After 68 days, the Champions League returns to fill our evenings. And what better to restart than the first knockout games and a pair that could very well be that of the final.
THE Paris of Lionel Messi welcomes Real of Karim Benzema (22:00, COSMOTE Sport 2, sport-fm.gr) with Killian Ebape as the main person, since the rumors that he has been moving from the French capital to Madrid since July are raging. In the same fate could be Sergio Ramos, who after 671 participations with the “queen” is now a resident of Paris, however the Spanish defender has played little this year due to injuries and is knocked out for tonight’s match.
THE Mauritius Pochettino is well aware that a possible exclusion will mean its end, sooner or later. Now winning the Champions League is a “requirement” for Paris and if he stays out of the “16” no one will forgive him. Apart from Ramos, the Argentine does not count on Ander Herrera, while Neymar joined the mission after several weeks and it is doubtful whether he will play.
On the other hand, Real – which like Paris – is first by far in the domestic league, wants to take the first step to return to the top of the Champions League after the last failed appearances in the tournament. His biggest headache Carlo Ancelotti His name is Karim Benzema, with the French forward and top scorer of the team traveling to France, but not being 100% after a muscle injury. Mariano Dias is definitely out of the battle.
The two teams have met regularly in recent years. In 2018, they met in the same phase, with Real advancing with two victories, 3-1 in Madrid and 2-1 in Paris. In 2015 and 2019 they played in the group stage having one win and two draws. Also in 1993 they met in the UEFA quarterfinals with Paris advancing to extra time 4-1 (3-1 in both matches), while a year later in the quarterfinals of the Cup they repeated their success with a victory at the “Bernabeu” (0- 1) and a draw in France (1-1).
Possible elevens:
Paris (Pochettino): Navas, Hakimi, Kimbebe, Marcinios, Mendes, Danilo, Paredes, Verati, Di Maria, Messi, Ebape.
Real (Ancelotti): Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Medi, Casimiro, Montrich, Kroos, Asensio, Vinicius, Benzema.
Referee: Daniele Orsato.
The program of the “16” phase (starting time 22:00)
First races
Tuesday 15 February
Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) -Manchester City (England)
Paris Saint-Germain (France) – Real Madrid (Spain)
Wednesday 16 February
Salzburg (Austria) -Bayern Munich (Germany)
Inter (Italy) – Liverpool (England)
Tuesday 22 February
Chelsea (England) -Lille (France)
Villarreal (Spain) – Juventus (Italy)
Wednesday 23 February
Benfica (Portugal) – Ajax (Netherlands)
Atletico Madrid (Spain) -Manchester United (England)
Rematch matches
Tuesday, March 8
Bayern Munich (Germany) -Salzburg (Austria)
Liverpool (England) -Inter (Italy)
Wednesday, March 9
Manchester City (England) – Sporting Lisbon (Portugal)
Real Madrid (Spain) – Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Tuesday 15 March
Ajax (Netherlands) -Benfica (Portugal)
Manchester United (England) – Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Wednesday 16 March
Lille (France) – Chelsea (England)
Juventus (Italy) – Villarreal (Spain)
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