Bayern Munich 3-0 (agg 3-1) Lazio
Not saying Bayern has completely righted the ship (although dropping 7 goals back in the Bundesliga in their very next match might be a better indicator), but they were clearly in control of this match throughout. Bayern attacked at will, Lazio just never could get the ball forward and never seemed dangerous at all. Is Bayern ready to go on a run? Well, this is the best they've looked all season so....maybe.
Real Sociedad 1-2 (agg 1-4) Paris St. Germaine
(Didn't watch it; accidentally caught the score at a bar, wasn't shocked) PSG controlled both games, scored a ton, and while Sociedad didn't challenge them much on the defensive end, the offense still showed up and balled out, feels like the star power at PSG is ready to get it done.
Real Madrid 1-1 (agg 2-1) Leipzig
Good form for Real. Not exactly a dominating victory but they were the better team pretty much the whole time. Leipzig was able to quickly counter Real's goal early in the 2nd half but couldn't muster much else after that. Real handled a lesser opponent but they kinda got lucky (phantom off-side that wiped away a Leipzig opening goal in Game One) and never really shined out (though they never really had to). Hard to tell how good Real actually is.
Manchester City 3-1 (agg 6-2) Copenhagen
Copenhagen's two goals were both sweet, they are definitely the funnest so-so team I've seen in a long time. But they couldn't come close to Man City's firepower. Man City is looking pretty good, but let's be honest: they had pretty soft competition in this round. They scored, they moved the ball and they even overcame the weird offensive onslaught of Copenhagen, I'm not sure I think Man City is the best team so far, but they're up there.
Barcelona 3-1 (agg 4-2) Napoli
This felt like the breakout of Lamine Yamal, real control of the right wing in a way I'd never noticed him exert before. The back and forth was okay but a serious defensive breakdown of the Napoli back line gifted Barca the opening goal--which was almost immediately followed by another defensive lapse that led to the next goal! Man, what's going on in the Napoli backfield? Napoli was able to get on the board before halftime, salvaging the chance to still take this game. Lewandowski hasn't even done anything yet, gotta feel like he's still got a coupla big plays in him in the second half. Oh, by the way, Osimhen is still nothing but off-side. In the 2nd half, Napoli's attack was much stronger but they never could crack the backline. Meanwhile, Barcelona finished it off with a beautiful tic-tac run though the Napoli backline. Good W for Barcelona, stating to look for-real dangerous going forward.
Arsenal 1-0 (agg 2-1 (PKs)) Porto
Kind of a boring match, really, neither team established much offense and yet somehow the defense wasn't inspiring either. Arsenal got it done in penalty kicks and they're moving on but they strike me as probably the most offensively challenged of the quarterfinalists.
Dortmund 2-0 (agg 3-1) PSV Eindhoven
Dortmund struck early (er, well, Eindhoven's defense started slow) on a sweet lo strike by Malen and that pretty much finished the game. Dortmund's attack was pretty great for the rest of the 1st half and though PSV picked up its attack in the 2nd half, they couldn't get a really good look at the goal. Reus was able to finish it in extra time with a fluky goal (last defender just lost his footing leaving the goalie 1-on-1 with the greatest goal scorer in Dortmund's history) and Dortmund is moving on. I thought they were the better team in both games but they didn't exactly blow me away. We'll see about them in the quarterfinals.
Atletico Madrid 2-1 (agg 3-2 (PKs)) Inter Milan
As opposed to Porto-Arsenal, which felt like two evenly matched mediocre squads, these two felt evenly matched superior teams dueling each other to a thrilling standstill. This was a fun match, felt like throughout Atletico was the better side but Inter had stretches of controlling the attack and looking kinda dangerous. Atletico worked long balls into the box early on but in the 2nd half settled into more orderly possession-heavy incursions that found a lot more good lucks than Inter had. The extra time was fun, the shootout was fun (largely because the home crowd got satisfaction), fun match all the way though. Hate to lose Inter, though they were pretty good.
I'd rank #1-8:
Manchester City, Paris-St.Germaine, Real Madrid, Bayern Munchen (the wild card), Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Dortmund, Arsenal
#9-16:
Inter Milan, Lazio, Leipzig, Napoli, PSV Eindhoven, Real Sociedad, Porto, Copenhagen
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