All six of the Premier League’s last-16 teams have plenty of work to do in their second legs. Bodø/Glimt, meanwhile, have eyes on a fairytale quarter-final
A rude awakening for the English Premier League, a week when European football reasserted itself; financial dominance need not mean dominance on the field. Real Madrid’s first-half destruction of Manchester City was chastening. This was a Madrid team shorn of Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham and yet City were soundly beaten 3-0. Arsenal’s drab 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen showed Mikel Arteta’s team will require more than set pieces to prevail in the competition.
That Bayer’s goal through Robert Andrich came from a corner was an irony celebrated by the German club’s social media account. Paris Saint-Germain put on the afterburners in the closing minutes against Chelsea to seize what had been an excellent match with a 5-2 win, via Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s two late goals. Filip Jörgensen’s selection in goal for Chelsea over Robert Sanchez proved ill-fated in a week of unfortunate goalkeepers taking center stage. The less said about Pedro Neto shoving a ballboy the better.
On Tuesday, Liverpool disappointed at Galatasaray. Tottenham self-destructed at Atlético Madrid; their goalkeeper, Antonín Kinsky, being subbed off by Igor Tudor after 17 minutes was the latest instalment of a saga that has the rest of English football rubbernecking. With all six of the Premier League’s last-16 teams with plenty of work to do in their second legs, the self-satisfaction of English football took a severe jolt.
