The final eight fighting for the coveted Champions League this year are perhaps in for the toughest draw in the competition's history & therefore possibly the most exciting ever.
For the first time ever, all 8 Group winners won their round of 16 encounters & reached the quarter finals.
6 of the 8 quarter finalists are past winners & 6 are amongst the 8 richest clubs in the world (yes money talks & buys trophies more than ever before)
The apparent decline of Italy's Serie A continued with no Italian teams making it to the quarter finals, whilst the exaggerated hysterical claims of German domination once again proved unsubstantiated as Schalke & Leverkusen both succumbed to heavy aggregate defeats. Germany's Bayern & Dortmund however continue to be amongst the European elite.
English teams also continued to perform below their benchmark standards suggesting a more marked shift to mainland European powers. Only Chelsea show any sign of being capable of lifting the trophy. Manchester City, meanwhile, although unlucky with the draw, showed their naivety & lack of European experience but will continue their rise in the coming years. Very little can be said about the immediate prospects of Arsenal & manchester United in Europe!
Spanish teams on the other hand continued their overall dominance with all three teams getting through the round of 16 & the money power of the French Ligue 1's PSG will also continue its ascendency in the coming years.
In my post at the time of the round of 16 draw, I tipped Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Dortmund & the Champions Bayern to beat their opponents relatively comfortably (although in case of Barcelona, Manchester City offered less resistance than I predicted & Real Madrid were more rampant than expected).
I did however suggest that Manchester United, PSG & Chelsea could struggle if their opponents did well in their respective first leg home matches. As it turned out, PSG smashed Leverkusen in Germany & Galatasaray only managed a credible but insufficient 1-1 draw at home vs Chelsea.
Olympiakos on the other hand must surely think they missed a golden opportunity against an out of sorts Manchester united side. They went to Old Trafford for the 2nd leg with a 2-0 home leg win under their belt but capitulated 3-0 on a magical Old Trafford night to Manchester United.
And now the quarter final draw, which although very tough, has amazingly kept the so called 4 favourites apart!
Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid & Chelsea did not draw each other.
At least on paper however, Chelsea seem to have the toughest draw & may yet taste the bitter taste of their own "trophy buying money" when they meet PSG. vs the mighty money power of PSG. Mourinho however, has once again build a tight united which albeit defensive at times, can break quickly & punish opponents (as witnessed in the 6-0 demolition of Arsenal in Wenger's 1000th match in charge this weekend).
Like Manchester City & their deep pockets, PSG will need a few more years of European exposure before they can reach the final of this competition, just ask Roman Abramovich & his Chelsea! It took more than a billion pounds of his money, several coaches & multiple attempts before they finally achieved European success. I therefore believe Chelsea will get past PSG.
Out of the other 3 encounters, The holders Bayern vs Manchester United is the most eagerly anticipated. Manchester United will however struggle to get past this record breaking Bayern side in particular considering their hat-trick hero vs Olympiakos, Van Persie, is injured.
Bayern on the other hand, have looked slightly shaky at the back (and Dante will be suspended for the first leg in Manchester). Nevertheless, Bayern should prevail.
Last year's semi finalists Real Madrid & Dortmund will meet at the quarter finals this year. However, Real Madrid under Angelotti this year & with Ronaldo at his goalscoring best, are a far more attacking & accomplished side than last year under Mourinho. Ronaldo & Bale have formed a lethal partnership & the Real bench has more depth than last year. Dortmund on the other hand, have not recovered from Goetze's move to Bayern, have been decimated with injuries to several key players of last year's campaign and will miss Lewandowski in the first leg through suspension.
Real Madrid, are in fact the favourites to win the Champions League this year & will comfortably account for Dortmund this year.
All three domestic encounters between Barcelona & Atletico Madrid this year have so far been very tight affairs & ended up in draws. This will therefore be a hard one to predict. However, based on signs that Messi is once again injury free & returning to his goalscoring best, and also in the context of lack of "European Experience" argument (as applied to eg PSG & Manchester City), Barcelona will account for Atletico Madrid.
No matter which teams prevail, there is no doubt this is potentially the most eagerly anticipated, thrilling & exciting quarter final in Champions League's history.
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