Champions League – Knockout Leg 2 | OneFootball

Tuesday, Feb. 18

Every Champions League match is a tight one, but the four fixtures tomorrow have only a single goal separating them. Should make for exciting viewing!

AC Milan vs. Feyenoord

Feyenoord lead 1-0 after Leg 1Prediction: Feyenoord to win 2-1 on aggregate.

Returning home to San Siro should give AC Milan a boost, but there are many areas where they need to improve if they hope to advance. Kyle Walker doesn’t look comfortable, and Feyenoord winger Paixão ran rampant over him. Christian Pulisic looked checked-out, and only Leão had any spark for the Italians. Milan keeper Mike Maignan will pray for a dry pitch after the Dutch precipitation caused so much pain last week.

Atalanta vs. Club Brugge

Brugge lead 2-1 after Leg 1Prediction: Atalanta to win 3-2 on aggregate.

It took a controversial stoppage time penalty to give Brugge the win last week. Surely the upstart Belgians won’t want to rely on, or expect to get, such a gift when they visit Bergamo. The trick will be cracking Atalanta’s stubborn defense, though this season they are slightly more porous at home than on the road.

Bayern Munich vs. Celtic

Munich lead 2-1 after Leg 1Prediction: Bayern Munich to win 5-2 on aggregate.

Expect to see a merciless Bayern come out of the tunnel. They’ll be looking to grab Celtic by the throat and throttle them. Celtic skipper Brendan Rodgers has encouraged his team to be “brave,” and boy will they need every ounce of courage (and quite possibly some luck, which was sadly in short supply last week in Glasgow). The biggest question remains whether Harry Kane will play after taking a blow to the face over the weekend.

Benfica vs. AS Monaco

Benfica lead 1-0 after Leg 1Prediction: Benfica to win 2-0 on aggregate.

AS Monaco dug themselves into a hole last week after Moatasem al-Musrati got his second yellow moments after Vangelis Pavlidis scored. With only 10 men, they had to be content with staunching the bleeding and not conceding any more goals. Mission accomplished. This week they have the additional burden of traveling to the Estádio da Luz. Perhaps they hope to emulate Barcelona’s stunning comeback from Week 7… but they’re no Barcelona. Benfica have won their last five matches, and I expect that to go one more.

Wednesday, Feb. 19

Two gimmes and two crackers today.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting CP

Dortmund lead 3 – 0 after Leg 1 Prediction: Dortmund win 5 – 1 on aggregate.

Honestly, I was expecting a better showing from Sporting last week given the slight edge of playing at home. Both teams have suffered dips in form, have cycled through managers but Borussia entered the stadium ready to play. Sporting won’t be able to cover such a large chasm, Dortmund will not risk upsetting their demanding supporters, and Serhoug Guirassy will want to add to his goal tally to maintain the competition’s Golden Boot.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Brest

PSG lead 3 – 0 after Leg 1 Prediction: PSG will win 6 – 1 on aggregate.

We all know that this was the most unlucky draw for Brest. The contempt-via-familiarity PSG harbors towards their Ligue 1 fodder is palpable on this global stage. Just scoring one goal will feel like a minor victory. Brest coach Éric Roy summarized his team’s effort last week as excelling “in terms of spirit and desire to do things,” but that it also “lacked realism.” Reality is about to smack ‘em upside the head again; only masochists will watch this.

PSV Eindhoven vs. Juventus

Juventus lead 2 – 1 after Leg 1 Prediction: PSV will win in penalties after a 3 – 3 draw.

This is the only fixture I see that will head into extra time. Let’s just hope the game is as fluid and exciting as the last one. Another bold prediction is that one of the four Americans on these two teams will have an impact. Perhaps not one as stunning as Weston McKennie’s banger, but an impact nonetheless.

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

Real Madrid lead 3 – 2  after Leg 1 Prediction: Real will win 5 – 4 in aggregate.

Without the snarky tifo, will Vinícius Jr. play with the same vigor? Will it even matter? Big questions will be asked, and answered, at Bernabéu. I don’t expect Real fans to goad Norwegian goalbot Erling Haaland, who was excellent form last week but couldn’t do it all by himself. Carlo Ancelotti referred to last week’s fixture as “a clasico“, tee this one up as Clasico, Parte Dos.