Champions League Takeaways: Haaland, Manchester City outclass Davies, Bayern Munich

The quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League kicked off this week as the final eight teams continued on in their quest to clinch a spot in the final in Istanbul on June 10.

Erling Haaland and Manchester City rolled over German giants Bayern Munich, Inter Milan earned an impressive road win vs. Benfica, AC Milan bested Napoli in an all-Italian affair, and reigning champions Real Madrid shut out Chelsea. 

Here’s what stood out from the first leg of the quarter-finals: 

Real Madrid comfortably brushes aside Chelsea 

Real Madrid’s campaign to repeat as Champions League holders remains intact following a fairly straight forward 2-0 win over Chelsea in Spain on Wednesday. 

Karim Benzema’s rebound attempt – his 26th goal of the season in all competitions – gave Real the lead going into halftime, while substitute Marco Asensio put the game away in the 74th minute with a shot from the edge of the box.  

Vinícius Júnior collected assists on both goals, and the Brazilian has now been directly involved in 20 goals in his last 20 appearances in the Champions League, scoring 10 times and recording 10 assists. 

It was far from a convincing performance by Real Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, as they failed to live up to their incredibly high standards of attacking excellence. What the Spanish giants did do was quite comfortably manage the game, as Chelsea rarely threatened them, especially after the Blues were reduced to 10 men when Ben Chilwell was sent off in the 59th minute. 

But Wednesday’s result reminded everybody of the other side of Real Madrid. Yes, they can play some breathless soccer and they know how to pour on the style with their blistering attack. But they also know how to grind out results and win ugly when the occasion calls for it. 

With a two-goal advantage ahead of next week’s second leg in London, the Spanish club is in a very good position and looked poised to advance to the semifinals, although it was the last thing manager Carlo Ancelotti would admit to after the win.

“Chelsea is a very good team, with very good players. We won 2-0, and we took advantage of this game. It’s not done yet, we still need to go to Stamford Bridge and fight,” Ancelotti told English broadcaster BT Sport. 

Brahim Diaz flies under the radar for AC Milan 

For the second time this month, AC Milan managed to get the better of Italian rivals Napoli on Wednesday with a 1-0 win at San Siro. Napoli was out for revenge after suffering an embarrassing 4-0 home loss to Milan on April 2 in a Serie A match. 

Like he was in the Rossoneri’s win in Napoli when he scored, Brahim Diaz was an unheralded hero again in the first leg of this quarter-final series. Ismael Bennacer will garner the headlines for his poised finish in the 40th minute when he beat Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret with a sublime shot at the near post.  

But it was Diaz’s probing run down the middle that began that play that led to the goal, and it was his deft flick on the ball inside the penalty area that teed up Bennacer for his shot.

Diaz, 23, was at the heart of most of Milan’s best counter-attacking moments on the night alongside Bennacer and Rafael Leao, and he acquitted himself well before being subbed out in the 80th minute. Aside from collecting an assist, the Spanish winger registered one shot and completed nearly 85 per cent of his passes, while also contributing on the defensive side with three interceptions.  

Diaz has proven to be an invaluable contributor to the Milan cause this season with four goals and six assists in all competitions. He also played a starring role for Milan in Serie A during the 2021-22 campaign, helping them win their first scudetto in 11 years. His three-year loan spell with the Italians from Real Madrid will come to an end in June, with los blancos expected to bring him back for next season.  

Considering how much his stock has risen during his loan spell in Italy, one can see why Real Madrid is so keen to recall the talented Spaniard. But it’ll be interesting to see what lengths Milan go to try to sign Diaz on a permanent basis, especially if he can help lead the Italians to a Champions League crown. 

Manchester City looks unstoppable 

Manchester City looks on course to reach the semifinals of the Champions League for a third consecutive year after its dismantling of Bayern Munich in a 3-0 home win on Tuesday. 

The Blues benefitted from goals by Rodri, Bernardo Silva and the incomparable Erling Haaland, who now has scored 45 times in all competitions this season. Silva and Haaland both collected assists on the night, while Rodri worked tirelessly off the ball by winning possession back for Man City no less than 17 times. 

The victory extended the Premier League club’s unbeaten streak to 25 home games in the Champions League (23 wins), and incredibly, the Blues have outscored the opposition 81-19 in that run. 

Man City’s attacking prowess this season is well known, and it was on full display on Tuesday. Even with its world-class line-up that included Canadian Alphonso Davies, Bayern couldn’t cope with what their English opponents threw at them. The tone was set in the 27th minute when Rodri’s wonder-strike – the Spaniard took a pass from Silva, easily sidestepped Bayern’s Jamal Musiala and then arrowed a shot from 25 yards out into the top left corner of the net. 

But the Blues’ victory owed as much to their maturity and game management skills as it did the ruthlessness of their attack. Even when Bayern looked capable of mounting a comeback, City remained poised and turned back the Germans’ challenge at every turn. The Bavarians were outclassed on the day, and now face a major hurdle to overcome in next week’s second leg in Munich. 

"This never happens to Bayern Munich, but credit to Manchester City, they were brilliant in both boxes," former Bayern player Owen Hargreaves said. 

A tale of two Inter Milans 

Inter Milan is a difficult team to figure out at the moment.  

They looked cursed in a 1-1 draw last week away to Salernitana, a modest outfit that’s just above the relegation zone in Serie A and is 22 points behind the Milan club in the league table. Former Inter player Antonio Candreva scored a last-gasp equalizer to earn Salernitana a draw and sting the pride of a Nerazzurri side that looked uninspired. 

Contrast that with Tuesday’s performance in Lisbon in which the Italians bossed the game and benefited from some good fortune in a convincing 2-0 win over Benfica, a perennial powerhouse of Portuguese soccer that is a much tougher opponent than Salernitana. 

History did not favour Inter going into Tuesday’s contest. The Italians had failed to score in seven of their previous 10 games in European club competition on Portuguese soil, including five out of the last six – Obafemi Martins was the last Inter player to do it in 2005 against FC Porto. 

Inter’s recent form also suggested they’d have a hard time at the Stadium of Light, as the Serie A team was riding a six-match winless streak in all competitions and hadn’t collected a victory in more than a month. 

But Inter came up with an inspired road performance in Lisbon, capped off by second-half goals from Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku. Also crucial to the Italian victory was goalkeeper Andre Onana, who made a crucial save in the dying seconds of the match to preserve the clean sheet and give Inter a decided edge going into next week’s second leg back in Milan. Onana leads the Champions League this season in saves (39) and clean sheets (6). 

“I always say you must have no fear. I am happy with the work done by the team, we worked hard against an excellent opponent,” Onana told Italian broadcaster Mediaset. 

“However, we must not make the mistake of thinking we are already in the semifinal.”