After finishing the last-16 matchups, all the quarterfinalists of the 2020 UEFA Champions League are known.
Which team will win the coveted Champions League trophy?
It remains to be seen in the final few games that are all going to be played in Portugal as the final part of the tournament. Here are the teams that have gone through.
Atalanta Bergamo (Italy)
This is Atalanta’s debut season in the Champions League and it couldn’t have gone any better. This is Gian Piero Gasperini’s squad dream season and nobody saw them making it all the way here. Atalanta has been at the very top of Italian football the past four seasons and it seems that this is the crown of their achievement.
La Dea defeated Valencia (8-4 on aggregate) and has been the top-scoring club in Europe. Most of their games are high scoring affairs and they are led by attacking midfielder Josip Ilicic who scored five times in the Champions League. Their next matchup against the French giant, PSG, is their toughest test yet and the Bergamo fans are hoping for another miracle.
Paris Saint Germain (France)
The Parisian side has been dominating French football for years now with seven titles in the last eight years. However, all that money and talent that the French champion is graced with has not enabled them to win the Champions League title.
For years now they have gotten close but they couldn’t even reach the final. This year the path to the final has never been easier as PSG is located on the easier side of the bracket. With stars like Mauro Icardi, Kylian Mbappé (each with five goals apiece in the Champions League) it is now or never for PSG.
RB Leipzig (Germany)
RB Leipzig is probably the surprise team that has risen in Germany in the past couple of years. The club that quickly became one of the top clubs in Bundesliga has reached the quarter-finalist of the Champions League for the first time this season. With Julian Nagelsmann firmly at the helm, the Die Roten Bullen can dream big this season, especially after a decisive display against Tottenham that saw the English side eliminated by 4-0 on aggregate.
Julian Nagelsmann also became the youngest head coach to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League as well. With start striker Timo Werner, set to leave for Chelsea next season, with four goals on his tally they are going to look for their chances against Atletico.
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Atletico Madrid came close to winning the Champions League on two occasions in recent times. They reached the finale in 2014 and 2016 but were defeated both times by bitter rivals Real Madrid. The current Atletico Madrid squad is by no means as strong as the ones that have reached the finals but are not going to go down without a fight. Diego Simeone’s men are as always a team that defends first and seeks to score later which has given results in the past.
They did pose a massive upset by eliminating the current champion, Liverpool, in the last-16 by 4-2 on aggregate but people seem to think that they don’t have the strength for a similar show. But lady luck has placed them in arguably the weaker side of the bracket with their next test being RB Leipzig. Don’t expect many goals as Atletico’s current top scorer is Alvaro Morata with only three to his name.
Barcelona (Spain)
Barcelona is one of the strongest sides in Europe and has won the Champions League on five different occasions. However, their last trophy came five years ago in 2015. Ever since then, Blaugrana has been looking to get back on top of European football but has failed on every occasion.
This year they don’t seem even less convincing to do so. They practically gave over the La Liga title to Real Madrid this season as their lackluster offense has been struggling. With stars like Messi, Suarez, Griezmann, Dembele, it seems like the case of too many cooks in the kitchen. Quique Setien hasn’t been convincing so far at the helm and Barca will need all the luck that they can get against Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Ever since the restart of the season, Bayern Munich have been the most impressive team in Europe. Winning all of their games except one (a draw against Leipzig), Bayern has won both their eight consecutive Bundesliga title an also capture the DFB Pokal.
However, Bayern has failed the win the Champions League for the last seven years. The last time they won it was back in 2013. But Hansi Flick’s men are as determined to do so as ever. They are currently the top-scoring side in the competition with Robert Lewandowski being the top scorer with 13. They are not only favorites in their next game against Barcelona but also favorites to win the competition.
Manchester City (England)
After finishing second in the Premier League after Liverpool, Manchester City is looking to finally capture the Champions League trophy. To tell the truth, they have never looked better and are among the top teams to do so this season. But the furthest they ever got was reaching the semifinals in 2016.
Yet this season Pep Guardiola’s men are in great form. They dispatched Real Madrid in the last-16 much easier that anybody thought. Two of t their players scored six goals in the competition, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, and their attack is in stellar form. A match against Lyon shouldn’t be too much for them.
Olympique Lyonnais (France)
Lyon is the team that definitely pulled the biggest upset in this year’s Champions League. They somehow managed to eliminate Juventus on away goals thanks to the now injury-free Memphis Depay. But posing another upset, especially against a team like Manchester City could be asking a lot.
Lyon reached the semi-finals of the Champions Leagues exactly 10 years ago and it doesn’t seem as likely that they are going to do that once again. But they are still allowed to dream and every minute more in the tournament is a blessing for Les Gones.
