrid to have one or both of them back in the coming rounds.
Fourth, whether Manchester City can defend the title
In the 31 years since the Champions League was renamed, only Real Madrid have won back-to-back titles. Someone has dared to change that record this season, with Manchester City the favourites to win the title.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have become the first English team to win 10 consecutive Champions League games and the first team in Champions League history to score more than three goals in nine consecutive home matches.
Strong home performances also extended the Blues' unbeaten run in Champions League games at the Etihad Stadium to 30, becoming only the second team to do so after Barcelona from 38 between 2013 and 2020.
Twenty-eight of those 30 games have been won, and they have conceded the fewest goals in Champions League finals this season. This season, they may be able to pull off another back-to-back treble.