Anticipated Final at Parc des Princes and Fratricidal Duel in Munich

Beyond the clashes involving Spanish teams, the Champions League presents an exciting showdown between two giants, PSG and Liverpool, arguably the two most in-form teams on the continent, which could well be considered an early final. Absolute dominators in their respective leagues, the nouveau riche French and the representatives of English tradition take centre stage at Parc des Princes in a tie that promises to be spectacular.

PSG leads Ligue 1 with no less than a 13-point advantage over Marseille and has recently resolved the doubts left in the group stage, where they failed to meet the goal of finishing among the top eight. However, the reality is that Luis Enrique's team has not lost since their defeat to Bayern at the end of November, accumulating 19 wins and one draw in their last 20 matches across all competitions. The 10-0 aggregate inflicted on Brest in the play-off, the widest margin in a Champions League knockout, poses the greatest threat to the rest of the rivals.

Without Kylian Mbappé, the Asturian coach has managed to build a true team, solid, united, and with alternatives. So many options that no fewer than seven different scorers found the net against their compatriots in the return leg. "We've drawn a team with genuine European pedigree," warned Dutchman Arne Slot, Liverpool's manager, upon learning of the matchup. "It's going to be an intense match. On paper, one of the best you can see in Europe. They are excellent on the counterattack," Luis Enrique noted in the pre-match briefing.

The Gijón native believes that having the ball is the best way to prevent transitions from a rival "with three combat planes in attack that are hard to stop." This Liverpool, so full of energy that they do not miss German coach Jürgen Klopp, firmly controls the Premier League, leading Arsenal by 13 points, and so far, the Champions League as well. In the group stage, they won everything except for a loss on the final day, when they had already secured their place in the round of 16 as leaders.

On Wednesday, another of the most attractive round of 16 ties will be played, the German duel between Bayern Munich and Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, capable of winning the Bundesliga from the Bavarian giant last season. The Basque coach, who lifted the Champions League with Liverpool and Real Madrid, also wore Bayern's colours and was key in the golden age of the Spanish national team, appeals to "coolness" as the key to success. Since arriving in October 2022 on the 'Werkself' bench, Leverkusen has never lost to Bayern, winning three matches and drawing three others.

Alonso, however, acknowledges that this duel "will be brutally difficult and a great challenge," and warns that the local league is not the same as after hearing the Champions League anthem. "Here, controlling emotions is more important. Five bad minutes and it's over," insists the man from Tolosa, recalling the group stage match where Atlético came back despite Leverkusen leading at halftime and playing with an advantage due to Pablo Barrios' expulsion.

In another less glamorous matchup, Inter, led by Lautaro Martínez,

will try to salvage the honour of 'calcio' against the surprising Feyenoord.