UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE the Last 16 - Full Previews and Analysis by Jonathan Fadugba
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE The last 16 - full previews and analysis by Jonathan Fadugba @JustFootball /WeAreJustFootball CONTENTS UEFA Champions League - last 16 previews Borussia Dortmund (page 4) v Paris Saint-Germain (page 7) Atletico Madrid (p.11) v Liverpool (p.14) Atalanta (p.17) v Valencia (p.20) Tottenham Hotspur (p.23) v RB Leipzig (p.26) Napoli (p.30) v FC Barcelona (p.32) Chelsea (p.36) v Bayern Munich (p.39) Real Madrid (p.42) v Manchester City (p.45) Olympique Lyonnais (p.49) v Juventus (p.51) @JustFootball /WeAreJustFootball Borussia Dortmund League position - 3rd This vibrant, thrilling demonstration of Dortmund’s attacking capabilities sent shockwaves through How have they fared since the group stage? European football as Dortmund’s young prodigies demonstrated their frightening potential. Five wins, one draw and three defeats from nine games has seen Borussia Dortmund lose ground in Dortmund have some of the most exciting young the Bundesliga title race, and go out of the German players in world football, but is it enough to get them Cup in a defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen. challenging for honours at the highest level? The big story Invariably it is experience and know-how that wins Champions League medals. This high-energy, fearless The winter break allowed Borussia Dortmund time to group of players will try to defy that assumption. refresh and regroup. New signings came in to strengthen the club and those players surplus to New signings requirements departed. Erling Braut Haaland, Emre Can, Giovanni Reyna (joins Dortmund returned from the winter break like a UCL squad from youth team) house on fire, scoring an incredible 15 goals in three games to beat Augsburg (5-3), FC Koln (5-1) and Union Berlin (5-0). Borussia Dortmund Departures Haaland's hold-up play, strength and ability in the air Paco Alcacer, Julian Weigl, Jacob Bruun Larsen are all excellent for one so young, and will allow the Bundesliga side to play more direct if needed. Haaland Team Shape can bring others into play and soak up pressure more ably than a Goetze or Brandt. Manager Lucien Favre tends to favour a 3-4-3 or 4-2- 3-1 formation, but in the biggest of games this season Borussia Dortmund are averaging more than 2.4 goals he has opted for a 4-4-1-1, often with a false nine in per game this season and are one of European Mario Gotze or Julian Brandt. football’s most entertaining, attacking outfits. But it is defensively where they struggle. This sense of caution has not paid off - in games where he has tried this Bayern Munich battered his Defending transitions is a weak point for them, they side 4-0 and Barcelona were 3-1 winners. Perhaps he tend to leave big spaces for opponents to attack on will throw more caution to the wind against Paris the break and there are general question marks over Saint-Germain. defenders like Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji and Dan- Axel Zagadou who are either past their peak or not yet The signing of Erling Braut Haaland really is a huge close to it. Containing players like Neymar and Kylian deal for Dortmund as he is exactly the type of focal Mbappe could prove tricky. point they were lacking in attack. Borussia Dortmund Key Man Sitting on double figures for goals and assists already Beware also, of goal machine Erling Braut Haaland, this season (12 goals, 13 assists), Jadon Sancho has a who is eligible for Dortmund after joining from RB very strong case to be called the best young player in Salzburg. He has already scored eight goals in his world football. debut Champions League campaign so far. With a market value of over £120 million, Sancho’s bold decision to up sticks at 17 and leave a comfortable life of Manchester City academy football for the Bundesliga has paid dividends. Leaving one or two disciplinary problems aside, it’s fair to say the move has been an unbridled success. Sancho is tearing up the Bundesliga this season, carrying on from last year where he registered 13 goals and 19 assists in 43 games. If Dortmund are to progress past PSG to the last eight or even beyond, they’ll need Sancho in peak condition. Paris Saint-Germain League position - 1st Last season PSG broke unwanted records by becoming the first team to win by two or more goals How have they fared since the group stage? away from home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie and still get knocked out. 15 games, 13 wins, two draws. Completely dominant. That dramatic defeat to Manchester United prolonged The big story the