With the first legs of this season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals now over, we take a look at the biggest talking points from the goal-laden encounters!
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Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona (first leg score: 2-3)
Seven years ago, these two sides produced one of the greatest Champions League encounters of all time when the Blaugrana completed a remarkable comeback against Les Parisiens at the Camp Nou, and although not as miraculous, Barca did something similar at the Parc des Princes earlier this week. After going a goal up through Raphinha, PSG managed to grab two quick goals after half-time via Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha, but Catalan giants boss Xavi Hernandez was able to off-set that with his masterstroke substitutions as Pedri came off the bench to assist Raphinha for the equaliser.
Another substitute would win him the game, with Andreas Christensen connecting with a Ilkay Gundogan corner to score with his head, seeing the five-time UCL champions go into the second leg with a 3-2 lead. While the Spanish giants usually play a brand of free-flowing football, their display in the French capital was far from that as they had a much more pragmatic approach. Les Parisiens, on the other hand, seemed to lack ideas for most of the game, outside of that short spell just after the interval, with Dembele largely the architect for what they had going. Barca did a great job of doubling up on Kylian Mbappe as he was quiet for most of the match, but the biggest culprit for their loss has to be their goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian shot-stopper failed to adequately palm away the cross that led to the first goal, and passed the ball directly to the opposition ahead of their second strike.
Atletico Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (first leg score: 2-1)
Diego Simeone's side was the dominant team in the first half as Dortmund seemed to struggled to get a foothold on the match in its opening 45 minutes. A misplaced pass from Ian Maatsen allowed Rodrigo De Paul to pounce and open the scoring early on. Miscommunication between Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck allowed Los Rojiblancos to double their lead through Samuel Lino, and it seemed as though Atletico would cruise to victory.
However, the Germans came out in the second half like a side reborn as they played with much more purpose, and were rewarded with goal from Ivory Coast's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations hero Sebastien Haller as he pulled one back for his team. Not content with the lone strike, Edin Terzic's men kept pushing and were unlucky to not level matters as, first, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens hit the crossbar, before Julian Brandt did the same with virtually the last kick of the game. The way the Yellow and Blacks were able to cut through Atletico's defence in the second stanza was uncharacteristic of a Simeone side, with the Argentine's charges having seemingly been fragile at the back in recent seasons.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich (first leg score: 2-2)
The Gunners were looking to exercise the demons of their previous Champions League campaign when they came up against the side that knocked them out emphatically in the 2016/17 edition of the tournament, the Bavarians. The north Londoners took the lead relatively early on in the game through Bukayo Saka, but instead of showing the composure they've so often illustrated in the league, they got excited and looked to add a second, but Bayern took advantage of their opponents' willingness to be adventurous and scored on the counter through Serge Gnabry.
A familiar Arsenal foe was on hand to cause more misery for their fans as Harry Kane returned to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since leaving Tottenham Hotspur to score a penalty that put the Bundesliga giants ahead. The English side seemed rattled after that as they were on the back foot, but after the introductions of Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard, Mikel Arteta's men equalised and began to search for a winner. They were unable to find it, and over the course of the match showed their inexperience in such situations.
Real Madrid vs Manchester City (first leg score: 3-3)
An end-to-end encounter that started off with a spectacular set-piece goal from Bernardo Silva to get the reigning European champions off the mark. That advantage did not last for very long, however, as a deflected strike from Eduardo Camavinga levelled matters for Los Blancos, before Vinicius Junior played Rodrygo Goes through on goal to give Real the lead.
The tactical adjustment from Carlo Ancelotti to play Rodrygo on the left and Vinicius through the middle seemingly unsettled the Citizens' defence as keeping tabs on the Brazilian duo proved difficult. It was an issue as Vinicus had multiple chances to make it 3-1, but his inability to convert allowed Pep Guardiola's side back into the game. Phil Foden had the football IQ to recognise the space around him as well as where defenders were to stand on the edge of the box and curl in City's second with a sumptuous strike.
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Neither team really enjoyed a prolonged spell of dominance throughout the match as the Premier League side later took the lead through Josko Gvardiol, but Los Merengues would make it 3-3 when Fede Valverde connected with a Vinicius cross to score the final equaliser of the game.
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