On Tuesday, the Champions League quarter-final matches return to European stadiums and screens around the world. At 21:45, the second leg clashes between "Manchester City" and "Paris Saint-Germain" as well as Madrid's "Real" and "Wolfsburg" teams will begin. Before these evening matches, journalist and commentator Paulius Jakelis agreed to share his insights and thoughts on the quarter-final matches with the most visited country's football news portal - "Eurofootball.com". "Manchester City" - "Paris Saint-Germain" In the first meeting between these teams in Paris, the match ended in a high-scoring draw - 2-2. However, in Jakelis' opinion, the match could have ended differently, and such a result does not fully reflect the performance of the teams in this encounter. "I would dare to say that the result of these matches does not entirely reflect the course of the match. PSG played more actively, created significantly more opportunities, and even missed a penalty kick. The numbers speak for themselves - PSG controlled the ball longer, took more shots." "It may sound banal, but it's true - football also requires luck, and in these matches, PSG had it only when Zlatan scored." In order to advance to the next stage, the "Paris Saint-Germain" team will have to win away or not lose by scoring at least two goals. In Tuesday's match in England, the football.tv commentator expects a fierce battle, but still considers the French champions a slight favorite to advance to the next stage. "The second leg matches promise a huge intrigue. I have no doubt that in front of their own fans, the 'City' team will produce a better game. It will be a very interesting tactical battle, we must not forget that 'City' scored two goals in Paris, and that means a lot. On the other hand, personally, I would predict PSG to advance to the next stage, but this is a slippery forecast." "Real" - "Wolfsburg" In the first leg match in Germany, "Wolfsburg" surprised the football world and heads to the second leg with a victory by a margin of two goals. After these matches, the Germans received praise while the game of "Real" was criticized, and according to Jakelis, the final result was determined by both the good performance of "Wolfsburg" and the poor game of "Real". "The good performance of 'Wolfsburg' and the poor game of 'Real' contributed to this result. Perhaps some will find it unexpected, but although I sympathize with the Madrid team, the Germans deserved the victory in this match, as they were simply better. Yes, Benzema missed two chances, Ronaldo didn't score from a great situation, but the hosts could have scored more than two goals. 'Wolfsburg' is an incredibly fast team, excellently transitioning into quick attacks, and in this match they simply captivated the football world." Before the first leg matches, "Real" was considered an obvious favorite, but after the defeat in the away match, evaluations of the teams' chances have changed. This is supported by a football commentator who predicts an excellent football evening. "In fact, to say that 'Los Galacticos' are still the favorites of the pair would be strong. A two-goal deficit, no away goals scored, greatly complicates 'Real's' situation. Especially if the Germans score at least one goal, the hosts would need to score four. I'm not saying that the Madrid team cannot save themselves - they definitely can, especially at their 'Santiago Bernabeu' fortress, but it will be devilishly difficult, and we are in for a devilishly good football evening."
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
