Bayern Munich 7-1 (agg 8-2) Salzburg
Obviously, Bayern is the better team but Salzburg played so well in the 1st leg that it made the return match interesting...but that didn't last long. That first PK was a legit call and the match was probably over 10 minutes in. But that second PK was a lame call--and not clearly a penalty anyway--and to fall behind by two goals so quickly was the backbreaker. This was followed by one of the weirdest goals I've ever seen and it was was clear that Salzburg was in for a flogging. When Bayern added another goal before halftime, well, the second half was hardly worth watching. Bayern added another goal early in the 2nd. After that there was a long stretch where Salzburg played well and looked good on the attack (though the ref did them no favors) and poked in a goal, but, come on, man, Bayern was barely paying attention and when they did wake up, they knocked in a coupla more goals on the way out. A laugher early and pretty much all the way through. No one is shocked that Bayern is moving on.
Liverpool 0-1 (agg 2-1) Inter Milan
I expected Milan to bring it and while they were better than the 1st leg, I thought Liverpool played better, too. Liverpool hit the post a few times and were just generally more dangerous around the goal. Back and forth action but only the one goal (outta nowhere, too, a lovely rip that knuckled away from the keeper) and though Liverpool wasn't able to find the goal this time, that 1st leg was enough to get it done.
Real Madrid 3-1 (agg 3-2) Paris St. Germain
Wow...fucking wow. Just when this match felt like it was wrapped up, Karim Benzema (for my money the only guy besides Modric that did anything for Real all day) scores a 15-minute hat trick and Real is moving on and PSG is fighting amongst themselves. Weird game. PSG dominated the 1st half and then clearly felt asleep in the 2nd half when Benzema started wrecking shop. Real is loaded with stars and they got the hat trick they needed, but PSG was the better team for 85% of this match up, so feels like we got robbed even though it seems like the better team won.
Manchester City 0-0 (agg 5-0) Sporting CP
(Didn't watch, seems like I didn't miss much)
Manchester United 0-1 (agg 1-2) Atletico Madrid
I always forget how much talent Man U has and early on in this match they casually dominated possession and really looked good on the attack. But, they never got any better than just looking good. And when Atletico found the goal right before halftime, it kinda felt like the game was over (...and it kinda was). Atletico is good and Man U is still just so disappointing.
Ajax 0-1 (agg 2-3) Benfica
Fun game. Man, Ajax played hard all the way through, very aggressive on-ball defense, flying all over the place, desperate to score but they just never found the right opportunity. Benfica broke through on a corner and that was all it took. A little surprised Ajax couldn't find the goal--they played so hard!--but both teams were pretty even throughout both legs, so this is a reasonable result.
Juventus 0-3 (agg 1-4) Villareal
Close game until it all kinda fell apart for Juve. Villareal got a PK (50/50 call, ref let it go live but I wasn't surprised when he called it on the replay). Juve's best bet seemed to be to get their own PK but the call just never came (yeah, Juve was quick to flop in the box, probably wore out their chances to actually get a call). Then Villareal scored on a corner and then another PK and it looked like a rout when really it was just a burst of awesome in an otherwise pretty even game. Villareal was the better team all in all, they felt more dangerous around the goal and just a more consistent attack.
Lille 1-2 (agg 1-4) Chelsea
(Didn't watch, caught the highlights, looked like Chelsea was the better team as in the 1st leg)
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