After Arsenal successfully eliminated AC Milan and advanced to the quarterfinals, the matchups for the other groups were also decided...
In the first knockout match between Real Madrid and Lyon, Real Madrid, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, swept Lyon 3-0 at their home ground, the Santiago Bernabéu, completing their revenge and proudly advancing to the quarterfinals.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals in these two matches, performing well.
The match between Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk saw Barcelona win the first leg 5-1 and the second leg 1-0, easily crushing Shakhtar Donetsk with a total score of 6-1 and advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.
Messi had one goal and one assist in these two legs, his performance wasn't particularly outstanding.
The match between Roma and Tottenham Hotspur saw Tottenham win the first leg 3-2 and the second leg 3-0, eliminating Roma with a total score of 6-2. Arsenal's cross-town rivals had a much smoother path to advancement than Arsenal...
AS for Bayern Munich, whose chairman had publicly declared before the match that they would personally eliminate Arsenal in the Champions League knockout stage, they suffered a humiliating defeat.
In the match against the defending champions Inter Milan, Bayern had the upper hand in the first leg at the San Siro, winning 1-0.
However, when they returned to their home ground, they were counter-attacked by Inter Milan with a 3-2 score. The final aggregate score was 3-3, but Inter Milan eliminated Bayern due to having more away goals.
The Bundesliga powerhouse, the Southern Star Bayern Munich, directly inherited the mantle of Real Madrid, becoming the new 'Champions League Round of 16' team.
Schalke 04, which has Arsenal player Neuer, defeated La Liga's 'Bat Army' Valencia 4-2 over two legs and advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals.
At the same time, Schalke 04 also became the only Bundesliga team in the Champions League quarterfinals, truly the last hope for the Bundesliga.
AS for the Blues, Chelsea, although they are still in fierce contention for a top-four spot in the League.
In the Champions League, facing Danish team Copenhagen, the Blues eliminated their opponent with an unremarkable 2-0 aggregate score over two legs, advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.
AS for the last knockout tie, Manchester United versus Marseille, the Red Devils played a thrilling match against the Ligue 1 team.
After being held to a 0-0 draw by Marseille in the first leg away from home.
Returning to their home ground, the Red Devils only narrowly eliminated Marseille with a 2-1 score, thanks to a brace from Hernandez.
It can be said that Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils are not in good form this season.
They are 20 points behind Arsenal in the League with a game in hand, and they had a very difficult time winning in the Champions League.
This has led many outsiders to predict a poor final outcome for the Red Devils this season.
However, the Fleet Street media was ecstatic because there were four Premier League teams in the Champions League quarterfinals this season, directly occupying half of the spots!
For a time, many arguments promoting the idea that "the Premier League is the best League in the world" resurfaced noisily.
However, at this point in time, this kind of statement is basically universally accepted.
Since the Calciopoli scandal erupted in Serie A, Serie A has rapidly declined and is no longer the 'Little World Cup' of the past.
With its strong economic power, the Premier League has become the League with the best European performance since 2006.
Even though the Premier League has only won one Champions League title in these four years, in the 2007-08 season.
But the overall performance of the Premier League is outstanding!
Even if they didn't win the title, there were still quite a few runners-up and semi-finalists.
This season, all four Premier League teams participating in the Champions League have reached the quarterfinals.
This situation naturally triggered the excitement and boasts of the Fleet Street media.
Of course, there were also media outlets that protested.
The La Liga media, which now boasts two super giants in Real Madrid and Barcelona, were not to be outdone and spoke out to refute Fleet Street's remarks about the "Premier League being the best League in the world."
Roncero, the editor-in-chief of AS and a well-known Real Madrid die-hard fan, wrote directly in his column:
"It is undeniable that the Premier League has four teams in the quarterfinals this season, which is a very beautiful sight."
"But one point I want to make is that these four Premier League teams do not have the ability to compete for the championship."
"Analyzing solely from the perspective of squad depth on paper, the two giants of La Liga are stronger than these four teams."
