The Champions League Round of 16 just got over and as many as three Premier League sides have managed to qualify for the quarter-finals. Man City overcame Monchengladbach quite easily while Liverpool and Chelsea have to work a little bit harder to move to the next round.
And with three teams now in the quarter-finals, there’s a big buzz that the Champions League trophy could once again be returning to England at the end of this season.
Bayern Munich are the reigning champions but before that season, it was an all-English final in Madrid and a lot of fans are hoping for a repeat of the same this time around as well.
And according to Peter Crouch while Liverpool and Chelsea do have a fairly good enough chance to reach the semi-finals but it’s Manchester City and Bayern Munich who will be the teams to beat now.
“I’m not writing them off,” Crouch said on The Daily Mail. “That side of the draw is the most inviting and I would hope — and expect —Liverpool have enough to take care of Real Madrid.
“They are not what they were and even accounting for Liverpool’s problems this season, I see them getting through. I’d also expect Chelsea to get past Porto and then you are looking at a re-run of 2005, 2007 and 2008 — three incredible occasions. The Anfield semi-final in 2007 remains the greatest atmosphere I ever played in. What an unbelievable night it was.
“Manchester City and Bayern Munich are the teams to beat but one of them will be gone before the final, maybe even both if things click for Paris Saint-Germain.
“It’s also going to be intriguing to see how City handle Erling Haaland. I love watching the way he runs over defenders.
“This is the stage of the competition when it really hots up and funny things happen when Liverpool are in Europe. For all the players who are missing and the issues they have faced, you would be a brave man to say they cannot do it.”
Man City are undoubtedly in great form this season and there’s a big chance they can finally go all the way this year. But in the quarter-finals, they have to face Borussia Dortmund and this could be a really tricky tie for Guardiola’s side.
Liverpool too might not be getting their hopes high too much since they will have to take on Real Madrid and the last time these two sides met, things did not go too well for the Premier League side.
Chelsea though could be the dark horses of this tournament as they have improved in leaps and bounds under Thomas Tuchel and in the next round, they have to face Porto, a team who are not expected to cause too many headaches to the Premier League outfit.
