Champions League: What we learned this week

• This week marked the return of the Champions League; here are some reflections from the first-leg matches of the round-off 16 teams.

This week marked the return of the Champions League; here are some reflections from the first-leg matches of the round-off 16 teams.

Injured City still shining on

Manchester City. Photo/ Manchester City FC.

On Tuesday night, Manchester City completely dominated FC Copenhagen, and the 3-1 result may have slightly pleased the Danish team. A late goal from Phil Foden was necessary to make the outcome seem more impressive.

However, several injuries sustained during the first leg have dulled the celebration of the win; Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, and Josko Gvardiol will all likely miss some time due to injury.

According to Pep Guardiola, Gvardiol may miss two to three weeks due to an ankle ligament injury, Grealish sustained a muscle injury, and Silva suffered a “big knock” to his ankle. Better news: Mateo Kovacic is “ready to come back” to the team.

A trip to the quarterfinals seems guaranteed, barring the most catastrophic Champions League disaster since La Remontada. However, with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland recently coming off the injured list, Man City’s roster appears to be in disarray as they approach the last third of the season.

Guardiola’s team has been in dominant form since winning the Fifa Club World Cup, winning nine of the last nine games across all competitions. It would be genuinely extraordinary if they were to win a second straight Treble.

However, for it to occur, all the conditions would have to be met, and these kinds of injuries don’t assist.

PSG fighting for that quarter’s slot

Kylian Mbappe. Photo/ Eurosport

Paris Saint-Germain have been knocked from the Champions League in the round of 16 in five of the previous seven seasons, which is an appalling record for a team that has foolishly invested enormous sums of money in its players.

However, after convincingly defeating Real Sociedad at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night, the French team has put itself in a strong position to win a two-leg contest for the first time in three years.

Although Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock after almost an hour and the brilliant Bradley Barcola doubled their advantage shortly after, the visitors put up little of a fight in a lackluster performance. The Basques had only given up twice throughout the group stages and were unbeaten in their previous seven European games going into this one, but they were unable to muster even a single effort on goal.

Although it’s exceedingly unusual for clubs to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the knockout round, one imagines they will give a tougher test in the home leg. It puts Luis Enrique’s team in a great position to advance past the last 16 and maybe even farther because the last two times they achieved this, they made it to the final and semi-final.

Madrid still needs Jude

Jude Bellingham. Photo/ beIN SPORTS.

In an unexpectedly close match on Tuesday night, there wasn’t much between Leipzig and Real Madrid. Although the East German team put Carlo Ancelotti’s soldiers to the test, they were undoubtedly the favorites going into this match.

Leipzig was unfortunate not to be able to get past the outstanding Andrey Lunin in goal, who stopped nine of their 15 efforts on goal, their highest total in a Champions League knockout match.

However, they managed to find a solution in a true Real manner. Brahim Diaz outwitted Peter Gulacsi from barely inside the area shortly after the second half started. Diaz had already maneuvered past several defenders.

As they prepare for the second leg at home, Los Blancos will be confident that they can advance to the next round; nonetheless, Jude Bellingham’s absence was noteworthy. The brilliant English midfielder for this season was injured and missed the match. Real wasn’t bad by any means, but they weren’t quite as good as they have been when the Birmingham native is playing for them.

It may be said that their reliance on Bellingham has become excessive given that Ancelotti is in charge of the team’s transformation, gradually benching players like Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

The 20-year-old’s ankle injury is anticipated to keep him out for two to three weeks, even though Diaz, his replacement, left the game with a calf ailment late in the game.

Bayern shock loss

Lazio shocked the Bundesliga leaders 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to cap off a terrible week for Bayern Munich.

Their title defense is now seriously in peril following a 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen. They have won the Champions League six times in their history, most recently in 2020. They now have to fight to stay in the tournament.

Harry Kane most likely quit his childhood club in the summer to finally experience handling silverware that wasn’t kept in his kitchen drawer because of the club’s lengthy history of success.

But there’s a chance the wait will extend another year. Even though the Englishman has scored 28 goals in 28 games this season, Bayern is five points behind Xabi Alonso’s undefeated Leverkusen team and on the verge of European elimination. They also lost the DFL Supercup to Leipzig and were eliminated by a third-tier club in the German Cup.

Kane will undoubtedly face accusations of avoiding trophies, but any rational person would acknowledge that he is not the primary culprit behind Bayern’s poor performance. He simply arrived at the incorrect moment to join them.