Champions League Takeaway: Madrid March On, Chelsea’s Bridge Too Far, Arsenal’s Flow Show & Sporting Smash the Fairytale

Hello Rank Squad!

It's the first Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Tuesday's action from the Second Legs of the Round of 16 - where our first four quarter finalists booked their spots in the last eight. We start at the Etihad, where despite a brave performance from 10-man Manchester City following Bernardo Silva's red card, Real Madrid proved too much to handle to see them off 5-1 on aggregate. Some positives for City to take ahead of the Carabao Cup final at the weekend, but perhaps more intriguing is the way Real Madrid look genuinely like they've worked out a system that minimises their weaknesses and gives them a sturdier platform on which the stars can shine.

Reigning Champions PSG also had an excellent night at the Bridge, finishing Chelsea off with a 3-0 win on the night in West London, which equalled the Blues' worst aggregate defeat ever in the Champions League - 8-2. This was a chastening night for Chelsea and Liam Rosenior, who never really looked like even beginning a comeback, and the meek nature of the defeat might well have just turned an already angry fanbase into an apathetic one. That's a very, very bad sign.

In Part Two we head first to the Emirates, where Arsenal put in a very impressive performance to overcome Leverkusen 2-0, with Ebere Eze and Declan Rice providing two wonderful goals, and we examine their chances of genuinely putting up a fight for a quadruple where they're now favourites in every competition; and finally to Lisbon for the game of the night, where Sporting put together the perfect Champions League comeback to end the Bodø/Glimt fairytale in an absolute avalanche of emotion and attacking football at the Jose Alvalade.

It's Ranks!

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