Champions League takeaways: Atletico Madrid’s exit not a surprise; reason for Bayern Munich concern?
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Eight teams remain in the UEFA Champions League after Chelsea and Bayern Munich punched their quarterfinal tickets on Wednesday. The Blues eased pass Atletico Madrid, while Bayern Munich did the same to Lazio. But what exactly should we take from those round of 16 second legs?
Here are three things we learned Wednesday.
1. Chelsea are contenders
Don’t look now, but come Friday’s draw, it’s not just Bayern Munich, Manchester City and PSG that teams are going to want to avoid. While Chelsea might not be at the tippy-top of the favorites list, they aren’t far behind. Since Thomas Tuchel took over, this team has conceded just two goals in 13 matches. They are compact defensively, they are quickly playing the ball into space to generate the attack, and there is a belief in this system. While Americans will be upset that Christian Pulisic isn’t playing much, it should not be a surprise considering the results that the team has been getting when he isn’t starting.
Now, Thiago Silva should be back from injury, but even without him, this team is performing at such a high level defensively, that when you consider how they were able to dominate Atletico across two legs, they certainly can do the game against the big boys that remain in the competition.
2. We should have seen this coming for Atleti
Boy was that poor from Atletico Madrid. This team continues to pump money into the attack, and the moves have yet to pay off. Joao Felix is inconsistent, Moussa Dembele has barely been able to see the field since he joined, and the last time Luis Suarez scored an away goal in the Champions League, it was 2015.
Their lead in La Liga is down to four points, and it won’t shock anybody if Barcelona jump them.
While the club started the season hot, the truth is they haven’t been very good in UCL this season. In eight games, they won just two. For those who thought Atleti had a chance, their form suggested otherwise, dating way back to September.
3. Bayern Munich no longer the favorites?
They are the reigning champs, and they will be until somebody else sends them home. But there are reasons to be concerned about Bayern. While the defense has dealt with injuries, so has Chelsea’s, yet the Blues have been unbeatable. After seeing off Lazio 2-1, they still have had a poor defensive record as of late.
They’ve conceded a goal in each of their last seven games. Dating back to Oct. 27, they’ve conceded goals in 24 of 28 games, which is quite a staggering number. The truth is, Bayern’s defense just hasn’t been that good this season with more than a few off nights conceding multiple goals, hence signing Dayot Upamecano.
This season is different than last, and the quarters and semis will be two legs. It just feels like if Bayern Munich have one of those off days at home, they could be in some serious trouble, especially against superior defensive teams like Chelsea and Manchester City, both of whom have conceded just once in eight games and are undefeated.