The race for the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League was on as the round of 16 first group games came off from Tuesday 14th to 15th February 2023. It
The race for the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League was on as the round of 16 first group games came off from Tuesday 14th to 15th February 2023.
It all started on Tuesday as French Giant Paris Saint Germain hosted 6 times UEFA Champions League Champions Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. The games which were anticipated by most football fans and that of Lionel Messi were all inspecting the battle of the big guns in Europe.
PSG who are hoping to grab its first UEFA Champions League trophy after the huge investment by Qatar Sports Investment groups into the team.
The game saw the first department of the barren as Bayern were dominant over the home team PSG. A 53rd goal from former Paris Saint Germain player Kingsley Coman was enough to separate the two teams. A missing name in the squad for PSG was Kylian Mbape who started from the bench after a quick return to the squad after a knock.
However, he was introduced into the game in the 55th minute and managed to score two goals but were all ruled out as offside. A dramatic sending-off for Benjamin Pavard on the 90th+2 minutes saved the Bavarians from a dangerous counterattack from Messi.
Both teams showed a real sense of class in the decisive game at Allianz Arena in Germany on 8th March.
The same night saw Serie A Champions AC Milan host London-based club Tottenham Hotspurs as the Red Black guys had a victory over the Lilywhites boys. A lone goal from Brahim Diaz in the early stages of the game (7th Minute), as both teams kept fighting out for one slot in the quarter-finals stage.
The action continued on Wednesday as the 81,365 capacity, Signal Iduna was the Center of attraction, as the two times UEFA Champions League winner Chelsea visited Borussia Dortmund for the fight for the next level.
The home team came to the party and they took a major part of the procession as the Blues also tried to push up to correct their recent poor run of games under Graham Potter.
A first-half goalless was not the reflection of the first department of the game as the blues were not lucky.
A second-half goal from German-Nigeria-based youngster Karim Adeyemi in the 63rd minutes was enough to separate the Yellow and Black from the Blues.
Several attempts from the London-based club for an equalizer were still not achieved as the blues head coach tasted his first defeat in the Champions League.
Elsewhere in Jan Breydel Stadium Club Brugge hosted in-form side Benfica as they lost by 2 goals to nil.
Goals scored by Joao Mario from the spot kick in the 53rd minute and a late-minute strike from David Neres (88th minute) were enough to give Benfica the needed win away from home.
The games continue on 21st February as Real Madrid will Host Liverpool while Eintracht Frankfurt welcomes Napoli home.
By:Herosportgh.com / Solomon Duah (Sports Atom)
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