Champions League Update

Happy Monday folks, we push on closer and closer to warm summer weather and with that comes some great sports storylines.

Today I want to talk about soccer, which doesn't get enough love these days in the US. The Champions League has reached the knockout rounds and we have eight teams left in the tournament to crown the best soccer team in all of Europe.

For those unfamiliar with how the Champions League works, the top four teams of the eight major domestic leagues within Europe all qualify for the Champions league tournament. The 32 teams are split into eight groups of four, with each team playing the other three teams in their respective group in a double round-robin format. The winner and runner-up of each group advances to the round of 16, where the teams then continue a knockout-stage process (round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final).

At this point, we're in the quarterfinals of the tournament, which marks the start of the knockout rounds. In the knockout rounds, two different games are played for each matchup, one at home and one away for each team. The second leg of these games start tomorrow.

Barcelona won their first game against PSG 3-2, while Atletico Madrid leads Borussia Dortmund 2-0. Atletico is a scrappy underdog this year but should comfortably be able to pull out the win against Dortmund assuming they don't have a meltdown and lose by 3 goals or more tomorrow.

Barcelona has a young, unproven, squad who are building their new own new regime following the departure of club legend Lionel Messi back in 2020. They won a great game in their first leg which was away against PSG who has phenom Kylian Mbappe leading the line. Barcelona will look to lean on their home field advantage to close out their matchup, but as we know, Mbappe can take any goal deficit and turn it on its head, much like he did in the 2022 World Cup Final against Argentina. Whoever wins will most likely be a heavy favorite against Atletico Madrid or Dortmund.

Moving on to the other side of the bracket, both teams are level after their first game. Bayern and Arsenal are tied 2-2 and Manchester City and Real Madrid are tied 3-3.

Arsenal crept to an early lead against Bayern but then conceded two goals to find themselves behind. They finally leveled late in the match and even had a chance to take the lead once again, but a controversial call did not go their way which could have gifted them a penalty kick in the last moments of the match. Arsenal has been at the top of the Premier League the past two seasons but just can't finish a season strong, and they're chasing their first Champions league final since 2006, and their first championship ever in the European tournament.

Bayern on the other hand has been a powerhouse in their own domestic league and in the Champions league for decades. They rely on Harry Kane who has been a goal scoring beast this year. Though they didn't win Bundesliga title this year they’re still very much in the running to win yet another Champions League trophy if they can find a way past Arsenal in their matchup on Wednesday.

Manchester City and Real Madrid gave fans one the best champions league knockout games of all time last week, tying 3-3 and featuring 3 goals all worthy of Puskas award nominations. Man City has been the Goliath of European soccer recently. They won the treble last year, meaning they took home the winning trophy of the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League. They have one of the greatest midfield configurations in modern soccer history as well a freak of nature at the striker position in Erling Haaland. And oh, by the way one of the most accomplished coaches of all time in Pep Guardiola.

But if there's any team that knows how to beat Man City it's Real Madrid. They famously came back to score two goals in added time against Man City in the second leg of the quarterfinals in 2022. They went on to win that game and the entire tournament. They have a stacked young squad and a strong midfield of their own led by youngster of the year winner Jude Bellingham.

The game will be played at Manchester City's home field which could be the difference in the matchup, but there's a real chance that the game could go down to a penalty shootout. With both teams starting backup goalkeepers due to injury, a penalty shootout between these two monster teams could become the biggest storyline of the entire tournament. The two squads were the number one and number two ranked teams going into the knockout rounds, and many are considering whoever wins this matchup as the clear favorite to go on and win the entire tournament.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow for the first set of games. If you're not a big soccer fan, give it a shot and see for yourself why the Champions League is one of the most watched sporting events in the world. That's it for today. Be well.

John Stanley

Content Writer