PSG who must overthrow Barcelona at Montjuic, Bayern who only play the C1 after the loss of the championship this weekend, and the continuation of the thriller between City and Real, are the main issues of the quarter-final second leg of the League champions Tuesday and Wednesday.
Barcelona-PSG: putting an end to the “comeback”
Back against the wall after its defeat at the Parc des Princes in the first leg (3-2), PSG nevertheless has the opportunity at the Montjuic Olympic stadium on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.), to definitively settle its accounts with Barça, in clear recovery in form after a truncated first part of the season.
The “comeback” of 2017, when the Blaugrana were led by Luis Enrique, current coach of PSG, still haunts Parisian minds. A victory on Catalan soil and qualification for the semi-final of the Champions League would definitively heal the wounds of Kylian Mbappé and his partners.
The numbers do not work in their favor: no French team has qualified for the next round in C1 after losing the first leg at home.
But despite its first-leg victory, despite its clear upturn in form in La Liga where it occupies second place behind Real and has not lost in ten games, Barça, paradoxically, has never seemed so takeable for the Parisians.
. Borussia Dortmund-Atlético Madrid: favorable waiver for Madrid
Champions League 2023-2024: quarter-finals / Jean-Michel CORNU, Vincent LEFAI / AFP
In the least prestigious poster of the quarter-finals, which will still designate PSG’s opponent if it reaches the semi-finals, Antoine Griezmann’s Atlético leaves with a slight advantage on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.) at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.
The Madrilenians won the first leg 2 goals to 1, thanks in particular to their French striker, who scored a goal. They did it again this weekend in the championship against the surprise Girona, where “Grizou” was again decisive with a double.
The Germans, for their part, lost their offensive weapon N.1, the Ivorian Sébastien Haller, author of the goal of hope in Madrid, but affected against Mönchengladbach this weekend in the Bundesliga and forfeited Tuesday in C1.
. Bayern Munich-Arsenal: the “grand test” of Arsenal, the grand vide of Bayern?
Before the first leg, the positive dynamic was clearly on the side of the English Arsenal, then leaders of the Premier League, who hosted, for their first quarter of C1 since 2010, a moribund Bayern, ready to abandon their championship title to Leverkusen. Germany which he had held continuously for 11 seasons.
A week later, the trend was significantly reversed. First, Bayern more than held up to Arsenal in the first leg, returning from London with a draw (2-2) and a favorable waiver for the return to Munich on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.). Then, Arsenal lost the lead in the English championship to City this weekend by falling at home to Aston Villa (2-0).
Mikel Arteta, the Gunners coach, urged his troops to “show character”, thinking that the returning quarterback could not have had a better time to “behave as a leader”.
It will take this and more for its players to overcome Bayern, who since this weekend, officially only have the Champions League to save their season.
.Manchester City-Real Madrid: the beauty of the beauty
The big poster of the quarter-finals kept all its promises last week in the first leg at the Bernabeu where what are probably the two best teams in Europe neutralized each other 3 goals all.
Federico Valverde (l) congratulated by Luka Modric after equalizing for Real Madrid against Manchester City, April 9, 2024 at the Bernabeu stadium / Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP/Archives
Everything remains open during the return match at the Etihad stadium in Manchester on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.). Real is comfortably installed at the top of La Liga and City took the lead in the Premier League this weekend, somewhat by surprise, thanks to the defeats of Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Citizens remain more than ever in the race to double their historic treble from last season (Premier League, C1, FA Cup). But Madrid, with its 14 titles, remains the most experienced club in the Champions League.
The winner of this new European classic will carry the label of favorite for the rest of the competition.
Schedule of the quarter-finals return:
Mardi
(21h00) FC Barcelona (ESP) – Paris SG (FRA)
Dortmund (GER) – Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Wednesday
(21h00) Bayern Munich (GER) – Arsenal (ENG)
Manchester City (ENG) – Real Madrid (ESP)
