The UEFA Champions League is back this week. Barcelona already felt the bulk of a superstar performance when Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe was the best player in the world, as his hat-trick led his team to a 4-1 victory at Camp Nou, while RB Leipzig conceded twice to Liverpool relocated to Hungary in a match from Leipzig. Wednesday’s performance should be just as compelling. You can follow it all on CBS Sports All Access.
On the second day of the Champions League action, Porto play at home against Juventus and Sevilla against Borussia Dortmund in two enticing matches, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland.
Wednesday’s tires have the potential to play entertaining first and second legs, with the nearest first legs expected to lead to gripping conclusions next month, though Tuesday is also expected before the away teams accelerate both of their hosts.
Here, the second day of the round of 16 action was taken a closer look.
Gladbach unveils planned change in coaching in Dortmund
It’s never ideal if the story before a big game is about a coaching change, but it’s the situation Dortmund find themselves in before their clash with Sevilla at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Following the sacking of manager Lucien Favre, Dortmund had a difficult start to life under midfielder Edin Terzic, with four wins, three losses and two draws in all 2021 competitions.
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It is not surprising that Dortmund are planning for life after, however, Terzic BVB appeared unprepared for Bundesliga rival Borussia Monchengladbach to announce that their head coach Marco Rose has agreed to join Dortmund this summer. But that’s what they did on Tuesday.
It’s been radio silence from Dortmund since the statement from fellow Champions League representatives Gladbach, and it’s hardly an ideal preparation for a match that is already going to be tough with the possibility of upsetting the players and Terzic.
Sevilla are currently one of the top contenders in Europe with nine consecutive wins in all competitions and seven clean sheets with 18 goals scored for just one conceded, while Dortmund are struggling to form with two wins from their last seven and one of extra time needed. And they have added some attacking points since they last appeared in the Champions League. During the January transfer window, they acquired Papu Gomez from rival Champions League rival Atalanta, the kind of creative attacking spark that could very well be the missing piece for a disciplined Sevilla team.
The German attack led by Haaland against the Spanish defense followed by the popular Jules Kounde will be one of a number of intriguing battles to keep an eye on this, while a tired USMNT talent Gio Reyna plays a role for the visitors can play. Despite being a regular occurrence for Dortmund, the teenager has now passed two months since his last goal on 12 December and even longer since his last assist on 28 November.
Former winners out of color
Porto’s meeting with Juventus at Estadio Do Dragao twice pits the Champions League winners, and the Portuguese is the most recent title in 2004.
However, the two teams are currently not in the best shape and find themselves in the unknown position of not being the best of their domestic leagues, with Porto 10 points less than the pace set by Sporting CP, and Juventus eight in the fourth series, but with a match. in hand to narrow the gap on the new leaders Inter Milan.
In this match Cristiano Ronaldo will return to his native Portugal, which is always a meeting, but neither side has won in their last two matches in all competitions with the host on four runs.
There will be plenty of star power to be seen with Alvaro Morata, one of the four players who have been on six goals so far this edition, as well as Dortmund’s Haaland, and Ronaldo is not far behind them at four.
Both sides will feel they could get tighter draws, and the Italians will try to take advantage of the advantage of being at home for the second game.
This one will also be of interest to USMNT fans, and Weston McKennie is likely to play a key role for Juventus as his development continues after winning his first silverware with the Supercoppa Italia earlier this year. McKennie took great advantage by swapping the chaotic surroundings of Schalke in Germany for elite teammates in Turin last season. He scored a double point, from 0.13 goals per 90 minutes to 0.27, with an average of 0.18 assists per 90 after not scoring one last season. With attackers like Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata in front of him and defenders like Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt behind him, the young American really blossomed into a midfielder at the top of the European game.