And now we know! Liverpool have taught Bayern Munich a lesson at the Allianz Arena last night, whilst Barcelona cruised past Lyon in the end to give us a definitive eight for the quarterfinals of the 2018-19 Champions League.
Tomorrow sees the draw for the quarter-finals taking place in Nyon, but who do we want to see paired off when Giorgio Marchetti exposes his big balls to the world. Ahem.
Spurs v Ajax
Christ, wouldn't this be a pleasure on the eye?
Ajax's plundering of the Bernabeu last week was a thing of utter beauty and a meeting between Eric ten Hag's side and a Spurs outfit moulded in a similar pass and move style of Pochettino would be a celebration of the technicalities of the game.
But stylistics won't be the only backdrop to this potential encounter. Within the Spurs, ranks lie four former Ajax players, with Christian Eriksen, Jan Verthongen, Toby Alderweireld and Davison Sanchez all making a name for themselves at the Johan Cruyff ArenA before swapping the Eredivisie for the bright lights of the Premier League.
That's not to say the Dutch side are devoid of any talent, with precocious talents such as Matthijs de Ligt, Kasper Dolberg and Barca bound Frenkie de Jong complimenting more experienced heads in Dusan Tadic, Daley Blind and Lasse Schone.
Feckin' mouthwatering!
Man Utd v Liverpool
It pretty much writes itself.
The biggest rivalry in the history of English football has seen Jurgen Klopp’s side overtake a post-Ferguson United as a force on the domestic front in recent seasons, but yet still remain Premier League-less, much to the pleasure of Mancs on both sides of the red and blue divide.
A meeting between the two would conjure an array of contexts. Sworn enmity aside, the Scousers still hold their European record over their northern neighbours. But with the distraction of a much yearned for league title-tilt the priority for most fans and a resurgent United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, could a European tie between the two see the Merseysiders take their eye off the ball?
Juventus v Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning Tuesday night hat-trick kept The Old Lady's hopes of collecting their first Champions League trophy in twenty-three years alive.
Since their 1996 triumph, Juve have fallen at the final hurdle on five separate occasions, most recently going down to a Ronaldo inspired Real Madrid in 2017. The Portuguese striker grabbed a brace in a 4-1 spanking of his now employers that evening, but should he and his teammates go all the way this year, he will become only the second player ever to lift the famous trophy with three different sides.
Anyone who has ever attended a pub quiz will be well versed in the other guy.
Arguably no team nor player will want to deny him more than Barcelona and Lionel Messi. As the two players continue to produce age-defying heroics into their thirties, the debate of who holds sway as certified G.O.A.T will probably never really come to an end. It's safe to say, however, that the Argentinian will be gunning to write another Catalan chapter into the Champions League record books.
Manchester City v Porto
We aren't gonna bullshit you, this was the 'aw-for-fuck-sake-how-are-we-gonna-spin-the-shite-out-of-this' tie, but a closer look at a possible pair up between these two sides does offer a few mildly interesting sub-plots.
Paramount of them would be the face-off between a Pep Guardiola side and Porto's wizened defensive pairing of Pepe and Iker Casillas. The former Barcelona manager delivered three seasons of pain to the former Real Madrid duo, claiming La Liga titles in 2009,'10 and '11.
Other eyebrow-raising ditties include City reserve full-back Danilo having played for the Portuguese giants between 2012 and 2015, and the fact that in Bernardo Silva, the English side holds an asset that spent his youth career at Porto's cross-city rivals Benfica.
But frankly, we want City to have the easiest route as possible to the semi-finals, so they don't fuck out any of the other big guns prematurely. It'll also be a laugh to see how many they score in this round.
