Paris Saint Germain hosts Benfica, in the biggest match on a date that could reward Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City, in UEFA Champions League second leg matches full of nuances for as many favorites to Orejona.
In the Parc des Princes, this Tuesday will be the great revenge for the Parisians after not being able to get the three points against a dangerous and grown rival, circumstances aggravated after a very poor draw by the great candidate last weekend in the league.
This Benfica, which brings them all with it to give a hit in this UCL version, is experiencing stellar moments, and together with its trajectory (2 Orejonas) will once again be a hard nut to crack in the French capital, under the bastions David Neres, Nicolás Otamendi and João Mario. In the first leg, the Portuguese ship put rough seas on PSG for much of the match.
PSG, which did not have Lionel Messi over the weekend, nor did it start with Neymar, has the bad news that the magician will still be absent for the date, given the fact that with Kylian Mbappé and the Brazilian it would be insufficient, for a red tide capable of sinking the Eiffel Tower. Other absentees will be Kimpembe and Nuno Mendes.
Because, what seemed resolved in PSG has returned as a headache: a lack of synchrony between attack and a defense and midfield called to annul every rival, no matter where it came from, being the most complete squad in the world.
pass and survival
Juventus would have to add three points against Maccabi Haifa, to maintain a chance of advancing, since the victory with another draw PSG-Benfica will bring it notably closer to the top.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid will go all out to seal their place in the round of 16 in their match against Shakhtar Donetsk, whom they beat at the Bernabéu (2-1), and with their nine points they came close to reaching the next phase. The other game in the group will be Leipzig visiting Scottish Celtic.
On the day, Joseph Guardiola’s MCI returns the visit to Copenhagen, after their thrashing (5-0), and with another victory enters the direct elimination round. Dortmund, which is still close to qualifying, receives Sevilla in search of sealing it.
City looks more like a candidate for the title than ever, before the offensive barrage of the phenomenal Norwegian, Erling Haaland, who has scored an insane twenty goals (13 games), including five in the first three Champions League games.
At the San Siro, Chelsea and AC Milan are also in for a high-drama matchup as they look for a solid second position that puts them within a win of qualifying for the top 16; while leader Salzburg visits Dinamo Zagreb.
Wednesday matches
Barcelona and Inter Milan go to another deadly battle after the first leg 0-1), where Xavi’s troops will seek to tie the rival on duty or else they would be left with few options to advance; Bayern Munich will only go to process a solid passage to the round of 16 against Plzen, whose previous result (5-0) almost guarantees them to win the group.
Meanwhile, the surprising Belgian Bruges seeks to access the next round with his full points, distant from the others. But they won’t be comfortable against Atlético Madrid, which is another one playing at home. The group is completed by Porto versus Leverkusen, both forced to win in order not to distance themselves.
In other matches, a devastating Napoli receives Ajax, who thrashed (1-6) in Amsterdam. The red devils of Liverpool are seeking the three points against the Scottish Ranger, who would dramatically close the table if there is no winner in Italy; Sporting will be local against Marseille and Frankfurt will visit Tottenham.
