{"id":2323,"date":"2026-04-13T01:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T01:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2323"},"modified":"2026-04-13T01:18:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T01:18:01","slug":"champions-league-quarter-final-preview-liverpools-remontada-hopes-arsenals-flaws-and-barcelonas-history-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2323","title":{"rendered":"Champions League quarter-final preview: Liverpool\u2019s remontada hopes, Arsenal\u2019s flaws and Barcelona\u2019s history test"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Champions League quarter-finals have reached boiling point, with every first leg producing a winner, leaving each tie finely poised as sides either chase a comeback or look to protect their advantage from the opening meetings.<\/p>\n

Liverpool face a steep uphill task as they attempt to engineer another European miracle, while Arsenal must contend with mounting questions over their form following recent domestic setbacks that have effectively ended their hopes of a quadruple<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Barcelona once again find themselves up against history in a competition that has rarely shown mercy in such situations, while Real Madrid head into their tie as underdogs in a tightly contested heavyweight clash against one of the tournament’s early favourites.<\/p>\n

With the race for the semi-finals set to be decided this week, Sports Mole<\/strong> assesses each team’s chances of progression, with history, momentum and mentality likely to play decisive roles.<\/p>\n\n

Liverpool vs PSG: Can the Reds spark another European comeback?<\/h2>\n
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\u00a9 Iconsport \/ PA Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On the verge of being eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in consecutive Champions League campaigns, Liverpool find themselves in an even more difficult position than last season, when they exited on penalties despite taking a first-leg advantage from Paris.<\/p>\n

This season’s meeting in the French capital saw Arne Slot’s men suffer a 2-0 defeat<\/strong> in a game where the Reds struggled to create clear chances, leaving them with a huge task to overturn the deficit in Tuesday’s return leg.<\/p>\n

The historical record in such situations makes for grim reading, as Liverpool have lost nine of their previous 10 European ties when beaten by a two-goal margin in the first leg, with the only exception coming against Auxerre in 1991-92.<\/p>\n

However, that same history offers a glimmer of hope, given the Reds famously overturned a three-goal deficit against Barcelona in 2019, winning 4-0 in the return leg at Anfield<\/strong> to progress 4-3 on aggregate in what remains one of the competition’s most iconic comebacks.<\/p>\n

PSG are not without their own history of collapse, having surrendered a 4-0 first-leg lead against Barcelona in 2017, eventually losing 6-5 on aggregate in a tie that still defines their European story.<\/p>\n

Liverpool head into this encounter after ending a three-match losing run with a 2-0 win over Fulham on Saturday<\/strong>and while that result offers some encouragement, it remains to be seen whether it is enough to inspire another famous European night.<\/p>\n\n

Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon: Could Gunners’ domestic woes override their continental form?<\/h2>\n
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\u00a9 Iconsport \/ PA Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Arsenal head into the second leg with a narrow lead over Sporting Lisbon<\/strong> thanks to Kai Havertz’s late strike in Portugal, meaning Mikel Arteta’s side have now won 10 of their 11 matches in this season’s Champions League campaign.<\/p>\n

History also favours the Gunners, who remain unbeaten in six previous meetings with Sporting across 90 minutes, leaving the North London side in a strong position to progress.<\/p>\n

However, recent form tells a slightly different story, with Arsenal losing three of their last four matches in all competitions, a run that has exposed some vulnerability at a crucial stage of the season.<\/p>\n

That concern was evident again in Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth at the Emirates<\/strong>a result that not only dented the Gunners’ title hopes but also raised fresh doubts about their ability to manage pressure, and Sporting will take confidence from that, knowing they also stand a very good chance against an already demystified Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Can Flick’s side defy history?<\/h2>\n
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\u00a9 Imago \/ Pressinphoto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Barcelona face the hardest task of the round, with Hansi Flick’s side needing to overturn a two-goal deficit after their 2-0 first-leg home loss to Atletico Madrid<\/strong>where Pau Cubarsi’s red card proved costly for the Blaugrana.<\/p>\n

Aside from being without a key defensive option for the return leg, the Catalan club also face a daunting test against history, having never overturned a two-goal deficit from a first-leg home loss in a Champions League knockout tie.<\/p>\n

Flick’s side at least have the Metropolitano on their side historically, having won five of their last six visits to the ground, though the memory of a 4-0 cup defeat at the same venue<\/strong> serves as a stark warning of what Diego Simeone’s men can produce at home.<\/p>\n\n

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid: Los Blancos’ uphill battle against the competition’s favourites<\/h2>\n
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\u00a9 Iconsport \/ Xinhua<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When it comes to Champions League football, it would be unwise to rule out Real Madrid, with several of their recent triumphs in the competition coming when Los Blancos have rarely been viewed as favourites.<\/p>\n

The Spanish giants are clear underdogs for their quarter-final tie against Bayern, who strengthened their credentials as one of the competition’s frontrunners following a 2-1 victory<\/strong> when both sides met at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.<\/p>\n

However, Madrid fans will take belief from their side’s strong away record in this fixture, having won three of their last four visits to the Allianz Arena, though whether that record holds any weight against a Bayern side playing the best football in Europe right now is another question entirely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Champions League quarter-finals have reached boiling point, with every first leg producing a winner,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}