Champions League recap

The Champions League concluded the first round of the round of 16 matches. After two months of absence, the Champions League returned, and it did not disappoint. On Tuesday Liverpool faced Bayern at home. This was a game that Liverpool had to play without Van Dijk and had to have a makeshift defense with Fabinho playing as a center back with Matip. They knew that it would be a very hard task in the second leg if they conceded an away goal so they needed to keep a clean sheet. The game ended 0-0 but it was quite an entertaining game. Mane could have had a hattrick if he had put away the chances that came to him. However, it was a bittersweet game for Liverpool as they got their clean sheet but did not come away with the home victory.

The other game on Tuesday was between Lyon and Barcelona. The game also ended 0-0 which is a result that Lyon will be happier with as Barcelona did not get the away goal. IF Lyon can get a score draw in the second leg then they go through. There weren’t many chances in the game however, Ter Stegen had to pull off a stunning save in order to keep the game 0-0 and not come away with a loss.

On Wednesday night Schalke hosted Manchester City in a game that City were expected to win easily as Schalke sit in 14th place in the Bundesliga. City took the lead after a bad pass from Fahrmann with Silva pouncing and laying the ball off for Aguero. Then there was controversy as the ball seemed to strike Otamendi on the arm in the area, and after a three-minute consultation, the VAR team the ref awarded the penalty. A second penalty was awarded right before half time to make the game 2-1. Otamendi got a second yellow in the second half which made it look like Schalke would see out the game. However, in the 85ht Sane belted in a superb free-kick against his old club. Then in the 90th minute, Sterling scored after a long ball from Ederson landed kindly for him to win the game 2-3 and put them in a great position for the second leg.

The last game was played between Atletico Madrid and Juventus. This was a game between two of the best defenses in Europe and could have gone either way. The first half was pretty slow with the only exciting moment coming when the ref awarded a penalty for Atletico but after consulting with VAR, he rightly gave a free kick on the edge of the box. The second half the game came much more alive and the players seemed very motivated. Ronaldo came close to scoring a free kick, but it was Atletico who thought they got the lead from Morata. However, after reviewing the goal the ref decided that Morata pushed Chiellini in the buildup and the goal was disallowed. On the 78th minute, Atletico got their goal from a scrappy corner with Gimenez poking it home. Five minutes later Godin got their second and the game ended 2-0 to put Atletico in a great position to make it to the quarter-final.