What to look out for in Wednesday's round of 16 first legs
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
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A tale from yesteryear between Porto and Inter and a rapid reunion for Leipzig and Manchester City are among the key storylines in the final set of round of 16 openers.
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Three matchnights down, one to go in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first legs with a long-awaited rematch between Inter Milan and Porto and a much swifter reunion for Leipzig and Manchester City.
We pick out some points of discussion from the remaining two openers.
Fixtures
21 February
Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Frankfurt vs Napoli
22 February
Leipzig vs Manchester City
Inter vs Porto
All kick-offs 21:00 CET
What to look out for
Have Man City learned their Leipzig lesson?
Like Napoli, Manchester City will be expected by most to progress from their tie against Leipzig as they continue their search for that elusive Champions League crown. Pep Guardiola will doubtless be preaching a similarly wary message to his charges, particularly given they failed to heed his words of warning when beaten 2-1 in Leipzig in the group stage last season, albeit his side were already safely through.
"They have a really good team – we knew before the group stage," said the City manager after that game. "Unfortunately we made one or two mistakes and they punished us. We were more aggressive in the second half, we played to win but we lost." Christopher Nkunku inspired the German outfit to a 3-2 victory over holders Real Madrid this term and though he is just coming back from long-term injury, the English champions, against whom he scored a hat-trick last season, will have to put the shackles on him to avoid a similar fate.
Will Porto's Pepe roll back the years against Inter?
You have to go back more than 17 years for the last meetings of these sides, yet those encounters provide food for thought relevant to this day. Inter ended Porto's Champions League defence in the 2004/05 round of 16, winning 3-1 in the San Siro second leg after a 1-1 first-leg draw. The Portuguese side gained some revenge the following season though, winning 2-0 at home in the group stage. The link between then and now? A certain colossus at the back.
A 22-year-old named Pepe played the full match and helped Porto shut out the Nerazzurri in that last game, but he had only managed ten minutes as a late substitute across the two matches the previous season. Now 39, the centre-back has struggled with injury this season but when fit he remains integral to Sérgio Conceição's side. Off the back of a fine World Cup, club president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa said: "I think he will play another five or six years. He is a monster, a competitive animal." Count out a Pepe-led Porto at your peril.
Further ahead
• Man City, Leipzig, Porto and Inter will play the second legs of their ties on 14 March before Real Madrid welcome Liverpool and Napoli face Frankfurt in their deciders the following evening.
• The first four round of 16 ties will have concluded the previous week when Benfica host Club Brugge and Chelsea welcome Dortmund on 7 March, with Tottenham versus Milan and Bayern against Paris the following evening.
• The quarter-final, semi-final and final draws will take place on 17 March. There are no seedings or country protection, so teams can face opposition from the same national association for the first time this season.
Where is the 2023 UEFA Champions League final being played?
The 2022/23 Champions League season will conclude at Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium on 10 June 2023.
Built to support Türkiye's bid to stage the 2008 Olympic Games, the venue opened in 2002 and is home to the Turkish national team. Situated in the Başakşehir area of the city, west of the Bosphorus, it boasts a seated capacity of over 75,000.