The torch has been passed
Most saves in a home UCL knockout game since 2016-17:
◎ 10- Manuel Neuer vs Real Madrid (12-04-2017)
◉ 09- Keylor Navas vs Barcelona (10-03-2021)
Nine saves, a penalty save and a place in the quarter-finals for Keylor Navas.
[C̶r̶i̶s̶t̶i̶a̶n̶o̶ ̶R̶o̶n̶a̶l̶d̶o̶:
L̶i̶o̶n̶e̶l̶ ̶M̶e̶s̶s̶i̶:
Erling Haaland:
Kylian Mbappé:
The future is now
PSG keeper Sergio Rico was away from the team for personal matters
So Keylor Navas made one of the stops of the season in his name
“This penalty [block] is for Sergio Rico who is going through difficult times with his family, it is for him.” [RMC Sport]
20 goals in 14 Champions League matches
Scored four of Borussia Dortmund’s five goals vs Sevilla
Man of the Match in both legs
#UCL Player of the Week
Erling Haaland, everyone
Manchester City will be eyeing a place in the Champions League quarterfinals when they face Borussia Monchengladbach on Tuesday night.
The sky Blues have all the advantage heading into this encounter, having registered a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture that served as the away game. It means they just have to avoid conceding three goals in order to advance through to the next round, joining the likes of Bayern Munich, PSG and Borussia Dortmund.
As for their opponents, a potential comeback opportunity at the Puskas Arena serves as the real element of hope in a season that has turned upside down following the announcement of coach Marco Rose’s departure to Borussia Dortmund next season.
Winless in their last eight competitive matches, the Foals have dropped to tenth in the Bundesliga and were knocked out of the DFB Pokal by Dortmund, of all clubs. As such, they have all the incentive in the world to come out all guns blazing in the pursuit of achieving the seemingly impossible this midweek.
In five head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Manchester City hold the clear advantage. They have won four games and drawn one.
The two clubs last faced each other last month in the first leg of the Round of 16, with Manchester City beating Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0. Goals from Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva and Brazil international Gabriel Jesus secured the win for Manchester City.
Manchester City form guide in the English Premier League: W-W-L-W-W
Borussia Monchengladbach form guide in the Bundesliga: L-L-L-L-D
Manchester City
Manchester City could be without Dutch defender Nathan Ake, who is nursing an injury. Other than that there are no known issues and manager Pep Guardiola is expected to have a fully fit squad at his disposal.
Borussia Monchengladbach
Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach manager Marco Rose will be unable to call upon the services of German midfielder Christoph Kramer, Algerian left-back Ramy Bensebaini and young forward Torben Musel.
Manchester City are unbeaten in their five games against Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League (W4 D1), scoring at least two goals in each of the victories.
Monchengladbach have scored 16 goals to Manchester City’s 15 in this season’s Champions League. Only Bayern Munich (22), Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain (all 18) and Borussia Dortmund (17) have registered more.
Pep Guardiola – a three-time Bundesliga winner during his time in charge of Bayern Munich – has a 44.4 percent win ratio in meetings with Gladbach. It’s his worst return against any of the 26 German clubs he’s faced as a coach (W4 D3 L2).
Monchengladbach have never previously won away to an English club in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (D1 L3), while they have conceded eight goals in the last two trips – 2-4 in 2015/16 and 0-4 in 2016/17, both against Manchester City.
Aguero’s movements, combined with his ability to sniff goalscoring chances should definitely cause problems for the Gladbach backline, although the former Atleti forward might have to devise a plan to outfox the likes of Ginter and Elvedi in one-on-one duels, in which they are usually very strong.
Nevertheless, Aguero still remains a favourite to score at least one goal, provided he is given the start ahead of Gabriel by Guardiola tonight.
Dortmund
Porto
Liverpool
Paris
Who will join them in the quarter-finals?
I will go with:
Man City
Real Madrid
Chelsea
Bayern
Real Madrid will be aiming to book their place in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals when they lock horns with Atalanta BC on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid head into the game with a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg courtesy of a Ferland Mendy strike. Since that victory though, Zinedine Zidane’s side have looked dodgy, being held to 1-1 draws by Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid and just about managing to win over strugglers Elche in La Liga last time out.
Atalanta, meanwhile, are in better shape coming into Tuesday’s clash. Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have won three of their four games since losing to Real Madrid, most recently beating Spezia 3-1 in Serie A. In the process, they have scored 10 goals while letting in just three and must carry that momentum forward to stand a chance of making a comeback.
It promises to be an intriguing clash on Tuesday night with Atalanta well within a shout of making it through despite Real Madrid’s narrow advantage.
Both Sergio Ramos and Eden Hazard returned from injury against Elche at the weekend but the Belgian is out for this one alongside Dani Carvajal and the suspended Casemiro.
Atalanta are without midfielder Remo Freuler, who has started all seven matches this season in the competition but is suspended following his early red card in the first leg.