Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona, and Leicester City all have huge task before
them, should they wish to make it to the next phase of 2016/17 edition of the competition as they have let in more goals than they scored in first leg of Quarter Finals. But then, teams who are advantaged to go through may be vulnerable to disappointments should they permit complacency to set in. Madrid, Monaco, Atletico and Juventus have to maintain a hundred percentage of concentration for a good chance of finishing up the job on a similar note with which they started, b
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| Cristiano Ronaldo |
Column by: Ayoola Omole
JUVENTUS have opened up a wide margin and are favorites to go through given that they parade a well rounded team with strength in almost every department of it. With multitasking mid of Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic duo, attack that has got goals in it and a solid defense, Barcenola have a difficult mission to execute. I would put my money on the old ladies, but they cannot afford to be overconfident for a few reasons; MSN on its own day is an agent of utter destruction. Should each member of this unit give a 200% performance, no defense can hold them from banging goals, thus Juventus have to retain focus and remain compact. With controversies surrounding the performance of Deniz Aytekin last month, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Allegri prepares his boys for an eventuality of harsh officiation.
LEICESTER have been remarkable in Europe this campaign and some give them a chance to shock big guns on the continent just like they did in EPL last season. They would have been in a bettet position if they had an away goal but losing 1-0 at Atletico was not a bad result either. You have to give them a chance at King Power Stadium, since they enjoy to defy odds. They share a few similarities with Diego Simeone's team, but Atletico's quality going forward might make all the difference.
DORTMUND Manager, Thomas Tuchel was critical of UEFA's decision to pit his players against Monaco less than Twenty-Four hours after the squad suffered shock from a bomb blast targeted at their Team Bus. His suggestion that the event affected his players' performance negatively cannot be discarded as his team started the encounter on an unusual footing. The damage has perhaps been done but there is however an opportunity to prove Dortmund can perform much better, in a right frame of mind.
If BAYERN manager, Carlo Ancelotti looks to make history as the first to win UCL twice as a football player and four times as a football manager, it lays within his grasp. The result from their first meeting with Real Madrid could have flipped in his favour if they hadn't lost a potential player of the match, Javi Martinez, to red card, a referee call which forced Xabi Alonso out of the game and automatically slotted Vidal in for a job which practically required two top class midfielders to handle. Lewandowski's fitness is a boost but Santiago Bernabéu remains a huge mountain to climb. We expect an highly intensified encounter.
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