The 2023/24 European Champions League draw has taken place. The draw which took place at the headquarters of the European football body, UEFA, Nyon, Switzerland presented matches that would be quite exciting and balanced in the last 8 rounds.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City. For the third season in a row, the two teams met in the knockout stage. In the previous two seasons, these two teams met in the semifinals. Last season, Man City managed to beat Madrid with a 5-1 aggregate win in the semifinals. In the final, The Citizens defeated Inter Milan (1-0) and managed to become champions of the Champions League for the first time in the history of the Premier League club.
However, two seasons ago, Madrid, who won the European Champions League, managed to stage a comeback drama by eliminating Man City in the semifinals with a 6-5 aggregate win. It is no exaggeration that the Man City coach, after learning about the results of the draw against Madrid, Pep Guardiola stated that the meeting with Madri was starting to feel classic. The two teams already know each other.
What’s more, both teams were still trained by the same coach in the three meetings between the two teams. Therefore, it is very difficult to predict which team will advance further. Guardiola may have a fairly capable squad balance and that could be a provision to defend the Champions League trophy this season.
However, Guardiola needs to be wary of Madrid’s strengths under Carlo Ancelotti. Moreover, Madrid has several players who can have a differentiating effect and the presence of Jude Bellingham this season has had an additional effect on Madrid’s performance.
The battle between Madrid and Man City could be a battle between two world-class coaches. Domination of ball possession cannot be the only measure to qualify.
However, playing effectively in taking advantage of home and away matches can determine the outcome of the match. At this point, the atmosphere of the meeting between these two teams will be exciting and it is difficult to predict who should be the favorite.
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal. Bayern Munich has a strong track record in the Champions League. This team from the German Bundesliga is often the favorite to lift the trophy every time it participates in the Champions League.
The meeting with Arsenal in the last 8 will be a serious challenge for Munich. Arsenal’s strength this season is quite balanced due to the improvements made by Mikel Arteta. However, Arsenal has a dismal track record when playing against Munich in the knockout round. In the 2016-17 season, Arsenal suffered a big defeat to Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League. In those two legs, the Gunners lost to Munich with a score of 5-1 each.
However, Munich has not appeared consistent this season. In domestic competition, Thomas Tuechel’s team sits in second place in the standings and is 10 points away from leaders Bayern Leverkusen.
Apart from that, Munich has also been eliminated from the Local DFB cup. Practically, the Champions League trophy is Munich’s target so as not to end the season without a title. It became difficult for Munich because they received sanctions from UEFA. Due to problems in the round of 16 when playing against Lazio where fans brought firecrackers into the stadium, Munich fans were not allowed to watch the first leg at the Emirates stadium.
Munich’s advantage is Arsenal’s situation. Arsenal, who is currently in the Premier League standings, is certainly facing a quite challenging situation because the team’s concentration can be divided. Moreover, Arsenal’s points are the same as Liverpool in second place and only 1 point away from Man City in third place.
With this situation, Arsenal probably doesn’t want to lose momentum to lift the Premier League trophy by providing extra energy in the remaining 10 matches. The result could be a breakdown in concentration when playing in the European Champions League.
In the midst of Munich’s unstable situation and Arsenal’s condition which is facing intense competition in the Premier League, the match between the two teams in the last 8 will be exciting and also difficult to predict.
PSG vs Barcelona. The meeting between PSG and Barcelona is also not a new face in the European Champions League. The two teams have met often. It is recorded that they have met 12 times in the European Champions League. Of the 12 meetings, Barca recorded 4 wins, 4 losses and 4 draws.
The meeting in the top 8 looks even more special because PSG is coached by Luis Enrique, who incidentally has been Barca’s coach for three seasons, including successfully leading Barca to the famous Ramontada when they eliminated PSG in the round of 16 in 2017. No doubt, Barca also needs to be wary of their strengths. PSG in Enrique’s hands.
The last time these two teams met was in the 2020/21 season. At that time, PSG managed to get rid of Barca in the round of 16 with an aggregate of 5-2.
In general, the second season the team is still trying to find their way and to appear consistently in the Champions League. PSG is still relying on Kylian Mbappe to find a way to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in the club’s history.
PSG’s situation this season is a bit different. Enrique no longer relies on star players, but players who can truly respond to tactical demands. Inevitably, Enrique also did not hesitate to put Mbappe on the bench or replace Mbappe earlier than the normal match time.
On the other hand, Barca faces problems that are still unsolved. Injury problems have made Barca appear less consistent in domestic competition.
Barca coach, Xavi Hernandez, has entrusted the young players trained at the La Masia academy to be part of the team. The young players managed to steal the attention.
However, playing against PSG, which is actually more solid and proven, could be a real test for these young players. The quality and mentality of Barca’s young players will be tested when they play against the quality of the PSG team, which is generally populated by players who have been tested in Europe. Therefore, PSG seems to be one step ahead of Barca if you look at the performance and strength of the two teams.
Atletico Madrid vs Borussio Dortmund. The match between Atletico and Dortmund was quite balanced. Both teams can be said to be the dark horses of the top eight. Atletico managed to get rid of Inter Milan in the last 16 through a penalty shootout. Meanwhile, Dortmund eliminated representatives from the Dutch Eredivise, PSG Eindoven with an aggregate of 3-1.
In terms of player material, the two teams are quite evenly matched. The battle between the two teams will take into account the strategic factors of both teams over the two legs. With this, no team will appear striking, and it will be very difficult to predict which team will advance to the semifinals.
From the results of the draw for the matches that took place in the round of 8, two things that are clear to the surface are that these matches are difficult to predict and will be exciting.
This happens because of the strength of each team and the meeting records and performance of these teams this season.
ASL
