A look at the 4 quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League with a match to be played wednesday through Saturday in Lisbon this week.
PSG has invested heavily in a team of stars for more than seven years, with one mission: to be crowned European champions. So far, they have not approached, despite stellar names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in the famous blue shirt.
You’d think they’d never have a better chance than this year, because giants like Liverpool and Real Madrid are the Frenchmen who are guaranteed to Bayern Munich or Manchester City to the top in Lisbon.
However, they will first have to face this season’s most productive European team in Gian Piero Gasperini’s underprivileged Italians, Atalanta, who remained in awe and re-enjoyed by his tied-off attack football.
Road to Lisbon
PSG was impressive in the organisational phase, emerging as the most sensible in Group A and beating Real Madrid 3-0 before winning a draw on the return back in Madrid. They also cut Galatasaray and Club Brugge.
Thomas Tuchel swept away his former club Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the last matches in February to verify his position in Lisbon.
On Wednesday night, their Italian war matches took the credit of the 2019-20 Champions League to bring world football to the fore and make this small club in Bergamo a reality, as their offensive and offensive taste saw them end at the time of the group’s leader, Manchester. City, winning impressively chasing Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar.
In the knockout round, in February before the COVID-19 block, Atalanta fulfilled the tournament’s draw in an 8-4 draw against Valencia.
Past encounters
Atalanta and PSG have never faced each other at a festival before and it will be attractive to see whether European joy or natural pastime and vigour will prevail.
Players to follow
Neymar
Neymar’s time at PSG has been tarnished by injuries and talks about returning to Barcelona, but he has compatibility and leads the line in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappé, has sanctioned Angel Di Maria and left Edi Cavansonni.
Josip Ilic
Slovenian foreigner Ilic has been on fire in the Champions League, where he already has five targets to his credit.
Formed in 2009, RB Leipzig is another relative unknown this year, Julian Nagelsmann, despite everything, had control to hit a team after a few years of promise but without delivering the final product.
Leipzig is the newcomer to the football scene, as it has gained in importance, unlike a wave of resistance in Germany by rival clubs and supporters, thanks to large investments through business owners, sponsors and Red Bull’s outstanding cash follies.
The Germans face Atletico Madrid, Champions League veterans, who, despite their most productive efforts, have never controlled to win the European Cup, have been closed several times: they lost to Bayern Munich in 1974 and to the supergiant real neighbor. Madrid in 2014 and 2016.
The look of Diego Simeone is waiting for some other stopover in the final match, as they are in the most favorable aspect of the draw and would have a semi-final opposed to PSG or Atalanta to face the force of Barcelona, Bayern or Manchester City.
Road to Lisbon
While Timo Werner, Marcel Sabitzer and Patrik Schick scored goals, the stunned Leipzig took the first position in a Group C simple to watch against the other quarter-finals in Lyon, Portuguese giant Benfica and Zenit in Russian St. Petersburg.
The German has eliminated Tottenham Hotspur and European expert Jose Mourinho from the tournament in the last 16 games, adding a 3-0 win to the Premier League team at Red Bull Arena.
Atletico was less impressive in the organisational stage, completing a moment in Group D ahead of Bayer Leverkusen. He has now progressed more than the winners of The Juventus organization, thanks to a thrilling victory over the protective champion Liverpool at Anfield.
Previous meetings
Unsurprisingly, since Leipzig was formed in 2009, the pair have never faced each other in competition.
Players to follow
Marcel Sabitzer RB Leipzig
Top scorer Timo Werner has set out on his way to the new pastures in Chelsea and, as a team like Ajax, Leipzig will have to get used to the more productive groups rushing to pinch their biggest stars. Like Ajax, Leipzig has a gift for digging gems and has in game creator and goalscorer Sabitzer. The Austrian has scored four Champions League goals this season and has scored many more.
Jan Oblak, Atletico
While Atletico hopes to be busy on the other side of the field, the difference between the two groups may be the target of the Spaniards, as Oblak has established himself as one of the goalkeepers in the world.
From 4 groups that have never won the festival to two of the biggest names in European football. They have 10 names of their own at the elite European festival, five, and the Germans seem to have a slight merit in the role, as Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller have rediscovered their flashy touch in a season that has seen them sweeping their way to national domination. Bundesliga. Barcelona stumbled upon Lionel Messi volatile at the club and the Catalans gave up their laLiga name in favor of their rival, Real Madrid.
Road to Lisbon
Barca was his same old dominant in Group F, coming undefeous ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Slavia Prague, but his goals are below previous campaigns, with only nine goals in six fits. After the forced pause, Barca was greatly pleased to see Messi achieve one of his performances of the season, as he moved all the strings in his fit back against Naples last week and secured his position in the quarterfi finals.
Bayern scored 18 very productive tracks out of the 18 to have at the organizational level, scoring 24 goals, two shots of Tottenham and the most productive go back to organizational level through a club in the history of the competition.
They surrendered by knockouts, humiliating Chelsea 7-1 in total.
Previous meetings
Barca and Bayern have faced each other eight times in the Champions League, with the Catalans the most memorable 5-1s dismantling Bayern 5-1 in 1999 before the Germans took revenge in 2003 with a strong 7-0 win in two matches. They last met in 2015 when Messi and Neymar encouraged them to achieve a 6-2 overall win.
Players to follow
Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona
While Messi, the star guy who opposed Napoli last time, Suarez also on the scoreboard from the point of view, and if the little Argentine fails, it will be his Uruguayan counterpart who takes over.
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern
At the other end, the veteran’s leader plays as a reborn boy with new coach Hansi Flick, breaking all sorts of records on his way to the Gerguy Golden Boot. It rests gently through an experienced fronter in the form of Mueller.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has ruled English football for the past decade, but has not yet won its first European name, the one they dream the most. Although they have lost the Premier League name this season to Liverpool, they are in a wonderful way and have a real chance of, however, finishing their Champions League duck. The parties to the Lyon conflict played the PSG moment in France, but their victory over Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus, Serie A champions in the last 16 minutes, will make them believe their chances in 90 minutes.
Road to Lisbon
City climbed the most sensible of his group, remaining undefeated against Atalanta, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb.
He has scored his Qualification for the Champions League in the last 16 matches with a couple of 2–1 wins against Real Madrid six months apart to book his flight to Lisbon.
Lyon, for their part, struggled to leave Group G, two victories that were enough to pass to RB Leipzig, with the departure of Benfica and Zenit St. Petersburg.
The knockouts saw the Frenchman record one of its greatest effects of all time, as he represented the Juve in two away games.
Previous meetings
It was a great warning to the English, as City faced Lyon two seasons ago in the organizing phase, with visitors surprising Guardiola’s 2-1 look at Etihad before the 2–2 draw in France.
Players to follow
Memphis Depay, Lyon
The former Manchester United team is Lyon’s most sensible goalscorer and can also be a supplier, with unmatched working speed.
Kevin De Bruyne, City
While Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus have 12 objectives among them in the competition, they reap dividends created largely through Belgian De Bruyne and his partner Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan. De Bruyne has 22 assists this season and is proving to be one of the world’s top artistic players.
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