Sports

Full List: Eight Quarter-finalists, Why They Can Win Champions League

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2022

Editor

The eight UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists are now known after Chelsea and Villarreal joined Atlético, Bayern, Benfica, Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid in progressing through their round of 16 ties.

Ahead of the quarter-final draw, UEFA assesses the sides hoping to reach the showpiece on 28 May, from stats and form to key players.

Champions League quarter-final draw

The draw for the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals will hold on Friday 18 March.

Atlético

Why they can win it:
You just need to take one look at the dogged determination Atleti showed as they fought their way past Manchester United in the last 16 to see why they can go all the way and upset anyone in this competition. They are so resilient and masters of backs-against-the-wall football, nobody will want to be paired against them in the draw.

Bayern

Why they can win it:
Quite simply, because it’s Bayern; as long as they’re in it, they can win it. Tougher tests await in the next round, but with Robert Lewandowski fit and firing there’s no reason the Bavarians can’t go all the way and claim their seventh European crown.

Benfica

Why they can win it:
Unfancied Benfica are on an upward curve under caretaker boss Nélson Veríssimo. Drawing on homegrown players, the Eagles have had their wings clipped in the league but, in Europe, they are capable of making the most of the extra space they get in the attacking third, particularly Darwin Nuñez. Of course, there are big hurdles to negotiate but the dream is alive.

Benfica have lost five finals since last winning the competition in 1962, when Eusébio struck twice in a 5-3 triumph against Real Madrid.

Chelsea

Why they can win it:
The reigning champions have the necessary experience to navigate their way through the Champions League knockout rounds and they seem to be basing this campaign on the same principles as last: a defence that is not used to conceding goals and enough quality in attack to hurt any opposition. And the man at the helm, Thomas Tuchel, has shown that he’s one of the best around when it comes to motivating a team and keeping them goal-orientated from game to game.

The Blues have conceded just seven goals in 15 Champions League games since Tuchel’s arrival, three of them in their 3-3 draw with Zenit on Matchday 6.

Liverpool

Why they can win it:

The similarity to the 2019 Champions League-winning campaign is that domestically Liverpool are chasing a rampant Manchester City and it seems that having such an objective always brings the best out of Jürgen Klopp’s team. When they hit top form, and everything works in devastating harmony, it’s hard to see anyone coping with them. If you add in the Anfield factor, anything is possible.

Liverpool have been European champions six times – more than any other English team. That is as many titles as Bayern, with Milan and Real Madrid the only sides to have won more.

Manchester City

Why they can win it:
There are only one or two teams left in the competition – if that – who are capable of dealing with City’s metronomic passing and relentless pressing. Their strength in depth is unrivalled across Europe, while their hunger for a maiden Champions League triumph remains as ferocious as ever. After all, they couldn’t have gone much closer in Porto last May.

Guardiola reached his eighth Champions League semi-final last season – the joint-most in the competition’s history alongside José Mourinho.

Real Madrid

Why they can win it:

If they can turn that tie against Paris around, against all the odds, then nothing is beyond them. Two younger, energetic, less-used players produced star turns in eliminating the French side: Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga. Their impacts need to continue in the ascendancy. But it’s the 70 goals and assists total which the Karim Benzema-Vinicíus Júnior partnership has produced this season that whispers potential winners.

Madrid had scored in 23 successive matches in the Champions League round of 16 before drawing a blank at Paris in the first leg this season.

Villarreal

Why they can win it:

The Yellow Submarine might not be fancied by many, yet they showed exactly what they’re made of when they won the UEFA Europa League last season. When you throw in the fact they’ve already knocked out Juventus and are welcoming back Gerard Moreno from injury, they’ll be confident they can go one better than their 2006 semi-final stage exit.

Just under half of Villarreal’s 52,000 inhabitants can fit inside their 23,500-seater stadium.

PUNCH

Up Next

Champions League Top Scorers This Season [Top 22]

Don't Miss

JUST IN: Paul Pogba’s House Burgled During Match Against Atletico Madrid

Comments

Sports

Super Eagles Stars, Calvin Bassey And Alex Iwobi Caught On Camera Shopping Together In London

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2024

Editor

Super Eagles stars, Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi were spotted shopping together at a store in London.

The Nigerian internationals play for Fulham FC in the Premier League.

Sports

10 Facts About New Super Eagles Coach, Finidi George

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

The Nigeria Football Federation on Monday announced the appointment of former Super Eagles winger Finidi George as the new head coach of the nation’s senior men’s national team.

The announcement came in a statement, with the NFF Board approving the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to hand over the reins to the 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam and Real Betis forward.

The new Super Eagles boss’s immediate task will be to guide the team to victory in two crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan, respectively, within the next five weeks.

However, takes a look at 10 things about Finidi George as compiled by The PUNCH.

1.⁠ ⁠Finidi George was born on April 15, 1971, in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

2.⁠ ⁠⁠He played as a right winger and was known for his pace, accurate crosses, efficient dribbling, and free-kick abilities. He played for three clubs in Nigeria including Calabar Rovers and Sharks of Port Harcourt.

3.⁠ ⁠⁠George had a successful club career with Ajax, winning 8 major titles including the 1995 Champions League.

4.⁠ ⁠⁠He also played for Real Betis in Spain, nearly joining Real Madrid before that move fell through.

5.⁠ ⁠⁠George spent one season with Mallorca and then joined Ipswich Town in the Premier League for £3.1 million in 2002.

6.⁠ ⁠⁠He made his international debut for Nigeria in 1991 and earned 62 caps, appearing at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.

7.⁠ ⁠⁠George won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria and helped them reach the round of 16 at the 1994 World Cup.

8.⁠ ⁠⁠At the 1994 World Cup, he scored against Greece and celebrated with a famous ‘urinating dog’ celebration.

9.⁠ ⁠⁠He has 11 brothers, two of whom (Igeniwari and Celestine) were also professional footballers.

10.⁠ ⁠⁠In September 2021, George was appointed head coach of Nigerian club Enyimba F.C. and won the Nigeria Premier League with them in June 2023.

Sports

JUST IN: Finidi George Appointed New Super Eagles Head Coach

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed former Super Eagles winger Finidi George as the new head coach of the nation’s senior men’s national team.

The announcement came in a statement on Monday, with the NFF Board approving the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to hand over the reins to the 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam and Real Betis forward.

Finidi George, who spent 20 months as an assistant to the outgoing José Santos Peseiro, had been serving as the interim coach after the Portuguese tactician’s departure following the Super Eagles’ impressive run to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

During his interim tenure, George oversaw two friendly matches in Morocco last month, where the team ended an 18-year winless streak against Ghana with a 2-1 victory before suffering a 0-2 loss to Mali.

“George, a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and emerged as the second most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in USA the same year, won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals,” the NFF statement read.

Reflecting on his illustrious playing career, the statement highlighted George’s achievements, which include “gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.”

One of George’s most memorable moments came when he “assisted Rashidi Yekini (of blessed memory) to score Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA on 19th June 1994,” the statement noted.

The NFF statement emphasised that “the matches are must-win encounters, with the Super Eagles lagging behind in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.”