overriding feeling that this is a club with a unique ability to bottle it on the grand stage when it matters The search for the Holy Grail goes on for Paris Saint- most. Germain. Despite six league titles and two domestic trebles in eight years there is a certain itch that PSG’s Having managed to keep Neymar in Paris for likely one owners Qatar Sports Investments have been unable to last season, and with a squad that looks more scratch since their 2011 takeover thrust the club into balanced and less star-oriented than in previous an era of incalculable wealth. years, PSG will look to go all the way. Conquering Europe has always been PSG's raison d’être under Qatari management, and until that day comes a sense of dissatisfaction will continue to linger around the club like the smell of garlic on an expensive date. Paris Saint-Germain New signings All four stars contributed to the scoreline, leading them to be heralded as ‘four of the top ten players in n/a world football’ by teammate Marco Verratti. Departures The dilemma for Tuchel: does he start all four in the knockout games against Borussia Dortmund? n/a There has been some debate in France about the Team shape fantastic four and their defensive work - or lack of it - and whether they can be trusted to perform their From a tactical point of view the big question during defensive duties effectively when the opponents are a these knockout rounds will be how does PSG boss little more strenuous than a Dijon or a Bordeaux. Thomas Tuchel manage his Quatre Fantastiques - the Certainly, defensive discipline is not a trait you would fantastic four of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi associate with Neymar or Di Maria. and Angel Di Maria? To fit all four into his lineup Tuchel has tended to opt The four between them have contributed for an for a 4-4-2 formation, with Icardi and Mbappe upfront almost inconceivable 118 goals and assists this and Neymar and Di Maria on the left and right flanks season. A recent example of their magic came when respectively. they ripped Saint-Etienne apart 6-1. Paris Saint-Germain Idrissa Gueye, who has been a brilliant signing from The usual suspects get all the love in Paris. Let’s go for Everton, and Verratti occupy the central midfield slots, someone a bit left-field, but no less crucial to PSG’s while Presnel Kimpembe and Thiago Silva man the chances of going deep in this competition: Idrissa centre of defence. Gueye. In the attacking phase PSG tend to leave the left-back Signed from Everton for £30 million, this was an to stay deeper for defensive cover, with the right-back, exceptionally smart piece of business by PSG, usually Thomas Meunier, pushing further forward to shunning their usual route of high-profile, box office cover and support Di Maria. big names to bring in a player who has become an essential cog in midfield. Should Tuchel want more defensive stability Ander Herrera or Leandro Paredes are options in a 4-3-3, The Senegal international is a metronome, averaging but it would mean having to shoehorn out one of the 72 passes per game with a remarkable 92.5% Quatre Fantastiques, which could damage squad completion rate. He also has an outstanding defensive harmony. duel success percentage of 68.7% - one of the best in Europe. Managing egos is as much a part of this job as managing tactics. If PSG’s front four are to prosper, Gueye will need to be at his best to provide ample cover. He is one of the Key man best signings of the season. www.just-football. com @JustFootball /WeAreJustFootball Atletico Madrid League position - 4th Prior to the weekend Atleti had scored a pretty mediocre 23 goals in 23 league games - 10 fewer than How have they fared since the group stage? at this point in the past two seasons and 20 less than they had at this point in 2016/17. The goals have dried Five wins, four defeats, two draws up, and Alvaro Morata is not a man to be feared - a limited, fairly weak forward who hasn’t rediscovered The big story the spark of his early Real Madrid years. As a focal point in attack he is not among Europe’s elite. Atletico Madrid have developed into something of a force in European football. Two Champions League Defensively the group remains strong but this is a finals, three Europa League wins - this is a team that team that does now concede chances. Gone are grew to become feared across the continent. On the fearsome stalwarts like prime Diego Godin, replacing evidence of this season, however, this may be the case them are Stefan Savic and Felipe. no more. This is a different Atletico Madrid, not quite as aggressive, incisive or snarling as previous Injuries to Kieran Trippier and Jose Gimenez further versions.