Champions League returns on Friday with intensive weekend

All of the top football leagues in Europe have reached their end already, but the continental competitions are still afoot. Europa League returns already midweek, but the Champions League sweetness is spared for the weekend. Four teams have made it through to the quarterfinals, while eight others battle for the remaining spots in their second legs – continuation from their first legs played back in February. The teams already through are RB Leipzig, who will face Atletico Madrid and Atalanta, who is going to take on PSG.

Atalanta finished as a surprise 3^rd in Serie A and played their final competitive game the first of August, while their opponents PSG returned to action after a pause of nearly five months in a French Cup final against Lyon at the end of July. PSG were crowned as Ligue 1 champions earlier, took the cup trophy as well after the penalties and are in the hunt for the treble.

Atletico Madrid had quite an unremarkable season domestically, finishing 3^rd in La Liga but never really challenging the top dogs Barcelona and Real Madrid. They suffered from the loss of Antoine Griezmann and had immense problems scoring goals, but as always, defense was the key for Diego Simeone’s troops. Defeating the reigning UCL champions Liverpool in the first round has so far been the highlight of the season. Their opponents RB Leipzig kept on challenging Bayern for the German Bundesliga title, but failed yet again and let Dortmund slip past in the final chapter of the season. Their 3^rd spot was as expected and securing the Champions League qualification can be seen as a success, but they are hungry for success already this season.

The task at hand on Friday 7^th of August involves a couple of the Europe’s major outfits. Spanish champions Real Madrid take on Premier League runners up Manchester City after losing 1-2 at home. Italian Serie A behemoths and reigning champions for nine years in a row, Juventus will face Lyon in a “home game” after suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat in France. Lyon’s season in Ligue 1 was a major disappointment as they fell to 7^th and out of the continental qualification places. Ousting Juventus would provide some consolation.

The other four teams are then decided in Saturdays matchups, which feature Barcelona and Napoli as well as Bayern München and Chelsea.