A rather lackluster last 16 round of the Champions League 2023-24 kicked off on February 13 (a day before Valentine’s Day) with Copenhagen facing Manchester City and RB Leipzig facing Real Madrid.
While the people in relationships were looking to buy chocolates and roses for their partners, football fans (like me) arranged their couches to high-res live stream the clash between football teams trying to reach Wembley Stadium.
Results of the First Leg
- Manchester City 3 – 1 FC Copenhagen
- Real Madrid 1 – 0 RB Leipzig
- PSG 2 – 0 Real Soceidad
- Lazio 1 – 0 Bayern Munich
- Inter Milan 1 – 0 Atletico Madrid
- PSV 1 – 0 Borussia Dortmund
- FC Porto 1 – 0 Arsenal
- Napoli 1 – 1 FC Barcelona
If you have been watching CL, you might know the major missing from these draws were AC Milan, Manchester United, and Benfica. If you are not streaming and plan to catch on the action, make sure you have a fast internet connection like the one from Xfinity. It is termed one of the most reliable internet in the US with flexible plans, wide coverage, and supreme Xfinity customer service.
Round of 16 Predictions
Manchester City vs. Copenhagen
Well, it’s not so much of a prediction because most likely City will advance to the last 8 but hey, it’s football.
Last season’s treble winners faced the team from Denmark on February 13 and came out victorious with a two-goal lead and that too away from home. The second leg’s host will be Cityzens and it’s unlikely for the English side to struggle unless or until they get a seriously bad injury crisis.
They were struggling when their protagonist Kevin De Bruyne was injured but he is fit for now.
The second leg prediction is 3-0 to City and they will go through this round.
RB Leipzig vs. Real Madrid
The German team is in the 5th position in the Bundesliga table while their opponents are topping LaLiga with a seven-point lead.
In the first leg, RMA came out as winners with a narrow lead of just one goal and that’s the sole reason I think the second leg will be interesting to watch. RB Leipzig can cause some problems for the Spanish Cup winners. But still, the Spanish giants know how to turn the game around and go on to win.
The second leg prediction will be 2-1 to Real Madrid.
PSG vs. Real Soceidad
The team from the city of Paris got a two-goal lead in the first leg at home with the star Mbappe and the new hiring of PSG Bradley Barcola getting their names on the scoresheet.
On the other hand, their Spanish opponents started their seasons well and then trembled. They are in 7th place in the LaLiga points table. The second game is at home for Real Sociedad at Reale Arena.
As PSG is getting through with injury crisis, I reckon the men in white and blue will cause some trouble and the game can go in the extra time.
But in the end, PSG will go through thanks to their blazing-fast talisman Kylian Mbappe who can turn the games around.
The score will be 2-1 at the end of the second leg.
Napoli vs. FC Barcelona
This one is the most interesting fixture among the second legs of the round of 16.
Napoli has caught their form back as they thrashed Cagliari 6 – 1 in the Serie A and then won against the mighty Old Lady (Juventus). Just as they catch the form Barca’s struggle continues. They couldn’t win their match against Atheltic Bilbao and lost two of their most prominent players in the same match.
Gavi (the heart of their press) was already injured and now Frenkie De Jong and Pedri are injured too. They have lost their 3 of 4 starting midfielders this season. Not just that, Ferran Torres, Alex Balde, and Marcos Alonso are injured. Ferran is having a great season off the bench and Balde is a difference maker. So, it’s a terrible situation up there in the City of Barcelona.
While it looks pretty difficult for Blaugrana, Napoli are doing good.
Napoli is free from the injuries apart from the Ngonge and Cajuste. It is 70/30 in favor of Napoli.
The scoreline will be 2-1 to Napoli and they will go through.
Lazio vs. Bayern Munich
The Roma-based football club Lazio shocked Bayern Munich with a 1 – 0 win at home. Football fans were expecting Bayern Munich to win but nobody knew what went wrong for Bayern Munich until it became apparent.
The German manager of the German team has lost the trust of the board due to a poor display in the Bundesliga where Bayer Leverkusen of Xabi Alonso is in a ten-point lead. I feel sorry for Harry Kane!
Speaking of the first leg, Lazio’s lead came in the 69th minute when the referee awarded a spot kick which was converted by Ciro Immobile. Two minutes before the lead Upamecano was sent off for an offence and from that point onward Bayern couldn’t get the hold of the game.
Even though Bayern is trailing, still, they will still go through to the next round with a 2-0 win in the second leg.
