Around the Champions League: Round of 16 Conclusion
The final whistle has blown in the round of 16. So let’s catch you up on the last four games of the second leg and what teams will be squaring off in the quarterfinals.
FC Porto hosted Inter Milan to kick off the second leg.
It was a quiet first 90 minutes as the blue and white were happy to play to a 0-0 draw. It looked like FC Porto would go down with a whimper, but as added time began, FC Porto came to life.
In the 94th minute, Iván Marcano sent a curling shot toward the bottom left corner that Denzel Dumfries managed to clear off the line.
A minute later, Mehdi Taremi sent a header off the post, followed by Marko Grujić sending his header off the crossbar.
Inter Milan held on to advance to their first quarterfinals since 2010-11.
Inter Milan will square off against Benfica in the quarterfinals beginning on April 11.
After a disappointing 1-1 draw in the first leg, Manchester City looked to bounce back as they hosted RB Leipzig and bounce back they did.
Erling Haaland got the scoring started early. In the 22nd minute, Haaland stepped to the spot after Benjamin Henrichs was called for a handball. Haaland blasted the penalty into the bottom right corner to give Manchester City a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Haaland scored again, this time heading rebound in after Kevin De Bruyne’s screamer rang off the crossbar.
In the 45th+2, Haaland would complete the first-half hat trick after cleaning up another rebound. This time it was Rúben Dias’ shot that hit the post, and Haaland tapped in the rebound to give Manchester City a 3-0 lead as they entered the break.
Ilkay Gündogan interrupted Haaland’s historic day with a goal in the 49th minute. Four minutes later, Haaland scored his fourth.
De Bruyne delivered a corner that pinballed around the box before Haaland eventually slotted it home.
In the 57th minute, Haaland scored goal number five. The Norwegian superstar poked in another rebound to make it 6-0 Manchester City.
In the 92nd minute, Manchester City converted the extra point as De Bruyne sent a curler into the top right corner to make it 7-0.
Next up for Manchester City is a date with the 2019-2020 Champions Bayern Munich on April 11.
After a stunning 5-2 win in the first leg, Real Madrid hosted Liverpool looking to advance to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.
The game looked destined to be a scoreless 0-0 draw as Real Madrid looked more than content to hold on to the ball.
Then in the 78th minute, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner struck. Karim Benzema’s shot deflected off of Virgil van Dijk toward Vinícius Júnior. Júnior slipped on the shot attempt, but from the ground, Júnior passed it to Benzema, who slotted it in for the game's lone goal.
Real Madrid will square off against Chelsea in the quarterfinals beginning on April 12.
Napoli hosted Eintracht Frankfurt as they looked to advance to their first-ever quarterfinals.
It was a quiet first half, and it appeared the game would enter the half scoreless. Then Victor Osimhen struck.
In the 45th+2, Matteo Politano sent a cross into the box that Osimhen headed in to give Napoli a 1-0 lead as they entered the break.
In the 53rd minute, Osimhen struck again. This time Osimhen tapped in a Giovanni Di Lorenzo cross to give the blue and white a 2-0 advantage.
Piotr Zielinski put the game away in the 64th minute as he converted a penalty to make the aggregate 5-0.
Napoli will travel to AC Milan to begin the quarterfinals on April 12.
Ben Palillo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.
