Paris St. Germain’s long wait for a Champions League title just got longer.
The French giants were bundled out of this season’s competition after a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the second leg of the last-16.
Photo via EPA
PSG were close to pulling off a victory, though. Kylian Mbappe put them ahead in the first half for a 2-0 lead on aggregate.
But Karim Benzema netted a second half hattrick for Real, to make it 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
For PSG, it means they’ve failed to make the last eight – having qualified for the final and semifinal in consecutive seasons.
This, despite boasting a star-studded squad that included Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Photo via SkySports
For Messi, this will be a painful exit, considering he was the main star who was supposed to lead the Paris club’s challenge in Europe.
As for Mbappe, another season empty-handed in the Champions League will convince him even more that his future lies elsewhere, potentially with Real Madrid.
Lucky escape for The Reds
Liverpool also booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinals, although it was not all smooth sailing.
Photo via Reuters
They came into their last-16 second leg at Anfield with a two-goal cushion over Inter Milan but found themselves trailing to a brilliant Lautaro Martinez strike on the hour mark.
It made for an anxious final 30 minutes, but the Reds eventually hung on to triumph 2-1 on aggregate.
It did, however, mean that Liverpool’s seven-game winning streak in the Champions League, and their 28-game unbeaten home run in all competitions has come to an end.
Bayern go on the rampage
Bayern Munich found themselves in the unusual position of being tied 1-1 with RB Salzburg after the first leg of their last-16 tie last month.
It had led to talk in Germany of a potential upset at the hands of their relatively weaker Austrian opponents.
But the Bundesliga champions were having none of it.
Photo via Reuters
They romped to a 7-1 victory in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, with Robert Lewandowski netting a hattrick in the opening 23 minutes. (Which, incidentally, was the earliest hattrick in Champions League history).
Bayern made the quarters 8-2 on aggregate.
Easy cruise for City
Man City’s progression into the quarterfinals had been effectively settled after their dominant 5-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the last-16 first leg.
Photo via Reuters
That’s how the aggregate score line remained, with Sporting doing a commendable job defensively to keep the second-leg goalless at the Emirates.
It means that City have reached the quarters for the fifth successive season, as they seek an elusive first Champions League title.
Still to come
Four more last-16 second leg ties will be played next week.
They are:
Man United vs Atletico Madrid (Aggregate 1-1)
Juventus vs Villarreal (Aggregate 1-1)
Ajax vs Benfica (Aggregate 2-2)
Lille vs Chelsea (Aggregate 0-2)
Quarterfinal draw
Once the list of the final eight teams is confirmed, the draw for the quarterfinal and semifinal will take place on March 18th.
The draws are ‘open’…meaning any team can be drawn together, regardless of their country of origin or previous fixtures this season.
You can catch LIVE coverage of this season’s Champions League action on Astro.
By: Nicholas Darren John
