Nick and Taylor break down all of the action from the Champions League Round of 16, which featured two exhilarating ties that went the full distance to penalty kicks. French champions PSG faced current Premier League leaders Liverpool, who also finished on top of the 36-team UCL Group Phase. Cross town rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met in the competition for the first time since the 2016/17 semifinals. Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen met for the first time in the UCL and for the fourth & fifth times this season in all competitions. Borussia Dortmund and Lille faced off for the first time since the 2001/02 UEFA Cup 4th round. Benfica and Barcelona endured a rematch from their recent MD7 Group Phase match in Lisbon. PSV and Arsenal met again after having been group stage foes last season. Former Conference League semfinalists Club Brugge and Aston Villa met for the first time in a European competition. And, finally, Feyenoord returned to San Siro to face the other club from Milan: Inter.

Additionally, our European football experts provide their UCL Quarterfinals predictions, along with some bonus Europa League predictions!

Approximate Timestamps:

(02:05) PSG vs Liverpool

(27:31) Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

(49:17) Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen

(01:05:44) Borussia Dortmund vs Lille

(01:12:55) Benfica vs Barcelona

(01:20:54) PSV vs Arsenal

(01:24:06) Club Brugge vs Aston Villa

(01:27:10) Feyenoord vs Inter

(01:29:15) UCL Quarterfinals Predictions

(01:45:43) Bonus: Europa League Predictions

Nick and Taylor provide a comprehensive analysis of the first ever Champions League Playoff round, which absolutely lived up to the hype. The Playoff round featured a blockbuster rematch for the fourth-straight season between Real Madrid and Manchester City, two Italian vs Dutch matchups (including a rematch between PSV and Juventus from Matchday 1), a rematch between Benfica and Monaco from Matchday 5, an all-French affair between PSG and UCL debutants Brest, and several other entertaining ties. Our European football experts dissect the tactics, goals, blunders, and endless drama from a riveting Playoff round that paved the way to the last 16.

Timestamps:

03:03 Real Madrid vs Manchester City

22:48 PSV vs Juventus

39:29 Atalanta vs Club Brugge

49:50 Milan vs Feyenoord

01:05:00 Benfica vs Monaco

01:12:34 PSG vs Brest

01:20:56 Bayern vs Celtic

01:30:17 Dortmund vs Sporting

Taylor analyzes the complete slate of Matchday 8 fixtures from the Champions League group phase. This epic conclusion featured sixteen fixtures in which at least one club had something to play for: a top-8 finish, a seeded playoff spot, or an unseeded playoff spot. As eighteen clubs had mathematically secured a top-24 finish after Matchday 7, nine clubs competed for the remaining six playoff spots, including PSV, Club Brugge, Benfica, PSG, Sporting, Stuttgart, Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb, and Shakhtar Donetsk. Additionally, only Liverpool and Barcelona had mathematically secured top-8 finishes with an automatic bye to the round of 16, which meant that every club behind them fought heroically to secure safe passage to the last 16. And, well, then there was Sturm Graz, Leipzig, Young Boys, and Crvena Zvezda, who essentially played meaningless friendlies with absolutely nothing at stake. There was certainly no shortage of drama, delight, and despair.

Timestamps:

City vs Club Brugge 1:20-04:38

Stuttgart vs PSG 04:39-07:43

Dinamo Zagreb vs Milan 07:44-13:20

Sporting vs Bologna 13:21-17:17

PSV vs Liverpool 17:18-22:45

Barcelona vs Atalanta 22:46-24:58

Leverkusen vs Sparta Praha 24:59-26:41

Aston Villa vs Celtic 26:42-30:07

Lille vs Feyenoord 30:08-36:32

Juventus vs Benfica 36:33-39:42

Dortmund vs Shakhtar 39:43-44:04

Inter vs Monaco 44:05-47:31

Brest vs Real Madrid 47:32-50:35

RB Salzburg vs Atletico Madrid 50:36-54:02

Girona vs Arsenal 54:03-56:06

Bayern vs Slovan Bratislava 56:07-58:00

Sturm Graz vs RB Leipzig 58:01-59:20

Young Boys vs Crvena Zvezda 59:21-1:01:24

Group Phase Outcomes vs Predictions: 1:01:25-01:05:28

Playoff Round Preview: 01:05:29-01:16:40

Playoff Round Predictions: 01:16:41-01:17:34