The knockout round of the Champions League began Tuesday — a reminder of the absolute glory of the European competition, and a few matchups stood out against the rest.
Plagued with injuries to key players, Arsenal seemed to have stalled in the second half of this season.
After a high-flying start, the Gunners weren’t able to score in their last two league games, losing one and drawing one, respectively.
So when they set the Champions League record for most goals scored on the road in a knockout match, it came as a surprise to many.
After a quiet transfer window and almost constant scrutiny about its lack of a striker, Arsenal bulldozed hosts PSV Eindhoven to the tune of a 7-1 final scoreline.
Six different players scored by the end of the match, one of them being 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who became the third-youngest goalscorer in Champions League knockout history, dampening a bit of the noise around Arsenal’s approach up top.
This pretty much makes the second leg in London a formality for the Gunners as they look to reach the Quarterfinals of the competition in consecutive seasons for the first time in 15 years.
The result should be a welcome boost for Arsenal after being knocked out of the FA Cup in January while facing diminishing hope of a Premier League trophy.
With Arsenal nearly cemented in their spot in the next round and ready to put more of their eggs into their Champions League basket, their next opponent will be the winner of the CL edition of the Madrid Derby, as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid face off with passage to the next round and bragging rights on the line.
The first leg was played at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid’s famous home ground. They used this home field advantage to take an early lead through a Rodrygo fourth minute opener.
Though Atleti found an equalizer, Real put the defensive showcase away, giving Real Madrid a 2-1 win.
The record 15-time European Champions have broken their city rivals’ hearts in the competition numerous times in the past decade, beating them in the final twice. They look to add a Round of 16 win with the one-goal advantage heading into the second leg next week.
Even with a Madrid Derby, a faceoff between the top two German squads and a rematch of a nine-goal thriller from the group stages, the definite game to watch was the matchup between English league leaders Liverpool and French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.
Despite finishing with the most points in the group, winning its first seven matches and only losing the eighth while playing reserves having locked the top spot up, Liverpool was not handed an easy draw, having to play one of the most in-form teams in Europe at the moment.
PSG showcased this strength, outshooting Liverpool 27-2 and failing to give viewers the back and forth affair they had originally hoped for.
Even with this massive shot advantage, PSG was nothing against the stellar performance of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker, without whom Liverpool may have been run out of Paris with an insurmountable mountain to climb.
With Becker keeping Liverpool in the game, the score remained 0-0 throughout the contest. In the 86th minute, Liverpool tossed on Harvey Elliot, potentially just to see the draw out —- but the Scouser had other ideas.
A minute later he took Liverpool’s second shot of the night and scored to give them a snatch and grab 1-0 victory. With the return leg at Anfield next week, Liverpool looks primed to continue what many predict to be a deep run in the competition.
These fixtures set up an incredible second leg next week.
How will the Madrid Derby look as it heads to the Metropolitano stadium, will PSG find a goal at Anfield, will Bayern continue its dominance, can Villa reach the quarterfinals for the first time since the 1980s and who will break the 1-1 deadlock between Dortmund and Lille?
This new-look Champions League format has already produced incredible results, and they only look to get better.
