Last night saw the highly anticipated return of football's greatest club competition as the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League was underway.
This will be the first time since 1965 that the away goals rule will not be applicable after UEFA announced its decision to scrap the rule in June 2021.
Paris Saint Germain vs Real Madrid:
The Big One. There was no doubt that this was the marquee fixture of the Last 16 as two favourites faced off against each other. The star studded PSG, aiming to achieve the one silverware missing from their cabinet against the juggernauts of the competition, the record 13 time winners Real Madrid.
A matchup with such magnitude focused on some key players including Lionel Messi facing Real Madrid once again and one particular Kylian Mbappe, who according to rumours is most likely to join the Los Blancos after running down his contract with Paris in June 2022.
It looked as PSG were gonna left frustrated after the match as they missed some really good opportunities to open the scoring including a Lionel Messi penalty miss in the 62nd minute as Thibaut Courtois denied the Argentine from 12 yards.
However they still managed to beat Real Madrid 1-0, courtesy of last-gasp winner (90+4 to be precise) from who else... but Kylian Mbappe. A moment of individual brillance. It just had to be him.
PSG will now travel to Madrid in three weeks time and will be try to hold out their narrow advantage and progess through. One thing for sure, the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga has just begun.
Sporting CP vs Manchester City:
A David vs Goliath battle. Following the disappointing loss to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League Final, Pep Guardiola and co knew they had a major task in hand despite being far superior on paper.
For Sporting, a second appearance in the knockout phase after 13 years could not have been more harsh. However they showed their passion and courage in the group stages which saw them do a double over Besiktas and a commanding win against Borussia Dortmund which condemned the Germans to third as Sporting leapfrogged them up to second.
The game went as expected. City crushed Sporting. A clinical first half saw the visitors open a 4 goal lead as Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva (twice) struck to more or likely kill the tie and book a place in the next round.
A Raheem Sterling wonderstrike in the second half sealed up an emphatic 5-0 win for City as Sporting were simply outclassed. Will City actually win it all this year? Only time will tell.
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