GOAL rates each remaining team’s hopes of winning this season’s tournament after the first batch of last-16 games
After a painfully protracted league phase and wholly unnecessary round of play-offs, the Champions League proper finally got under way this week as we were treated to a series of brutal beatings and cracking contests.
The Madrid derby was unsurprisingly engrossing – and of the highest quality too – while Parc des Princes played host to an incredible drama, as Paris Saint-Germain contrived to lose a game against Liverpool that they should have won by three or four goals.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich laid down a marker against Bayer Leverkusen in an all-German affair, Arsenal ran riot during a record-breaking away win over PSV, while Barcelona got the better of Benfica once again. There were also likely decisive wins for Aston Villa, over Club Brugge, and Inter, who defeated Feyenoord at De Kuip, but there was no separating Borussia Dortmund and Lille at Signal Iduna Park.
So, how have the first legs affected the overall picture in the Champions League? Whose hopes of taking home the trophy have receded and who’s perfectly placed to go all the way? GOAL ranks the remaining teams in terms of their chances of outright victory based on their form, opponents, momentum, pedigree and quality…
Previous update: February 21, 2025.