The knockout stages of the Champions League end this week with the first round of the knockout stage to be decided.
Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Porto booked their places in the next round last week and there is plenty more action to come over the next few days.
– Away goals will still count in the Champions League this season
Manchester City and Chelsea are among the teams hoping to advance to the quarterfinals.
Now that the group stage is over we are down to the real deal of knockout football.
This phase of the European elite competition is always exciting and introduces the endangering of the away goals rule.
But there is an added complication this season as some fixtures will take place in natural venues, which begs the question of whether or not away goals count.
Do away goals count on neutral sites?
Yes.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a number of games will be played in neutral venues this season.
Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea have all played their first legs in neutral halls.
Although “home” teams have lost the advantage of playing in their own stadiums, away goals will still count and will be used as a tiebreaker if necessary.
Indeed, UEFA has opted for a general rule for all draws, as the other matches are played normally.
Liverpool faced RB Leipzig in Budapest for both matches, but they did a light job of the Germans and made it through to the next round.
– Chelsea lead Atletico Madrid 1-0 in last 16 clashes
Chelsea’s second leg against Atletico Madrid will take place at Stamford Bridge, but Man City will lose their home advantage and face Borussia Monchengladbach again at Puskas Arena.
Chelsea and City have both scored away goals in their first leg and will be confident to pass.
The away goals rule will come into effect if the tie is tied after extra time in the second leg, for example in a 2-2 draw.
Last season, Lyon beat Juventus to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. They lost their second leg 2-1 in Turin, but scored away goals in a 2-2 draw.
Plus, away goals always count in overtime. If an away team took the lead in extra time, then the home team would have to score twice to advance under the away goals rule.
Jason Cundy says it is “remarkable” to see how much Thomas Tuchel has improved Chelsea in such a short time and points out how Frank Lampard was not getting the look of the players.
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Draw for the last 16 matches of the Champions League
- Seville 4-5 (aggregate) Borussia Dortmund
- Porto 4-4 (agg) Juventus – Porto win on away goals
- RB Leipzig 0-4 (aggregate) Liverpool
- Barcelona 2-5 (agr.) Paris Saint-Germain
- Atalanta vs Real Madrid: first leg – 0-1 / second leg – March 16
- Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester City: match aller – 0-2 / match retour – 16 mars
- Lazio vs Bayern Munich: first leg – 1-4 / second leg – March 17
- Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea: match aller – 0-1 / match retour – 17 mars
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