1st leg
Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool
For the first few minutes of the game, Galatasaray kept giving the ball away in their own backfield--over and over again!--that it felt for a while like they were never going to get the ball across midfield and were desperately trying to give the game away as quick as possible. But soon enough, they did finally move the ball downfield, got a corner and scored in the 5th minute. Liverpool must've felt shell shocked: they had already blown a half dozen good opportunities before the audience was even paying attention and now they're down 1-0. After that it was a fairly even game, they each had a goal taken away: Liverpool for a handball (correct call) and Galatasaray for an offside (eh, that was 50-50, the dude really wasn't in the play). I expect Liverpool to put up a fuller richer effort back in England, so this one is not over.
Atalanta 1-6 Bayern Munich
Bayern came to play, Atalanta didn't know what hit them. Bayern scored, then scored again almost instantly, then scored again almost instantly, then peppered the keeper a few more times before the half and it was clear pretty quick that this one was over. I honestly snoozed through most the 2nd half, every time I looked up Bayern had scored again. Atalanta is here because Dortmund collapsed badly in the last round, not saying they don't belong here but they clearly weren't ready for Bayern. This one's over.
Atletico Madrid 5-2 Tottenham
Oh man! Early on, the keeper lost his balance and it was 1-0; a minute later the defender loses his footing and it was 2-0; keeper slips again, 3-0 before the game has even started. Tottenham did well to keep playing, keep pushing, they got back a coupla goals, but this will be one of those matches that Tottenham fans remember for years and years. Does Tottenham have a shot back home in the next leg? I doubt it, man, they shouldn't get crushed this bad again, but this was bad enough. I definitely like Atletico's chances to move on.
Newcastle United 1-1 Barcelona
Oof! Really thought Newcastle outplayed Barca, they really came to play while Barca felt like they were just chillin'. Thought Newcastle did a good job on the attack, pushed Barca back consistently, kept them out of scoring range pretty effectively. Felt let a hard earned draw, then Newcastle got a stunning goal in the 87th minute and it seemed like Newcastle was gonna score the stunning upset. Then in extra time, a foul in the box (the right call, it was a legit foul) and Barca scratches back the draw with a buzzer beater. Ooooooohhhhhhhhh maaaaaaaannnnnnnn. Still live in the 2nd leg, if Newcastle can pick up where they left off with the attacking intensity, they can catch Barca waffling, this one's definitely still in play.
Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal felt to me like the better side, but in the first half they played to a straight nothing-nothing draw. Right out of the half Leverkusen connected on a corner kick and it felt like that was gonna be all the scoring. But Arsenal found the net with a PK (I'm blanking on the play, don't remember if I thought it was the right call or not), just before the close and they're going back to England with an even chance to move on. Leverkusen is a nice team but they didn't feel dangerous on the attack, I think I'd take Arsenal to move on.
Bodo 3-0 Sporting CP
Bodo! Never heard of Bodo before but when they scorched Inter Milan in back to back games in the round of 24, they definitely caught my attention. They're grit and grind, man, they hustle, they make the plays that the preening rock stars of soccer never follow through on and that edge has served them well so far, I can totally see it working through at least one more round. But, then again: I thought this match was actually pretty even with Bodo being uniquely successful on their chances, but I didn't think they overwhelmed Sporting by any means. Can Sporting can go back home and find 3 goals? I dunno, maybe, I can't rule it just yet because I don't know these teams at all. I'm all into Bodo, rooting for them, certainly looking good (so far), but Sporting still has a chance to move on and I expect them to bring it in the 2nd leg.
Paris-St Germain 5-2 Chelsea
(Did I watch this one? I'm not remembering this one)
Real Madrid 3-0 Manchester City
1st half hat trick for Valverde and that was pretty much it for Man City. They were nice goals, too, they weren't cheapies, they were sweet. Didn't feel like Man City couldn't hang, just that Real made the most of their chances. Real's in the driver's seat but Man City can have a good day, too, so worth keeping an eye on.
2nd leg
Sporting 5-0 (AET) Bodo (agg 5-3)
Ahhh, yeah....that's too bad. I was all in on Bodo fever but this result was not particularly surprising. Bodo had no attack at all, they seemed to think that just bunkering was going to be good enough and that did not work. Hey, even in the 1st leg I didn't think Bodo wildly outplayed Sporting, I just thought they converted their opportunities better. But in the 2nd leg, Sporting attacked nonstop--even through 2 OT periods--and Bodo just never got any offense going at all. Sorry, Bodo, I was rooting for you, but your time was up. Sporting is frisky, gonna be a tough out.
Arsenal 2-0 Leverkusen (agg 3-1)
Felt bad for Leverkusen's goalie, he made a ton of great saves--and Arsenal's goals were both untouchable, certainly not his fault. But Arsenal attacked and Levekusen just didn't, Leverkusen just didn't generate much going forward. The 1st leg was even, maybe Arsenal was a tad better, but in the 2nd leg I thought Arsenal dominated Levekusen. Hard to tell, actually, how good Arsenal is, Leverkusen didn't put up enough of a fight to really bring out Arsenal.
Manchester City 1-2 Real Madrid (agg 1-5)
Real just got it done, Man City tried but they couldn't get anything consistent going forward and they had 2 goals taken away for off-sides (both calls were correct). I thought Man City did their best and it just wasn't good enough. As for Real, didn't even think they played their best.
Chelsea 0-3 Paris SG (agg 2-8)
Oh, Chelsea. Blasted in the first game, out of sorts in the 2nd leg, too. PSG finished their chances, Chelsea did not.
Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (agg 8-3)
Wow, a really tight, tense match....for the 1st half. Barca was getting goals but Newcastle was matching and they never seemed rattled, felt like Newcastle had...I dunno...figured something out, because they didn't seem afraid of Barca. Then Barca got a PK right before half (ehh, I get the call, there was contact, but I would've let it go, I think it was a 50/50 call) and snatched the lead. But before you know it, Barca scored three quick goals and, well, that was that. Felt bad for Newcastle, they were really bringing it for about 45 minutes but they couldn't make it mean anything. Barca is definitely looking good.
Liverpool 4-0 Galatasaray (agg 4-1)
Similar to the Barca match, it was tense and tight and a fascinating match until halftime. Then Liverpool just kept scoring in the 2nd half and Galatasaray just couldn't stop them. I thought Liverpool was the better team throughout, it was only a matter of time before Liverpool found the goal. But once they did, good lord, the avalanche just kept getting bigger and bigger as it came down the mountain.
Tottenham 3-2 Atletico Madrid (agg 5-7)
Fun match, Tottenham balled out but they couldn't keep Atletico off the scoreboard and that was just it. Atletico is looking good, thought Tottenham was actually a pretty good opponent.
Bayern Munich 4-1 Atalanta (agg 10-2)
Didn't watch any of this, didn't have to, it was plainly obvious from the first leg that Atalanta just wasn't up to this. Bayern is heating up, gonna be a tough out.
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