DANNY MURPHY’S GUIDE TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST EIGHT
THERE is a good chance we could see three English teams through to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009. This is the draw the Premier League managers would have wanted because they have avoided each other — and last season’s finalists Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
MAN CITY v B DORTMUND Tuesday, 8pm, live on BT Sport
DORTMUND have the attacking threats of Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho and you could watch some of their goals and think they are unstoppable. But they are dodgy at the back and facing City, with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan against you, is the last thing they need.
It looks a tasty tie but if City don’t go through I think they will be devastated. Dortmund only edged past Sevilla 5-4 on aggregate in the last round and City are better than the Spaniards in attack. While Haaland is a handful, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones are better prepared than anyone to cope. VERDICT: I’d be surprised if Dortmund can win over two legs. LOOK OUT FOR: Jude Bellingham. He has played a lot of firstteam games and is in Gareth Southgate’s England squad. Not bad for 17! Bellingham likes to be creative but the big test for him is staying disciplined when City have long spells with the ball.
REAL MADRID v LIVERPOOL Tuesday, 8pm, live on BT Sport
REAL’S team-sheet used to strike fear into opponents but not any more. Injuries have prevented Eden Hazard from becoming another Galactico and their best players, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos, are all in their 30s. In fact, Liverpool carry the greater firepower with Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota. Modric and Kroos are still capable of dictating the tempo of games but Real boss Zinedine Zidane will be concerned about the threat of Salah (right) and Mane, who can spring attacks in an instant. VERDICT: Liverpool have more goals in their squad and I’d give them the edge. LOOK OUT FOR: Mo Salah. No longer haunted by the dislocated shoulder that ruined his 2018 final against Madrid, the absence of his ‘assailant’, the injured Sergio Ramos, increases the likelihood that he will be able to exact revenge.
BAYERN MUNICH v PSG Wednesday, 8pm, live on BT Sport
THIS is a phenomenal match-up between last season’s finalists but the absence of Robert Lewandowski coupled with the anticipated return of Neymar for PSG puts this tie on a knife-edge. Bayern’s 1-0 win gives them a psychological edge because they know how to beat PSG and there is always a little uncertainty facing a team that has beaten you recently.
Of course, there is no way this game is a foregone conclusion — how could it be when PSG have Kylian Mbappe — but Bayern have attacking threats with Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman, who scored the winning goal in the final. VERDICT: Over 180 minutes, history favours Bayern. LOOK OUT FOR: Mauricio Pochettino. I’m not sure he got the credit for what he did at Spurs and the number of players he improved so it’s fantastic to see him involved in such a huge game.
PORTO v CHELSEA Wednesday, 8pm, live on BT Sport
AGAINST Juventus in the last round, Pepe won plaudits for being a defensive warrior while Sergio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi have quality going forward. But Porto were stretched at times and slightly fortunate to get through. They will be pragmatic against Chelsea but Thomas Tuchel’s side are normally hard to score against in Europe (althought not yesterday in the Premier League!) and I think have enough match-winners. Mason Mount (left) is in amazing form, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho will control the midfield and the stage is set for Hakim Ziyech or Christian Pulisic to produce some magic. VERDICT: Porto will try to be clever and hit Chelsea on the break but the Blues have too many threats. LOOK OUT FOR: Mason Mount. Seems to turn up in every big game he plays and makes an impact. It says a lot that, for all the talent available to Chelsea and England, he is the first name on the team-sheet when it matters.