And then there were eight. The final eight teams in the Champions League have been revealed and it has become increasingly clear that this tournament will be one of the most hotly contested in years. Which team is the favorite to win the tournament?
Bayern Munich will head to the quarterfinals of the Champions league after taking down Arsenal 3-1 over the course of three legs. Many have anointed this team the favorite to repeat as Champions and it is hard to ignore that possibility. Under Pep Guardiola, the team has found efficiency in its passing and use of speed that has somehow eclipsed even the loftiest form under Jupp Heynckes. But is the success sustainable this year? Or is there another team that can take down the mighty Bavarians.
Mario Goetze. Thomas Muller. Thiago Alcantara. All three players are major parts of Pep Guardiola's dominant Bayern Munich side and are seen as major pieces for the future. The team also recently acquired Robert Lewandowski and rumor has it that Julian Draxler is also a player that Guardiola will look to add. All of them are young, so one would assume that they are expected play major roles in coming years as such aging veterans like Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery fade into the sunrise. But there is one player that may actually be more important than all three of them. And his name is Toni Kroos.
Arsenal was defeated by Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League draw. the match featured some exciting end to end action in its opening half and two missed penalties. Here are five things that we learned from the first leg of this round of bout.
The Manchester City and Barcelona matchup did not go quite as many expected. The English side stayed strong for the majority of the game's opening half but faltered after a red card and a goal from Lionel Messi. After a 2-0 win, Barcelona has all but clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.
The other big match of the week is slated to take place Wednesday when Bayern Munich and Arsenal lock horns. The tie is a repeat of last season's round of 16 matchup when Munich won 3-1 at the Emirates before losing 2-0 at home. The aggregate was tied but the away goals favored the German side, which went on to win the entire tournament.
This year's matchup features two significantly different sides. Here is how Munich and Arsenal look heading into Wednesday's first leg.
The Champions League round of 16 gets underway on Tuesday. Back in December this publication ranked the remaining 16 clubs based on their previous performances. On the eve of the actual round of 16, we will relook at that list and see how the teams rank based on recent form. This is a look at which teams have the best chance to win the trophy and this also includes a look at their upcoming matchups and how that affects each team's respective tournament chances.
