Nearly five months on from the champion’s league being put on hold, the remaining round of 16 ties have finally been sorted after wins for Manchester city, Barcelona , Bayern Munich and a qualification based on away goals by Lyon.
The eight teams who made the quarter-finals all head off to Portugal for a quick-fire fortnight of action before the final on August 23 in Lisbon.
Goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus secured a 2-1 win on the night and a 4-2 aggregate victory for Manchester City over Real Madrid. The Spanish champions who are also 13 times European champions were ousted from the competition they made famous after being beaten at home and away. Manchester City is the only Premier League side left in the competition and will fancy their chances of progressing further as they play Lyon in the next stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals inspired Juventus to a 2-1 comeback victory over Lyon but it wasn’t enough as a 2-2 aggregate draw saw them crash out of the Champions League on away goals. Juventus have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2015/16 under Massimiliano Allegri.
The Italian club acted swiftly as head coach Maurizio Sarri, paid the price for their Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon on Friday night, with Pirlo replacing him on a two-year contract. A Juventus statement read:
“The club has decided to entrust him with the technical leadership of the first team, after having already selected him for Juventus Under-23. Today’s choice is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead, from his debut on the bench, an expert and talented squad to pursue new successes.”
Bayern Munich proved far too strong for Chelsea again as Robert Lewandowski starred in a 4-1 win at the Allianz Arena (7-1 on aggregate) to reach the Champions League quarter-final. Frank Lampard’s promising first season at Chelsea finishes with two disappointing defeats, following their FA Cup final loss last weekend, while it will take a fine team to stop Bayern in Lisbon as the Champions League reaches a unique finale.
Chelsea star Willian confirmed he is leaving the club with Arsenal close to completing his signing on a three-year deal. The 32-year-old leaves Stamford Bridge at the end of his contract after a seven-year spell. He leaves along with Pedro who also bid an emotional farewell to the club after five ‘wonderful’ years with the Blues.
Barcelona also confirmed their qualification to set up a mouth-watering Champions League quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich after beating Napoli 3-1 to progress 4-2 on aggregate. Barcelona has qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals for the 13th consecutive campaign with Lionel Messi’s magic to the fore in a first half filled with VAR drama.
The opening game of the Quarter final sees Atalanta take on Paris St-Germain, before RB Leipzig face Atletico Madrid the following day. Barcelona and Bayern Munich meet for a place in the quarter-finals next Friday
The remainder of the Champions League will be played in a single-leg format, with all games taking place in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.
