For many it is the strongest league in Europe and the world. The Premier League is like Italian football in the 80s and 90s. It is logical to expect the dominance of its teams in the European Cups as well, but the first 1/8 final matches of the Champions League said something else.
Chelsea defeated in Dortmund by Borussia, Tottenham defeated in "San Siro" by the Reds and Blacks, Liverpool humiliated in "Anfield" by Real Madrid and Manchester City returned with a point from Leipzig.
No doubt, even if it were a miracle for Liverpool, they could all qualify for the second leg. The balance so far, however, can only make us reflect.
Someone had the alibi of absences in the midfield (Tottenham), others found themselves making "bread for the mouth" with an endless team, inflated further by the January market (Chelsea), while there are those who manage to complicate life theirs after matches and difficult cases (City). On the other hand, it's hard to make excuses for Klopp's side's season of bankruptcy.
A strange edition, this year's Champions League. The Spaniards were all knocked out in the group stage except for reigning champions Real Madrid. PSG found themselves in front of Bayern in the 1/8 finals. Even if they can overturn the narrow defeat in the second leg, they will suffer the absence of Neymar, following an ankle injury.
With Eintracht eliminated and Dortmund fighting Chelsea for a place in the quarter-finals, only Nagelsmann's side among the Germans can be optimistic enough about the future in the Champions League, going into the final in Istanbul. At this point, we cannot but share the idea of those who think that Bayern, City and Real are the big favorites of this edition.
With an "outsider", which is not so much, if you evaluate the personality of Spalletti's Napoli: 7 games, 6 wins so far, 22 goals scored and 6 conceded. Napoli, at this point, could really believe.