Tough task for Real Madrid as UCL comes back to life
The UEFA Champions League returns this Friday as the final four games in the last-16 of the competition are completed after a fivemonth interruption.
Juventus host Olympique Lyonnais, seeking to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg in February, while Real Madrid, record winners of the competition, face an uphill task in overturning a deficit at Manchester City.
Effectively though, those first-leg scores carry much less weight, given all that has happened since in the COVID-19 lockdown. Instead it might all come down to match fitness.
Lyon have played only once since the lockdown, losing the French League Cup final last Friday to Paris St Germain on post-match penalties while Juventus have had a run of 12 matches since returning to action in June.
That makes them far better prepared as they seek to overturn the 1-0 lead Lyon established in the first leg.
But “The Old Lady” have looked tired and were beaten in both their final two games of the Serie A season, albeit after clinching the title.
Real Madrid won La Liga while Manchester City finished runners-up to Liverpool in the Premier League and lost in the FA Cup semifinal to Arsenal. But they did win the League Cup earlier in the campaign.
City are 2-1 up from the away game in Madrid and it is difficult to see Pep Guardiola’s side letting this one slip.
On Saturday, Bayern Munich host Chelsea in what should be a formality as far as the tie is concerned as the Bundesliga champions lead 3-0 from February’s first leg at Stamford Bridge.
But Bayern have not played for a month, giving Chelsea a chance to forge an away win, even if overcoming a three-goal deficit looks near impossible.
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