The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League is starting to get intense as it has entered the knockouts stage. Some are bound to be shown the door with the pre-quarters opening leg underway and the top teams in action.
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On Tuesday, Atletico Madrid played host to former champion Chelsea. It turned out to be a thriller, as it was the English visitor who emerged victorious, thanks to Olivier Giroud’s sole gold in the 68th minute.
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While things would move to the second leg at Stamford Bridge, Atletico will have a monumental task at hand a couple of weeks later, as Chelsea holds a goal advantage at away. Meanwhile, The Blues continues to remain unbeaten under new manager Thomas Tuchel.“Again, a good effort, a big effort, high work rate, high intensity like we are used to when he plays like this. He has a big impact on our team. Honestly, we now play Man Utd, Everton, Liverpool and Leeds. It is good like this. We cannot get comfortable; we cannot get lazy. These games will push us to our limits, then we will think about our solutions for the second leg,” said Tuchel after the win, reports goal.com.
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“We need to have more of the ball and position ourselves better in attack. We’ll work on it, but we also have an important game against Villarreal. Work, work, work. I trust the team we have. If we were in the month of September and they told me we’ve lost, but we’re still leading, I’d sign for it,” affirmed Atletico boss Diego Simeone.
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Meanwhile, defending champion, Bayern Munich travelled to Lazio. However, it turned out to be an easy task for the German champion. It eradicated the Italian side 4-1, thanks to Robert Lewandowski, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané, including an own goal. As the second leg would happen in a couple of weeks at Allianz Arena, it should be another cakewalk for Munich.
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In the meantime, Munich striker Joshua Kimmich has become the UCL player with the most number of wins in his opening 50 games (38). Also, Lewandowski has become the third most UCL goal-scorer, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, thus going past ex-Real Madrid star Raul.
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“Everybody met the expectations, we had a very good team performance and everybody applied pressure. Everybody had the will to do something special right from the start. The win is well-deserved. I am very happy. We made a giant step towards the quarter-final,” said Munich boss Hansi Flick, after the game, to Sky Sports.
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