Champions League 2019/20 Round of 16 First Leg: Live Updates, results, matches
The Champions League is back and it’s back with its best bit, the Knockout Stage. A safe place where teams fight to the death over two legs and then move on with no regard for their opponent. It’s brutal, bloodthirsty and brilliantly pits the best of the best against each other in glorious arenas.
We’re into March, where the only thing that matters is football. European competitions are up and running, despite the threat of extinction with games being played behind closed doors in Italy, Spain and Germany for the next few weeks/months. However, coronavirus aside, we’re into the second leg of the Round of 16 of football’s greatest competition, now marred with controversy, returns for another smackdown.
It’s the best bit of the Champions League and before we reach that wonderful final in May, the world has to go through the heart-wrenching, tear-jerker that is the knockout stages. A wonderful first leg has paved the way for this majestic showcase/showdown in every single tie, which makes this the best ever. Naturally, that is said every single season without fail by someone or the other but this time they’re actually not lying.
Why? Because forget the perfect matchups because the second leg has every game with a team to fight for something.
It’s also been split into two weeks and this is Week 1. It hands us four wonderfully beautiful games over the course of two days. Week 1 kicks off with RB Leipzig hosting Tottenham and young Mourinho walks into this one with a lead over the OG Mourinho. Who has a bone to pick with his younger self and it should be a cracker. They play alongside Valencia vs Atalanta, with the hosts already down four goals.
However, in this one, Spain does have itself an away goal, and in the end, it might make all the difference in the world. Italy however, in Atalanta, have four goals to their name and all they need is just the one to walk into their first quarter-finals in their debut season in the Champions League. The story the world never knew they wanted and yet we have it, the great underdogs.
Day 2 of Week 1 sees Liverpool host Atletico Madrid and after that disaster class in the first leg, ol Jurgen Klopp has a bone to pick with El Cholo. The fact that it takes place at Anfield adds to the drama of it all. It’s the perfect end to Week 1 and alongside that is Free-flowing superstar makers Borussia Dortmund vs money-hungry, superstar buyers PSG
The Superstar makers walk into this game with a two goal lead but once again PSG have an away goal to their name. The French giants are our hosts for the night and that should, hopefully, help their cause but with a decent team, Dortmund could actually cause problems. Not too shabby, isn’t it?