This year the UEFA Champion League draw brings an interesting group of teams to the round of 16. This is the first time in the Champions League era where the round only consists of teams from the five major leagues. The teams who have qualified all come from either England, Spain, France, Italy or Germany. Usually you’ll have a team from Portugal or even the Netherlands, but not this year. This year the matchups are huge forcing some big teams to be knocked out early on. 

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Real Madrid were not able to top off their group so as a gift, now they have to play Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Barcelona will face Napoli, a team who many no longer underestimate. Bayern Munich will get a rematch of the 2012 final that saw Chelsea winning in penalties at Bayern’s Allianz stadium. 

Winning their 6th Champions League last year, Liverpool now have to show Europe what they are capable of under the lights against a very tough squad, Atletico Madrid. Liverpool can be expected to win this round but not by a landslide, Athletico are a team who have been lacking but who have the heart to fight through hard times. Atletico will not be afraid to play at Anfield unlike some other teams and they have a young Joao Felix who is yet to make his mark on the big stage. Everyone is betting on Liverpool, but Atletico cannot be easily overlooked.

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Thomas Tuchel will guide Paris Saint Germain into dangerous territory against his former club Dortmund where the home fans are as massive as the club itself. Last season PSG took a loss to Manchester United that shocked everyone even Manchester themselves. This year Thomas Tuchel cannot afford to lose at this stage. The round of 16 is not where a team of PSG’s caliber should be settling. This club has invested roughly one billion dollars on Kylian Mbappe and Neymar alone, most clubs don’t even spend that much on their full squad. For this reason, PSG has to pass to the quarterfinals, or else Tuchel can say goodbye to his job in Paris. With the team they have it is unwise to think Dortmund can upset them, especially knowing how young of a team the German club is. 

Jose Mourinho is getting his redemption as manager of the Tottenham Hotspurs who seek to challenge RB Leipzig. The German club have been having a magical year as leaders in the Bundesliga. Everyone seems to have their minds set on Hotspurs beating RB Leipzig however, it is not that simple. The Spurs have been very poor in the league and now they are in transition to a new manager. RB Leipzig are in first place of the Bundesliga with Timo Werner leading the pack. It is going to take Mourinho’s Champions League experience to crack the code for beating a soaring Leipzig.

With so many heavyweight clashes it is almost impossible not to be excited. The one downside to these games is that they start in February. Enjoy your domestic leagues in the meantime because sooner than you think European Champions league action is back. 

Real Madrid was widely viewed as the heavy favorite to win Wednesday’s Round of 16 game against Napoli.

Real Madrid Beat Napoli 3-1 In Champions League Round Of 16 First Leg

Madrid is the defending champion, while the Italian club last reached this stage of the tournament in 2012.

After trailing 1-0 following an early goal from Napoli, Madrid scored two second-half goals to race to a 3-1 home victory on Wednesday in a game that marked the first time the two teams met in a European competition in 30 years.

The visitors took a lead just eight minutes in after Lorenzo Insigne caught Madrid goalie Keylor Navas off guard with a fantastic volley that kept the crowd at Santiago Bernabeu mostly silent. Insigne got the assist from Napoli’s Slovak captain Marek Hamsik, who deftly cut through Madrid’s defense.

The hosts had a scoring chance in the opening minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo set up Karim Benzema for a close-range shot, but it was blocked by goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

However, ten minutes after Insigne’s goal, Benzema gave Madrid hope by scoring their first goal with a header off a stellar cross from Dani Carvajal. Benzema has now scored in his fourth straight Champions League game (five goals), matching his previous longest streak (2010-11 and 2014-15). The Frenchman is also now fifth in the competition’s all-time leading scorers, overtaking Thierry Henry. 

Though Ronaldo didn’t score, he did provide the assist on Madrid’s second goal just four minutes after halftime. The Portuguese striker cut in from the right and took his time to feed the onrushing Toni Kroos, who fired a hard, low shot past Reina.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who will be 25 later this month, sealed the win for Madrid in the 54th minute with a powerful volley from far outside the box that flew past the diving Reina into the far corner.

Diego Maradona, the former Argentine star who helped transform Napoli into a dominant club during his stint with the team in the late 1980s, attended Wednesday’s game.

Napoli had several scoring chances after Casemiro’s goal, including a shot from Dries Mertens that flew over from right in front of goal with about half an hour remaining.

The Italian club will host the second-leg game on March 7, and will seek to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

“In the second leg we’ll try to overturn the situation,” Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri said. “We need no mistakes and to create more chances. I still believe we can make it. I’m confident. I’ve told my players not to give up and the same counts for me. We need to be stronger than ever.”

Another coach who faces a challenge following a Champions League loss is Barcelona’s Luis Enrique, whose club suffered a blistering 4-0 defeat on Tuesday at Paris Saint-Germain.

Ronaldo has now gone 523 minutes without a Champions League goal– his longest drought in the competition with Real Madrid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMKaOpjBdnY

MADRID, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 15: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid controls the ball from Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg match between Real Madrid CF and SSC Napoli at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on February 15, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)