No Barca, away goals: What to watch out for as Champions League returns

The Championsssss!
It’s that that time of the year again for the iconic UEFA Champions League
anthem to return as top teams around Europe get ready for the knockout rounds of
the most prestigious competition in club football.

The Round
of 16 starts on Tuesday, with Paris Saint Germain taking on Real Madrid in a heavyweight clash while Sporting Lisbon will look to spring a surprise as they welcome Manchester City. Here’s what to watch out for this week:

No Barcelona

Barcelona’s
fall from grace was capped with a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich in their final group
stage game, with the result ensuring for the first time in 18 years that the Catalans
miss out on the Champions League knockouts.

The Blaugrana
last failed to reach the Round of 16 in 2004, after losing to Celtic in the
UEFA Cup. The Spanish giants will now face Napoli for a place in the Europa League
last 16.

No away goals

For the
first time since its introduction in UEFA competitions 1965, the away goals rule
will not be a part of the Champions League. Ties will now head to extra time if
two teams are level on aggregate score after two legs.

Also Read | Luuk de Jong scores late as Barcelona stay unbeaten against rival Espanyol

The change
could have significant implications on the competition, with famous wins such
as Tottenham’s over Manchester City and Ajax in 2019 and Roma’s over Barcelona in 2018 no
longer possible. Those ties would have gone to extra time if away goals did not
count.

English dominance

All four
Premier League teams have made the Champions League knockouts for a fourth time in the
last five seasons. Additionally, three of them – Chelsea, City and Liverpool – are
among strong contenders for the title. 

Also Read | Palmeiras fan shot dead in Brazil after Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup win

Chelsea beat City in the final last season and Pep Guardiola’s side are the bookmaker’s favourite to go the distance this year. 

Diversity

It’s not
the usual suspects from Europe’s top five leagues this time, as the 16 teams in the knockouts come from eight different
countries. Ajax, Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and knockout debutants Red Bull
Salzburg’s qualification to the Ro16 means there are more teams this year than
in the previous three years combined.

This year
could see a new top-scorer too, with Ajax striker Sebastian Haller leading the
charts with 10 goals from six games, although Balon d’Or runner-up Robert
Lewandowski isn’t far behind with 9.