For all the talk regarding what it would take for Barcelona to, once again, turn around a seemingly insurmountable lead, the difference between this return leg and the one against PSG was made immediately evident upon kickoff. Juventus played higher up the pitch, they made Barcelona entirely uncomfortable, they were sophisticatedly physical and they were capable of stringing passes together.
In the first extra time, Sergio Ramos crossed a ball in from the left side of the box, finding a wide open Cristiano Ronaldo. It appeared that he was offside, but that won't change the way Real Madrid fans feel about it.
Before Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough, Arsene Wenger announced a formation change, which proved to be effective. Wenger chose to use a 3-4-3 formation, letting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain roam to an offensive position while playing right wing-back to try to create going forward.
In previous matches, Arsenal players have been jogging back into their final third while defending, but this was far from the case in this match. Arsenal finally showed signs of life, holding the ball the majority of the game.
In the end, somehow, one team won but the other team didn't lose. At least that's what Diego Simeone and Craig Shakespeare will be saying after Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg between two identical teams. In the end, everyone was happy, because, in the end, Leicester City and Atletico Madrid are the same thing.
Arturo Vidal had a pretty good game for Bayern Munich. He scored from a corner and was lively in central midfield. That said, he'll want his penalty back.
Similarly, Javi Martinez will want his sliding challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo back. Vidal's miss opened the door for Real Madrid to tie the game, 1-1, and Martinez's second yellow gave Los Blancos the chance to win.
AS Monaco scored three vital away goals against Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion, but you get the feeling that this tie favors whichever team is forced into having the attacking onus. The second leg in Monaco promises more of the same, and this time it’ll be Dortmund needing to force the issue.
Thomas Tuchel opted for a more conservative approach to start the match, playing Sven Bender, Sokratis and Lukasz Piszcezek in the back and opting for Marcel Schmelzer and Matthias Ginter as wing backs.
Barcelona will return to the Camp Nou for their quarterfinal second leg with less to do than in the round of 16, but that truth only goes as far as the paper it’s printed on. This Juventus side are a completely different animal than the PSG one Barcelona managed to overcome.
Hulk missed out on Shanghai SIPG’s trip to Japan for an AFC Champions League match against Urawa Red Diamonds, so this article isn’t about him scoring an absolute banger after running through 10 defenders, and that's a damn shame.
Arsenal lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace today, putting a real squeeze on their top four chances. After years and years of consistent success, it feels weird for the Gunners to be on the outside looking in.
Barcelona’s form since their historic comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain has been representative of those two ridiculous legs and Barca’s La Liga campaign on the whole.
Real Madrid's hold on the division once looked a certainty as their unbeaten streak reached new heights, but February and early March saw Barcelona win six straight matches in the league while Real dropped four points to Valencia and Las Palmas.