Champions League: Quarter-finals talking points

• Ahead of the Champions League quarters, we examine the talking points, including Madrid’s trauma from last season and Arsenal’s longtime rival.

Ahead of the Champions League quarterfinals, we examine the talking points, which include Real Madrid’s trauma from the previous campaign and Arsenal’s longtime rival.

Will Brandt carry Dortmund?

Julian Brandt. Photo/ Goal

Brandt has been playing well lately—he has three assists in his previous four league games—and Dortmund will be hoping he can pick the lock of an Atletico Madrid defense this week.

The 27-year-old’s form has been inconsistent this season, but when on form, he has been one of the finest in the Bundesliga. He leads the league with 11 assists for Borussia Dortmund, matching fellow Bundesliga talents Alejandro Grimaldo and Leroy Sane as the top creators in Europe’s top five divisions.

Atletico Madrid, who usually provide tough resistance at this point, thrashed Inter Milan over two legs before winning on penalties in the last round. With Dortmund and Atletico Madrid on the other side of the quarterfinal draw and perhaps the four favorites on the other, both teams will be cautiously optimistic about making it to the season’s championship game.

Another City v Madrid in the knockouts

Manchester City beat Real Madrid to advance to the finals last season. |PHOTO: Manchester City|

Manchester City and Real Madrid play in a rivalry that is becoming more and more common. The classic and modern giants of European football square off once more in the knockout stages of the Champions League, having faced off in semifinals the previous two seasons.

Manchester City avenged themselves spectacularly in the previous season after Real Madrid prevailed in an epic tie in 2021–2022. Their 4-0 victory over the Spanish team at the Etihad in the second leg of the semi-final was maybe the best Champions League performance ever by an English club, and it seems to have left a mark on them.

“We didn’t want to face this opponent,” Real Madrid forward Rodrygo commented this week.

Because of Real Madrid’s obsession with this competition, Los Blancos are seldom in question at any point. But it appears that their heartbreaking loss to the Citizens in the previous season had an impact.

Mbappe faces the Spanish test

Kylian Mbappe. Photo/New York Times

Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona face off in a matchup between two clubs who have been tough to anticipate this season. PSG have maintained their domestic supremacy in Ligue 1, being undefeated since mid-September, despite fluctuating results in the Champions League.

PSG survived an uninspiring, but difficult, group stage before being motivated by Kylian Mbappe in their last-16 victory against Real Sociedad. Despite the fact that his time at the club is coming to an end, Mbappe remains the team’s X-factor.

Barcelona, on the other hand, is behind Real Madrid in their La Liga title defense. However, the Catalans have recovered form in recent weeks, and five straight clean sheets speak well for a trip to the Parc des Prices. Statistically, this seems difficult to call. The previous 12 matches between the teams were evenly split, with four victories and four draws.

Meanwhile, PSG and Barcelona are second (65.4%) and third (65%) in average possession this season, with only Manchester City having more of the ball in Europe’s top five leagues. Their goal totals (65 and 61) and average shots per game (15 and 15.7) are remarkably similar.

Individual brilliance might win this, as it frequently does underneath the lights in the Champions League.

Arsenal face an old adversary

Arsenal will face Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in this season’s UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Photo/ Eurosport.

For the first time in more than ten years, Arsenal is headed back to the Champions League quarterfinals, where they will face a well-known opponent. The North London team has a well-established track record against Bayern Munich, having suffered significant setbacks and humiliations over the previous ten years.

There will also be a player in the Bayern ranks who has plagued the Gunners in previous meetings. Before leaving to join the German champions last summer, Harry Kane had a record-breaking career at North London rivals Tottenham, where he scored 14 league goals in 17 games.

Over the weekend, he became the first player in any of the top five leagues in Europe to surpass 50 goals in all competitions; nevertheless, the Bavarians have not seen success at home despite his incredible individual record. After four losses in their previous eight games, including back-to-back losses to Borussia Dortmund and FC Heidenheim in their most recent two, Bayern’s 11-year reign on the Bundesliga is all but ended.

On Tuesday night, at the Emirates, Arsenal will be the clear favorites, and it will be up to Kane to keep his team’s season alive. With only Juventus averaging lesser Expected Goals Against (xGA) than Arsenal in Europe’s top five leagues this season, it will be a difficult challenge against an Arsenal defense that is playing well.