The Pinnacle of Football

The UEFA Champions League is the mother of all football competitions in Europe where elite teams across the leagues showcase their football playing artistry in grand style to outmuscle themselves. 

The 2020/21 knock-out stage is set to resume after the boys have been separated from the men in the group phase games which came to conclusion in December 2020.

Round of 16 Matches

RB Leipzig vs Liverpool

(Feb 16 & March 10)

This tie will be interesting as the German side are not a pushover with their last match against Man United in the group phase a testament to how good they are, but the Reds are the favorite to prevail.

Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain

(Feb 16 & March 10)

This mouthwatering tie should be a revenged mission for the Billionaires club in Paris due to their loss against the Blaugrana at the quarter-final stage of 2016/17 season, but overall the Catalans have a better head to head records.

FC Porto vs Juventus 

(Feb 17 & March 9)

The bookies are tipping the Bianconeri to qualify easily because the 2004 champion Porto are not a match for the Old Lady of Turin, but football is like a biscuit it can crack anywhere.

Sevilla vs Borussia Dortmund 

(Feb 17 & March 9)

This tie is a game of 50-50 with both side having an equal chance of qualifying to the next round. But if Erling Haaland is in top form, Dortmund have a better chance. However in their last two previous meeting, Sevilla has a win and a draw.

Lazio vs Bayern Munich

(Feb 23 & March 17)

The defending champions are the favourite but Lazio will give them a run for their money.

The last time Lazio qualified for round of 16 was in the 1999/2000 season. The Bavarian having just completed a sextuplet with their Club World Cup trophy will leave nothing to chance over the two legs.

Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea

(Feb 23 & March 17)

Diego Simeone's Atletico side are famed for their resolute defence and stubborn attitide in games but the Blues are progressing impressively under new manager Tuchel and therfore will make this encounter a thrilling one. During the group stage, the Blues went 355 minutes without conceding a goal.

Both side are tie in head-to-head record with two wins and three draws apiece so the pendulum can swings to either side.

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester City

(Feb 24 & March 16).

Goals come easily for both side because they play without fear and their brand of football is captivating. The Cityzens are poise to go through if they can convert their chances and also the record is on their side.

Atalanta vs Real Madrid 

(Feb 24 & March 16)

The brash newcomer are the dark horse in this tie because they have scored the most goals in two consecutive season in Serie A. However the experience of Real Madrid's manager Zinedine Zidane and his boys should count in their favour and be able to get them through to the next round. 

Let's keep our fingers cross to see the teams that will get to the semis and final of this season champions league showpiece.

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst 

The Wobbling Reds

Liverpool are presently walking alone in the face of poor results. At the beginning of 2020/21, the Reds were touted by many pundits to retain the title after winning it for the first time since 1992 when the Premier League was renamed and has we have come to know it.

Jurgen Klopp inability to find solution to the loss of form of his famed front-trio - Mohammed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane - and without exception of the injured Diogo Jota has been the major cause of concern to their dwindling results with one of the Merseyside's low point this season being the 7-2 loss to Aston villa.

The key players in defence like Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez have all been lost to various form of injuries and their the back-up players have not being able to fill-in well for them due to little or no experience. It has taken Klopp to feature midfielders like the captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in that defence line for some games this season. 

Goalkeeper, Alisson Becker who was a reputable safe-hand between the sticks for the past two seasons is presently a shadow of himself due to some errors. Since he made his debut in the league, he has the made most errors leading to goal than any other goalkeeper.

However, since Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 7-nil on December 19 2020, things has totally fallen apart. In that period, Liverpool have won just 3 games out of 11 games in all competitions, drawn 3 and lost 5.

It seems like the Klopp's high intensity (Ghen Ghen pressing)  style is fading out due to the inconsistency of his lads.

The team is short of enough goals since the beginning of 2021 calendar year and up next against is against fearless Leicester city at the Kingpower stadium.

With Champions League knockout phase around the corner the Reds must put their house in order.

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst 

NPFL Match Report: MFM FC vs Heartland

The Nigeria Professional Football League matchday 9 between the Olukoya boys against their former manager Fidelis llechukwu led side Heartland of Owerri at the Agege stadium ended on a good note for the away team.

The home team performance in the first half was nothing to write home about maybe due to some changes made to the starting 11 by coach Tony Bolus.

Heartland gave a good account of themselves in both half, and they drew the first blood in the 7th minute through a spotkick converted by Adachi Emmanuel, who also later got the winning goal in the 55th minute of the encounter. 

MFM had their own fair share of the game in the second half when some of the regular players on the bench came on board to add more firepower to the attack and Muyiwa Balogun scored the equaliser in the 49th minute, a goal which at the end of the match happened to be the consolation for MFM of Lagos.

They are now without a win in six consecutive NPFL matches for the first time since April 2019, with 2 losses and 4 draws being recorded within this span of games

The last 4 meetings between these two teams prior to this game had MFM in the front burner having kept a clean sheet and also avoided defeat (3wins and 1 draw).

As it stands now MFM have amassed 10 points in 9 games - an average ratio of one per game - and just 3 places above relegation.

Heartland also have been able to gather 10points with this win at the Soccer temple being their first away win of the season which ostensibly has move them out of the drop zone.

Can Tony Bolus team bounce back in their next game having only won 2 games all season?

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst 

Most Criticised Playmaker

Mesut Ozil is a German footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and can also be deployed as a winger. He recently joined Turkish giant Fenerbahce from Arsenal FC in England after several years with the North London club. He is a fan's favourite because of his technical skills, creativity and eyes for passes.

The 2014 World Cup winner had 92 appearances and 23 goals for the German national team, but he left the side after a poor outing at the 2018 world cup no thanks to discriminative act he encountered after taking a picture with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The former Arsenal creative expert was left out of the squad list in the Premier League 25-man squad and also the Europa league squad for 2020/21 season by the coach Mikel Arteta who sighted football reasons for his decision, making former record signing last game for the Gunners be the match against West Ham United in March 2020.

He was criticize on many occasions because  he is always a shade of himself in big games.

His problem begins when he commented on the bad treatment meted out to the Uyghur Muslims in China, but the Arsenal board failed to support him due to Television coverage on the Gunners in China.

And after he was frozen out of the team, he also failed to take a pay cut due to the COVID-19 effect on sports and he questioned the board on the decision.

The team felt his absence due to their lack of creativity and goals drought at some point before the emergence of Emile Smith-Rowe who Ozil himself tagged the "difference maker" in the team.

After 7 years of loyal service to the North London faithful, Ozil's 350,000 pounds contract was terminated, he earned 5 million pounds to go free with 6 months remaining on his contract.

He was pivotal in the squad that end the Gunners trophy drought in 2013 by lifting the FA Cup. Overall, he won 3 English FA Cups and 3 Community Shields, a UEFA Europa League runner-up in 2018/19 and made 254 appearances with 77 assists and 44 goals contributions to the Emirates outfit. 

The 32-year old has now join his boyhood club Fenerbahce and the world awaits what this uncelebrated playmaker of this century will add to Fenerbahce title chase this season. He made his debut on Tuesday night playing the last 18 minutes of a 2-1 triumph over Hatayspor in the Super Lig. 

Will Arsenal regret the leaving of Ozil in future?

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst