Only a week has passed since the quarterfinals’ first legs, and we’re right back into the action as we’ll shortly find out who our top four teams and semifinalists are. The first legs presented us with a mixture of the expected and unexpected, the drama and the chaos, setting us up perfectly for the return fixtures. Unlike some previous rounds, we can’t really brag about our mystic predictions this time around. In our defense, we did want to spice things up a bit, not always going with the obvious pick, hence our underdog support in Portugal where Arsenal, in typical Arteta fashion, squeezed past a win in the dying minutes of the game. On the other hand, who could have predicted Alvarez‘s free-kick masterclass and Cubarsí‘s red card, essentially killing off the first tie despite Yamal‘s amazing effort in attempting to save a very difficult situation for Barcelona.

So without wasting too much time, let’s get started with our return leg analysis and Fantasy picks. There’s definitely much to be said!

Atlético Madrid vs Barcelona

You may as well attempt to predict the next geopolitical crisis rather than a Barça – Atleti fixture, because these games make no sense whatsoever. Let’s not even get into the Copa del Rey madness again, there’s simply too much discrepancy. Last week, we concluded our designated analysis for this matchup with: ” Luckily for Lamine, he’s got brilliant teammates around him, including Fermín López, who’s having the season of his life.” Yeah… that didn’t really age well… at all.

Without Raphinha, not only does Yamal have to do all the work himself, but his teammates are a bit of a liability. More specifically, in the first leg, it was Yamal and ten cones… nine cones after Cubarsí got sent off. The whole match was reminiscent of Yamal’s last season’s second leg performance against Inter, where he gave it his all and produced magic on the pitch, but it wasn’t meant to be. Last week, he had nine successful dribbles and an 8.6 Sofascore Rating; last year against Inter, he had 14 successful dribbles and an 8.7 Sofascore Rating. Both losses and both eerily similar performances from the spectacular teenager. After last week’s loss, you could sense that he was mad, which we hope will properly fuel him for this week’s return, as we believe Yamal’s magic is going to turn this tie around and take Barcelona to the semifinals. We all know what tactics Diego Simeone is going to deploy in order to get his team over the line, but this time, it’s not going to be enough. Brace yourselves for a legendary Lamine performance.

Liverpool vs PSG

Let’s just state the obvious: Liverpool are washed. Washed to oblivion, and so is Slot. 2-0 is such a generous and forgiving result that the Reds probably cracked open some beers in pure euphoria of not returning to Anfield with five or six goals conceded. Highlighting Nuno Mendes was quite the pick last week as he delivered a fantastic performance for the home side, both in attack and in defense. For those who watched the first leg, the Portuguese left-back produced three of the most incredible throw-ins we have ever seen. The man has a rocket in his arms as he launched three perfectly powered balls, sending his team into brilliant counter-attacks, which sliced open Liverpool’s defense. Two big chances created, three key passes, five ball recoveries, and a 100% aerial duel win rate, Mendes was absolutely instrumental, personifying everything you’d want in a modern full-back.

In all honesty, the entire PSG side was phenomenal and played a brilliant match. PSG’s lowest-rated players from the first leg, Zaïre-Emery and Safonov, with 6.9’s, would be Liverpool’s second-highest rated players as only
Florian Wirtz had a better performance, thanks to a 0.10 increase and a 7.0 Sofascore Rating. While the magic of Anfield is eternal, Liverpool’s form isn’t, and currently, the gulf in quality is simply too much for Slot’s side to handle. PSG have the perfect blend of pace, flair, skill, technical ability, and pure strength. Enrique has molded them into a frightening opponent for all. After all, we all know how last season’s return ended. This week, Mendes’ compatriot Vitinha is going to pull the strings, soaking up all of their pressure as he’ll take PSG into the semis without breaking a sweat.

Arsenal vs Sporting

Football romanticism and supporting the underdog didn’t go our way last week, so we’re throwing that whole narrative out of the window. Sporting had one shot, and they blew it, and we’re not giving them any more chances, sadly. Bodø/Glimt was more of a romantic story anyway. The first leg was… well… boring. When David Raya is the Player of the match, with an 8.7 Sofascore Rating, you already know how the first leg turned out to be. In what was a relatively tight fixture, margins went Arsenal’s way as they often do this season, which is not a critique but a tribute to Arteta’s tactics. Bringing back a lead to the Emirates is going to be extremely different for Sporting to attempt to turn around, despite Arsenal having to deal with some important injuries. Saka, Hincapié, Timber, and Eze all out due to injuries will mean Arsenal won’t have it as easy as they’d like, but no matter who plays, they’ve got world-class players across the board.

Saliba was Arsenal’s backbone alongside Raya last week, winning his duels and contributing a plethora of defensive actions, while simultaneously being their initiator of attacks, with most of Arsenal’s actions starting by virtue of his passes. A repeat of Saliba’s defensive stability is exactly what this sort of return leg prompts, as Arsenal may face a bit of a more aggressive Sporting side, considering they have “nothing to lose”, as often said in football. Sporting feeling the necessity to open up and attack is exactly what’s going to be the final nail in their UCL coffin. Another dominant Arsenal display, with little to no flaws, is upcoming for a second consecutive semifinal birth. This time round, they may go all the way…

Bayern vs Real Madrid

At this point, whenever Bayern plays, you might as well go with the no-brainer of all no-brainers, Harry Kane. We won’t even flex the fact that we highlighted the Englishman as our go-to pick last week for the first leg in the Bernabéu, even though away against Real Madrid isn’t the easiest of tasks. Bayern really do seem to be unstoppable at the moment, despite the first leg being a relatively open game with both sides having their chances. A second-half Bayern ‘blitzkrieg’ within the opening minutes didn’t sink Los Blancos, as Mbappé pulled one back and Real Madrid continued to press, yet all in vain, with Neuer showing world-class skill and longevity, as one of the best goalkeepers in his story. On the other hand, Real Madrid continues to show glimpses of brilliance, but their instability and inconsistency are too great a limiting factor when facing the very best of the best in Europe.

Bayern are on such a roll that they seem to be unstoppable at the moment. They’ll most likely mathematically wrap up the Bundesliga this upcoming weekend, so all focus will be on the Champions League tomorrow. In drastically different circumstances, Real Madrid will travel to Germany after drawing with Girona. What more can we say than “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”, yet another dominant Harry Kane performance is incoming. He’s scoring at least two.