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 Top 5 Leagues in Europe

There are many professional football leagues in Europe, but  according to the UEFA's league rankings and co-efficient, here are the top 5 leagues on the continent. 

Spanish La Liga

The Spanish La Liga which was established in 1929 is one of the most popular professional football league in the world.

In accordance with the UEFA's League co- efficient, La liga has been ranked as the top league in Europe over the last 5 years.

Till date, 62 teams have competed in the La liga and only 9 teams have emerged as champions.

Barcelona won the inaugural season.

The most successful team in La Liga history is  Real madrid with an overall record of 33 titles while Barcelona have 25 titles.

Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only teams that have never been relegated since the inception of the league in 1929 till date.

Since 2009, Barcelona have won the Spanish La Liga title 7 times (2009 - 2011, 2012/13, 2014- 2016 and 2017 - 2019) while Real Madrid has won it twice ( 2013/14 and 2016/17).

Will Barcelona continues their dominance this season ?

English Premier League (EPL)

The Football League was established in 1888,  and at the end of the 1888/89 season Preston North End were the first club to be crowned Champion after completing their fixtures unbeaten.

In 1992, the First division change its nomenclature to be called the FA Premier league.

The first 5 champions in the Premier League era were Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers , Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United who

had all won the title at least once prior to 1992.

Leicester City were crowned champions for the first time in 2016, becoming the first team to win the Premier League without having previously won the First division title.

Man United have won 20 titles - the most of any club, Liverpool are second with 18 while Arsenal are third with13 titles - all of which came after 1930.

In the last one decade, Man City have won 4 League titles (2011/12, 2013/14, 2017 to 2019) while Chelsea has won it thrice (2009/10, 2014/15 and 2016/17). Man United won in 2012/13 and Leicester City won in 2015/16.

Liverpool have never won the EPL title in this era.

Will Liverpool break the jinx this season?

Italian Serie A

The Serie A title has been contested since 1898 in varying forms of competition. Juventus are the current champions, and have won a record 35 titles.

About 14 different teams have won the Serie A title since the inaugural season.

The Serie A championship title is referred to as the Scudetto(small shield), because the winning team will wear a small coat of arms with the Italian flag on their jersey in the following season.

Juventus have won 8 consecutive scudetti from 2011 to 2019.

Will any Serie A team hijack the title from Juventus this season?

German Bundesliga

The ancient German football league begins in 1903 as VfB Leipzig emerge champion.

The formation of the Bundesliga in 1963, marked a significant change to the German football championship, as FC Koln captured the first ever Bundesliga title in the league's inaugural 1963/64 season. So far, 13 different teams have won the Bundesliga titles.

Since the inaugural win of FC Koln, the competition has been dominated by Bayern Munich which has taken the championship 29 times out of the 57 Bundesliga seasons played to 2019/20 season.

In the last one decade, Bayern have won the German league 8 times and 7 consecutive bundesliga titles from 2012/13 till date,

Which team will end Bayern dominance in Germany?

French Ligue 1

The Union Design Societes Francaises de Sports Athletiques (USfSA) was founded in 1893/94, the first champion of  french football was Standard Athletic club, who defeated the White Rovers 2 nil in Courbevoie on 6th of may 1894.

Olympique Lyon established themselves as a top club by winning a record- breaking streak of seven successive league titles from 2002 to 2008/09 season.

Olympic Marseille and Saint- Etienne have the most championship wins with 10 Ligue 1 titles each while Paris Saint-Germain have won 8.

In the last one decade PSG have won the league 6 times.

No doubt that PSG is the best team currently in the French league with the Neymars and Mbappes of this world.

Do you think PSG will match the records of Marseille and Saint Etienne soon ? 

Fabiyi Ridwan 

Sports Writer and Analyst

The Greatest Superstars of all-time

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are arguably the best footballers of this century.

They have scored a combined 704 league goals during the 2010s - the exact same number Arsenal FC scored in the English Premier League this past decade.

They've shattered countless records in the footballing scenery for years, a combined total of 11 Ballon D'or awards between them isn't enough to sum it all up.

Italian Serie A's best players of the last decade

Juventus has won 8 straight scudetto titles in the last one decade.

The Old Lady of Turin also won 4 consecutive domestic doubles between 2015 to 2018 under 

Massimiliano Allegri - the only coach to achieved this feat in the top 5 European leagues till date.

We look at some of the best players that has graced the pitch of Serie A in the last decade (2010 - 2019)

Andrea Pirlo

He lived a golden era when he played at AC Milan during the  2000s. Pirlo is the epitome of coolness and gracefulness in football.

He hoovered up 4 Scudettos with the Old Lady and made four Serie A team of the year appearances. Also winning three Serie A footballer of the year awards in that circle.