The quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League is now set after some surprising results in the Round of 16 played in March.
Top European teams will now compete for a place in the semi-finals. The first leg matches will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the return legs will take place next week.
Eight clubs have reached this stage, including Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Sporting CP, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Only four of them will qualify for the semi-finals later this month.
One of the major fixtures will see Real Madrid face Bayern Munich. Both teams have been strong in the competition. Madrid recently lost to Mallorca in LaLiga, while Bayern recorded a win against Freiburg. Madrid eliminated Manchester City in the previous round, while Bayern knocked out Atalanta. The match will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Madrid will hope to bounce back.
Another game will be between Sporting CP and Arsenal in Lisbon. Sporting qualified after defeating Bodo/Glimt, while Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen. Sporting will try to use their home advantage, while Arsenal will aim to avoid another defeat after their FA Cup exit.
Barcelona will also face Atletico Madrid in a big clash. Barcelona recently defeated Atletico in LaLiga with goals from Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski. Atletico will be hoping to respond, but playing away could make things difficult.
In another match, Paris Saint-Germain will take on Liverpool in Paris. PSG had a strong performance against Chelsea in the previous round, while Liverpool defeated Galatasaray. PSG will look to take advantage of playing at home, while Liverpool will try to recover from their recent FA Cup loss.
Football coach Orode Richard shared his opinion, saying the competition becomes more difficult at this stage. He noted that reaching the quarter-finals is already a big achievement, but teams must now perform at their best because there is little room for mistakes.
He also added that more surprises could happen, just like in the previous round where some big teams were eliminated. According to him, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, PSG and Barcelona may have an advantage in the first-leg matches.
