UEFA Champions League Kicks Off Second Round

Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi. Killian Mbappe. The giants of the footballing world are back at it again in in the largest club competition in the world: The Champions League. 

The European competition started back in August and, after several months removed from the first round of play, the group stage, the round of 16 has commenced. 

The remaining 16 teams kicked off the second round of the tournament last week. The round of 16 is played in a two-leg fashion with the teams playing both a game home and away. 

The crucial aspect of the two-leg draw is the significance of away goals. An away goal is weighted heavier in the event of a tie breaker than a home goal.

The first match was played Tuesday, February 18 between reigning champs Liverpool and Atletico Madrid. Held in Madrid, the hosts played a brilliant match and left the game 1-0 winners. A slow day at the office for Liverpool saw them lose for the first time since December. Make sure to tune into the second leg at Anfield on March 11 for a fiery display from the deadliest team in England.

The second match saw Dortmund host PSG in Dortmund, Germany on the same day. It was a back and forth match that produced three goals in the final half hour to see Dortmund win 2-1. The Parisians will not consider the game a complete loss, as they scored a crucial away goal. PSG hosts Dortmund on March 11. 

The third match, held on February 19, gave witness to the greatness of the game. Atalanta, the underdogs from Italy, hosted Valencia FC of Spain. The hosts won the game by a three goal margin with the result finishing 4-1. Valencia will hope to bounce back when the second leg will be held in Valencia, Spain on March 10th.

The fourth and final match of the week was also held on February 19, and saw Tottenham Hotspurs welcome RB Leipzig to the city of London. A low scoring game resulted in a 1-0 victory for the guests. With the important away goal in their back pocket for the second leg in Germany on March 10, Leipzig will eagerly have their eye on advancing to the third round of the competition.

The second week of fixtures began on February 25, and saw Chelsea poorly defend Stanford Bridge against Bayern Munich of Germany. The German’s came into London full of confidence and they definitely displayed such an attitude. They are now heading back to Allianz Arena in Munich with three away goals. 

Soccer is an unpredictable game, and bigger deficits have been overcome, but unless Chelsea conjure up some magic on March 18, Bayern have basically cemented their spot in the quarterfinal round. 

The sixth match was held February 25 and featured Spanish giants Barcelona travel to Naples, Italy. The hosts, Napoli, took the lead in the 30th and it looked like there were more goals in store for them. However, that would be their only goal of the game. Barcelona leveled the match in the second half before seeing midfielder, Arturo Vidal, given a red card a minute before the full 90 minutes were up. Barcelona have their away goal, and will definitely want to secure a victory when Napoli travels to the Camp Nou on March 18.

The seventh match was played between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain. The stalemate was broken by Madrid early in the second half through Isco. Gabriel Jesus finished off a good movement for the Citizens with a superb header to tie it at 1-1. 

After a penalty was awarded to City in minute 85 of play, Kevin De Bruyne stepped up cool-as-a-cucumber and finished neatly in the side netting. Then, the Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders for a poor tackle. City left the Bernabau 2-1 victors. With two precious away goals, Real Madrid will have to put in some work when they travel to Manchester, England on March 17. 

The eighth and final game of the first leg match ups was between Juventus and Lyon. Lyon were the hosts as the welcomed Juve to the Parc Olympique Lyonais in the commune of Decines-Charpieu, France. 

Juventus were heavy favorites coming in, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, and Matthijs de Ligt, but lost the tie 1-0 thanks to a first half goal from Lyon. 

Any team that features Ronaldo usually does not draw a blank on the score sheet, and the Italian team will need to be running on all cylinders when they host Lyon in Turin, Italy on March 17.

As soccer becomes more and more popular here in the states, games are being broadcasted in America for everyone to watch. Tune into Univsion, TNT, Bleacher Rreport live and various online streams to watch the games. 

With daylight saving coming up, games will now be on at 4 pm. Tune into watch the best, you will not regret it. It is the best soccer to watch.