The second leg of the Champions League last-16 gets underway in midweek, with eight teams set to take the lead in this week's fixtures. Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who won the first leg, should have no big problem in advancing to the quarter-finals, while Bayern Munich will not be easy to reverse and may face the result of missing out for the first time in five years.
Manchester City host FC Copenhagen, with a two-goal win in the first leg to advance even with a narrow home defeat. However, with City's current form, it will be really difficult to lose. Take a look at the two different opponents City have faced recently, with Erling Haaland scoring five goals and Kevin De Bruyne providing four assists to beat weaker Luton Town by six goals. The other was the Manchester derby, and although Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock with a 'world wave', City appeared to be in the process of putting on a 90-minute attacking drill that left United desperate and eventually managed to come back from behind.
Real Madrid host Leipzig, Real Madrid won the first leg by a narrow goal, and both teams performed mediocre afterwards. Leipzig have won two of their three Bundesliga games, but their only defeat was away to Bayern, which heralded an unwinnable outcome against a strong team. Real Madrid is unbeaten in three rounds, but only won one, Bellingham's goal, just after the referee's final whistle, caused great controversy, and the player himself was sent off with a red card. Real Madrid, who have gained a belly of anger, believes that they will not "let go" of the visiting Leipzig.
Paris Saint-Germain challenged Real Sociedad away, Paris won the first leg by two goals, and has already taken the lead in qualifying, unlike Manchester City, the second leg of Paris is away. Real Sociedad have won just one of their four games since the Champions League defeat and have been out on penalties in the Spanish Cup. Although Paris only won one game, the lead in Ligue 1 is too big, the team's attention is obviously on the Champions League, advancing to the quarterfinals is just the beginning, and the championship is the goal, what kind of results will Mbappe use to say goodbye to Paris?
Bayern Munich hosts Lazio and is believed to be the most suspenseful game of the week. Bayern lost by one goal in the first leg, and it seems that the hope of "turning the tables" is still quite big, but the recent situation of the two teams is really difficult for people to find confidence in victory. Lazio lost to AC Milan, Fiorentina and Bologna, only beating Torino and picking up three red cards in one game against Milan. Bayern also faced huge pressure, being reversed by Bochum and tied by Freiburg, as many as 10 points behind the top of the table, and the dream of 12 consecutive Bundesliga titles was close to shattering. Thomas Tuchel has been questioned by the management and fans alike, and he must win to have a chance of a comeback, so why did Bayern beat Lazio at home?
There are four matches in the last 16 of the Champions League this week and four next week, and the draw for the matchup will take place immediately after the quarter-finals are announced. Judging from the current situation, Real Madrid and Manchester City, who still maintain all wins, are still the favorites for the championship, and I believe that in the next stage, there will be more strong conversations. This season's Champions League, due to the relatively few giants out, is the most competitive in recent years, and every game will be quite exciting and not to be missed.