Photo courtesy of Pedro Nunes via Reuters
The second half of the first leg of the round of 16 took place on Tuesday the 20th and Wednesday the 21st. The scores were pretty disappointing as not more than one goal was scored per team in the four games played between Tuesday and Wednesday compared to the first round two weeks ago.
To start with the games that ended with winners, the long awaited comeback of Arsenal in the Champions League after several years disappointed the fans as they lost this first leg 1-0 against Porto. The Gunners are currently third in the Premier League and were the favorites in this game. Despite this, Arsenal ended up struggling and ended the game with no shots on target. Unfortunately for the British, the game took a different turn of events as a last minute goal was scored by the Portuguese team. The forward Galeno offered a big step into the quarterfinals to his team with a beautiful unexpected shot way outside of the penalty box which left the Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya, without a chance. Arsenal coach, Arteta, will have to make his team comeback during the second leg of the round of 16 as it will be played at home in London.
The other winner of this second half of games was the current vice champion of the Champions League, Inter Milan. The Italian team, who lost the final against Manchester City last season, stunned Atletico Madrid by one goal only (1-0). With a similar scenario that happened between Arsenal and Porto, the Italian team scored ten minutes before the end. Marko Arnautovic took advantage of an offensive lead by one of his teammates to score against the Colchoneros goalkeeper, Jan Oblak. Inter Milan was waiting for this goal for the whole game with a lack of chances as they shot 19 times to the goal with five on target. Despite this loss, Atletico Madrid still has a chance to make it to the quarterfinals as the second way is going to be played at home in Madrid. In the meantime, Inter Milan is one step closer to maybe bring the Champions League home this year.
Finally, the two other games ended up in ties and the potential winner will only be decided during the second leg. First off, Borussia Dortmund, who finished first of their group during the group stage, only managed to tie against PSV. The German team was seen as the favorite and the strongest of this game, and despite opening the score during the first half on a goal scored by Donyell Mallen, the efforts were not enough. In fact, during the second half, the Dortmund defender Matt Hummels committed a foul which gave a penalty to PSV. Luuk De Jong converted this penalty to lead his team to draw with Dortmund. Both teams will now have equal chances to qualify for the quarter finals during the second leg of the round of 16. The game will be played in Dortmund’s stadium. This game won’t be easy for PSV, since Dortmund supporters are known to be one of the greatest in Europe.
The other tied game happened in Italy as Napoli was playing FC Barcelona. Both teams are the current champions of their receptive national leagues and have both been struggling this season. This game did not have any favorites which allowed more suspense for the fans. FC Barcelona surprisingly had a big first half, with a great game offered. Unfortunately, the Catalan team lacked confidence and precision in front of the goal and did not manage to score anything before half time. Robert Lewandowski offered a goal to Barça at the 60 minute of the game, offering a well deserved lead after a good first half. Despite this, Napoli came back with a goal scored by Victor Oshimen at the 75 minute. This goal was hugely discussed as during the action leading to the goal, the forward committed a foul on a Barcelona defender, which was not even reviewed by the referee with the VAR. The game ended in a tie, which leaves the fans with more suspense as to who will be able to join the quarter finals. The second leg will be played in Barcelona’s stadium, Lluis Companys.
After two eventful weeks that raised the stakes for all the teams fighting to stay in the competition, everything will still be possible during the second leg of this round of 16 as the scores of both legs will accumulate at the end. The Champions League will be back in the beginning of March.
Sophomore Agathe Vanmassenhove is the Sports Editor. Her email is avanmass@fandm.edu.