Everything we Learned in the Champions League 2nd Round of 16 Ties This Week

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The first set of fixtures in the round of 16 Champions League ties concluded this week and we witnessed some stunning goals, historic moments, and four clubs advancing into the last eight of Europe’s top club competition. Here’s everything that happened.

Bayern Munich vs RB Salzburg

RB Salzburg travelled to Germany knowing that they needed a goal at the Allianz Arena following on from a 1-1 draw back in Austria. 12 minutes in and they had a mountain to climb when Robert Lewandowski netted a penalty. Fast forward another 12, and the legendary striker had a hat-trick.

Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, and a brace from Thomas Muller made it 7-1, which means Bayern have won six knockout round games by at least six goals or more in their history.

Liverpool vs Inter Milan

Inter Milan had all the work in the world to do as they had to overturn a 2-0 deficit. Liverpool were doing their usual at Anfield where they looked the better side, but a Lautaro Martinez stunner in the second half burst the tie wide open.

However, Alexis Sanchez would get sent off moments later, and this killed all hope Inter had of getting back into the tie. There was just over two minutes between the Chilean’s second yellow card and the goal, and the Reds would lose on the night but advance through 2-1.

Manchester City vs Sporting Libson

In what was a near-pointless tie in the round, Sporting Lisbon needed to score five goals to match Manchester City’s 5-0 win back in Portugal.

The game was boring, lacklustre, and if anything, Sporting had the better chances as the game finished 0-0. It was a mere training session for City in the end, who managed to give youth a runout at the Etihad.

Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain

The tie of the round between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain was wide open as things kicked off at the Santiago Bernabeu. Kylian Mbappe once again was stealing all the headlines with his tidy finish seemingly putting PSG into the next round with a 1-0 lead on the night and a 2-0 lead on aggregate.

His irreplaceable countryman, Karim Benzema, would step up in what was arguably his greatest individual night in the Champions League. A Gianluigi Donnarumma error led to his first goal, before a stunning Luka Modric pass allowed the Frenchman to net his second.

Then, stunningly, it took Real just 12 seconds after the kick off of their second goal to score their third and seal Benzema’s hat-trick. The tie finished 3-2, and it was yet another famous night for Los Blancos.