"Even though there are many Premier League teams in the Champions League quarterfinals at the moment, I firmly believe that by the time of the Champions League semi-finals, perhaps apart from Schalke 04 not being an opponent for the Premier League teams, the remaining three teams, namely Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Inter Milan from Serie A, will be able to defeat the Premier League teams."
"In other words, from a squad perspective, none of these four Premier League teams can be ranked in the top three. They are only concentrated in the range of fourth to seventh."
"A League that can hardly even have a top-three ranked team, what qualifications does it have to be called the 'world's greatest League'?"
"Now that the Champions League draw for this season has placed Real Madrid and Barcelona in different halves, I can predict in advance that this year's Champions League Final will be a Spanish Clasico."
"Of course, the team that ultimately wins will be Real Madrid!"
Due to Roncero's counter-attack, a war of words between Fleet Street and the Spanish media began for a time.
Both sides had their own valid points.
It was under these circumstances that the Champions League quarterfinal draw, and also the last Champions League draw of the season, took place.
From this round onwards, the opposing teams become more predictable...
....
March 11th.
The day after all eight Champions League Round of 16 matches were concluded, UEFA began the draw for the quarterfinals.
It was the familiar place, the familiar television. Fly watched the screen with Fabregas, Wilshere, and others.
"I hope this draw we get Schalke 04 and Tottenham, or at least Chelsea. Please, not Real Madrid or Barcelona..."
Walcott had already started praying before the draw began.
Looking at the superstitious Walcott, Fly curled his lip, too lazy to bother with him.
No wonder he's lost his starting position now. With this kind of cowardly mindset, being afraid of this and that, he's not suitable to be Fly's teammate.
He glanced at Varane and Hazard beside him. These two young men looked indifferent.
"Eden (Hazard), Rafael, aren't you nervous?"
Hearing this, Varane chuckled, showing his big front teeth to Fly, and complimented him:
"Boss, anyway, with you around, it has nothing to do with me, what's there to be nervous about?"
"When I'm nervous, AS long AS I see you on the field, I'm no longer nervous..."
Hazard showed a look of disdain at Varane's sycophantic behavior, then replied:
"There's nothing to be nervous about. Anyway, I'm just a substitute, maybe I won't even get any playing time..."
Hearing this, Fly felt a little awkward.
If he remembered correctly, Hazard didn't seem to get even a minute of playing time in the two-legged tie against AC Milan.
No wonder the Belgian is so laid-back now.
Turns out he might not even play, so what's there to be nervous about...
"Real Madrid!"
When he heard the draw guest on the television call out Real Madrid's name, Fly turned his head and refocused his attention on the screen.
"Tottenham Hotspur!"
When Real Madrid and Tottenham were drawn together, Walcott immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a hint of schadenfreude:
"Haha... That unlucky guy Tottenham, they actually drew Real Madrid, it's hilarious..."
"With their level, they're definitely going to be blown away by Real Madrid!"
Fabregas, Wilshere, and others also laughed along, clearly happy to see their arch-rivals in trouble.
"What's so funny... Be careful, we might draw Barcelona later."
At the critical moment, Fly's cold words came out, and the scene immediately fell silent, AS if a basin of ice water had been poured on the Arsenal players.
"Fly, can you please not be a jinx?"
Wilshere couldn't hold back and covered Fly's mouth with his hand.
Fly, however, didn't care, shrugging his shoulders with a matter-of-fact tone.
"Bro, do you think UEFA will make it easy for us Arsenal?"
"Just wait and see... I think we'll likely run into Barcelona. A soft touch like Schalke 04 will never be left for us to pick up."
AS soon AS he finished speaking, the names of the new opposing teams were announced on the television.
"Inter Milan!"
"Schalke 04!"
When everyone saw that Inter Milan had drawn Schalke 04, they all stared at Fly AS if they had seen a ghost.
"Don't look at me like that, you should all know that damned Frenchman Platini doesn't like Premier League teams that spend lavishly."
"So soft touches like Schalke 04 will only be left for non-Premier League teams."
"See? Didn't they get drawn with Inter Milan?"
Upon hearing this, Wilshere and the others fell silent...
It has to be said, although Fly was a jinx, the point he made was indeed correct.
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