Champions League superlatives: Previewing all eight Round of 16 ties

Prepare for the return of the Champions League this week with one superlative for each fixture in the Round of 16.

The Champions League is back and headed into the home stretch. After months of group play, this week’s beginning of knockout play always feels like when the competition intensifies.

In an attempt to preview the Round of 16, we could power rank the fixtures, but we already did that when they were drawn. Things have changed in the past couple months, so we’ve assigned each of the eight ties a superlative you might find in your school yearbook (with only a little tweaking to make things work) to express how we feel about each of them. Here we go:

Odd couple: Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool

In years past this would have been a headlining matchup, but based on current form it has lost some luster.

Liverpool, of course, are the defending Champions League title holders and the current runaway champions-elect in the Premier League. They are in the midst of one of the greatest seasons ever for an English club.

Atletico on the other hand are suffering through a transitional season that feels more and more like the end of an era. Los Colchoneros are fourth in La Liga and nowhere near the title chase, 13 and 12 points back respectively from leaders Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The only reason not to write this tie off as a walk for Liverpool is that the underdog tag plays perfectly into Atleti’s hand. The club’s current crisis stems from the fact that when you’re consistently in the top three domestically and reaching the Champions League knockouts you can’t maintain an identity built on being the scrappy underdogs. But getting to play that role again, letting the Cholismo loose, and possibly play spoiler against Europe’s best side, is just the kind of opportunity Diego Simeone lives for.

Life of the party: Borussia Dortmund vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Welcome to the tie where defense is optional and the neutrals are sure to be entertained.

Borussia Dortmund might be the most purely must-see-TV team in all of Europe. They score buckets of goals but can’t hold a lead to save their lives. BVB have scored 63 goals this season but conceded 32 as well. PSG have scored 67 themselves, and only conceded 21, although in a league with less depth of attacking threats.

For PSG, their season will be defined by the Champions League. And they might actually be sneaky favorites. They are runaway leaders in Ligue 1 once again, making it easy to forget how good they really are. They have made it very clear that a continental title is the goal of this project. A Champions League title could also mean keeping superstars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar for a little longer.

Between PSG’s galaxy of stars and Dortmund’s emerging talents like goal-scoring wunderkind Erling Haaland and American next-big-thing Gio Reyna this is the must-watch matchup for neutrals.

Quietest: Atalanta vs. Valencia

This match should actually be entertaining, with Atalanta one of the highest scoring teams in all of Europe and Valencia being a hot-and-cold seventh place in La Liga. But it will never be confused with the sexiest Champions League matchup, and for that reason it will be an afterthought to some of these other matchups. You can check in briefly, but feel free to wait to get to know the winner of this one next round.

Most outspoken: Tottenham vs. RB Leipzig

The Jose Mourinho experience at Tottenham has been slightly more mellow, but the Champions League is the Special One’s time to shine. With his team beset with injuries and tipped to go out to an upstart side, who knows what will be said. Mourinho hasn’t gone so soft that he’ll go quietly into the Champions League night as an exciting RB Leipzig side likely take another step into the spotlight.

Most likely to be caught sleeping in class: Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich

The Chelsea kids are in for a rude awakening at the hands of Bayern.

The German leaders have one of the highest scoring offenses in Europe, led by Robert Lewandowski and his 23 league goals. Bayern scored more than anyone in the group stage and Lewandowski’s 10 goals led their as well.

Chelsea’s defense has conceded 36 goals in 26 league matches, the worst of anyone in England’s top four and second worst of anyone in the top half of the Premier League table.

Frank Lampard’s young Chelsea side did well to make it to the knockouts, and this will be good experience for their development, but Bayern should provide a wake-up call of a different class.

Most stressed out: Napoli vs. Barcelona

This superlative applies to Barcelona in particular. Things are tense in Barcelona right now, and the Champions League has been a multiplier of pressure for the club in recent years.

Two years ago, the Blaugrana were eliminated in embarrassing come-from-behind fashion by Roma. Before last season Lionel Messi told the Camp Nou faithful that they were determined to right that wrong and bring back the Champions League trophy for the first time since 2015. Then, they were eliminated in embarrassing come-from-behind fashion again, this time at the hands of eventual champions Liverpool.

Manager Ernesto Valverde eventually lost his job, two years two late for some fans, and their have been signs of progress under his successor Quique Setien. Now, it’s put up or shut up time for Setien. These will be the matches upon which he is judged. An injury crisis doesn’t help the situation, but for fans who crave success in this competition that won’t be any excuse.

Napoli, for their part, are also hanging a lot of their hopes for this season on this competition, as slim as those hopes might be. They have slipped to ninth in Serie A, meaning that the Coppa Italia and the Champions League are their two chances left to fight for a trophy.

Barcelona should make it through this tie, but at even the slightest sign of struggle a lot of old demons are going to come rushing back.

 Most sure of itself: Lyon vs. Juventus

This one feels like a no-brainer. The Lyon side that qualified for the Champions League has been picked apart by transfers and hobbled by injuries, slipping to 11th in Ligue 1, with just one win in their last five league matches. Juventus find themselves in a slightly different position than past years, facing a true test in the Serie A title race, while also trying to get over the hump in the Champions League.

Juve haven’t been in perfect form, but ultimately they are more talented and much deeper than Lyon, plus, one of these teams has Cristiano Ronaldo and the other doesn’t.

Most ambitious: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City

Real Madrid believe this cup is their birthright while Manchester City desire it more than anything else as the final piece of their global ascendance.

Last year, Los Blancos were eliminated by the upstart Ajax side, as Madrid learned to live in a post-Ronaldo world. This year they seem to have righted the ship, with a stingy defense, bounceback seasons from some of their veterans and further development from a couple young stars. Their biggest signing, Eden Hazard, has hardly made his mark yet – nor has fellow offseason addition Luka Jovic – and if he can add another gear to this team they may become real contendors to win it for a 14th time.

Manchester City are suddenly staring down the possibility of a two-season ban from the competition, putting even more weight on this year’s European campaign. Sure, the recently announced UEFA ban will be held up in appeal for a while, and will likely be reduced or even overturned completely, but it only heightens the scrutiny on City in this competition.

For two years City were the best team the Premier League has ever seen but faltered in the Champions League. With the domestic title now all but gone to Liverpool, Pep Guardiola’s men are fully focused on finally conquering Europe, anything short of that will turn this into a lost season.