This is the panorama of the eight clubs looking for a ticket to the next stage of the Champions League
The first leg matches of the quarter-finals of the Champions League with Real Madrid and Chelsea taking a significant advantage, while Bundesliga representatives Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have been forced to return to stay alive in the main club competition.
ESPN Digital presents what each of the eight teams needs to qualify for the semifinals.
Real Madrid against Liverpool
The first meeting of the series between the Spaniards and the English was won with authority by the team led by Zinedine Zidane. The ‘White House’ team got a significant result by winning 3-1, but the Reds’ score through Mohamed Salah could be central to the Premier League club’s ambitions to advance to the semi-finals.
Thanks to the goals scored by Vinicius Jr. (2) and Marco Asensio, the Merengues will arrive at Anfield with the opportunity to set the rhythm of the match. Real Madrid just need to keep Alfredo Di Stefano’s advantage and they can even afford to lose 1-0.
Jürgen Klopp’s team, for its part, is obliged to get at least two annotations in order to equalize the overall score and not allow a goal from Madrid. This result would qualify the Reds for the next round, but in the event that the Merengues score a goal, Liverpool he would need a target to send the game in extra time or two goals to win it.
Should Real Madrid get two touchdowns at Anfield, the Reds would have to score five goals.
Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund
With a goal from Phil Fooden in the closing moments of the game, Manchester City managed to beat Dortmund 2-1 in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
Despite the defeat, however, Dortmund have a real chance of advancing to the next round of the Champions League thanks to the note he got Marco Reus six minutes before the end of the game. The German team has to score only one goal and not allow any score to eliminate Pep Guardiola’s team.
Manchester City, for their part, must try to keep the advantage they have gained at the Etihad Stadium and a winless draw would qualify them for the next stage of the competition. In the case of a goal from Dortmund, Pep’s team only needed to score a goal to advance to the semi-finals.
If Dortmund scoring two goals, City can send the match with a touchdown into extra time. It should be noted that Manchester would qualify if the aggregate score ends at 4-4.
Porto against Chelsea
The ‘Blues’ were given an extraordinary advantage in the first game of the series against postage and the team led by Thomas Tuchel has a half ticket to the semi-final of the Champions League.
Chelsea beat Los Dragones 0-2, a score that suggests the Premier League team will be one of the semi-finalists. The London team could lose the return leg 1-0 and still advance to the next round, so if they score a goal in the second leg for Porto, the Blues would practically condemn the draw.
For its part, the Lusitan team must at least equalize the global score to send the series into overtime, and if it wants to continue without penalties, it must get three annotations. A goal from Chelsea would force Porto to look for at least four goals.
Bayern Múnich v PSG
With a stellar performance from Kylian Mbappé, PSG took a valuable victory in the first leg against Munich and Mauricio Pochettino’s men are getting closer to their second consecutive Champions League final.
Mbappé shone in the Parisian team’s 2-3 triumph against the Bavarian team with two goals and the French side only need to keep their lead to qualify for the semi-finals. With a goal in the Parc des Princes, PSG would force Munich to score three goals.
Those led by Hans-Dieter Flick must score two goals in Paris and keep their doors clean to advance to the semi-finals.