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Champions League Round of 16: First Leg Recap

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Ace Football presents a detailed review of the first-leg games of the 2021-22 Champions League round of 16.

Teams in the last-16 round of the Champions League locked horns with their opponents in the first leg of their ties from February 15 to 23.

Eight exciting matches saw the teams get a sense of what they have to overcome in order to reach the quarterfinals. As the Champions League fever starts to peak ahead of the second leg, let’s review our main takeaways from the first half of the last-16 round.

Paris Saint Germain 1-0 Real Madrid

The round started with one of the most anticipated games of the entire campaign. Real Madrid’s full-on defensive display attracted criticism toward Carlo Ancelotti’s tactics. The Blancos nearly secured a precious away draw until Kylian Mbappe ruined their night with a 94th-minute winner for PSG.

Ancelotti’s men will have to take a more open approach to the game when they play the second leg at Madrid. That will certainly provide PSG’s fast attackers with more space up front.

We expect goals on both sides when the Blancos host PSG on March 9.

Sporting Lisbon 0-5 Manchester City

Manchester City crushed Sporting Lisbon with their unstoppable firepower at Estadio Jose Alvalade. Given their recent league performances, it was not surprising to see City pull off another brilliant performance in the Champions League.

It will be a case of damage control for Sporting at Etihad in the next game. However, we still expect Pep Guardiola’s men to defeat the Portuguese side easily at Etihad.

RB Salzburg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich met Salzburg after a shock 4-2 defeat against Bochum in the Bundesliga. In the absence of some of their key players, the Bavarians continued their struggles to make goalscoring opportunities against Salzburg.

However, a last-minute equalizer from Kingsley Coman clinched a hard-fought draw for Julian Nagelsmann’s side in the first leg. The Bavarians still go into the second leg as clear favourites. However, Salzburg’s quick transitional play might prevent them from registering a clean sheet at Allianz Arena.

Inter 0-2 Liverpool

Liverpool pulled off a perfect smash and grab mission to beat Inter at San Siro. Despite Inter’s several goalscoring chances, it was Liverpool who converted their two shots on target.

The vital victory sends Liverpool to the home game with an unobvious advantage. However, we still expect the Reds to fight for a win against their spectators in the second leg.

Chelsea 2-0 Lille

Thomas Tuchel made a controversial choice by dropping Romelu Lukaku from his lineup for the game. However, his plan worked out perfectly as the Blues displayed more attacking flexibility in the absence of the Belgian striker.

Two goals from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic secured the home win for the Blues. Lille refused to retreat to their own half at Stamford Bridge. However, Les Dogues’ poor run of form in recent weeks convince us to back Chelsea to win the second leg in France.

Villarreal 1-1 Juventus

Most observers predicted before the game that Juventus would not be able to get an easy win against their Spanish opponents. Villarreal continued their five-game unbeaten run against the Bianconeri with an impressive performance at El Madrigal.

Having scored his maiden Champions League goal after only one minute, Dusan Vlahovic will certainly look to increase his tally back in Turin.

However, we expect the Spanish side’s solid defence to put up a decent fight in the second leg.

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United

United showed another unstable performance in their Champions League battle at Wanda Metropolitano. However, a late equalizer from Anthony Elanga was enough for Ralf Rangnick’s side to return to England with a precious draw.

With both sides being far from their best form, they will most likely continue with their conservative playing styles in the second leg. We don’t expect many goals when the La Liga Champions take on the Red Devils on March 15.

Benfica 2-2 Ajax

The tie between Ajax and Benfica was probably the least-watched game of the entire first leg. However, it turned out to be the most entertaining one.

Sebastian Haller increased his lead at the top of the Champions League top-scorer charts by putting the guests 2-1 ahead before the interval. The strike came after a shock own-goal from the Ajax star in the 26th minute.

However, Benfica came back into the game in the second half and clinched a home draw against the Dutch giants. The Portuguese side impressed with their great attacking display. However, we back Ajax to defeat them in the second leg.

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