The business end of the UEFA Champions League season officially begins this week with first leg ties in the knockout phase playoffs, with Real Madrid and reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain headlining the list of 16 teams competing for eight spots tickets to the round of 16.
For Los Blancos, the knockout phase playoffs offer a chance to immediately seek revenge after a surprise 4-2 defeat to Benfica on Matchday 8, one that knocked them out of a top eight finish they looked nearly certain to clinch. It marked an unusual but noticeable hiccup for Madrid since Alvaro Arbeloa took charge following Xabi Alonso’s January firing, one that linger in the back of everyone’s minds even as they assume their regular position as the favorites in this tie thanks in large part to Kylian Mbappe’s scintillating form.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain make a familiar trek to Monaco as their title defense continues. The reigning champions are naturally the oddsmakers’ choice to advance despite a mixed bag in the league phase – four wins out of eight demonstrate that the luster of last season’s run to silverware remains but losses to Bayern Munich and Sporting Lisbon, alongside draws against Athletic Club and Newcastle United, prove they are not infallible.
Previous Champions League winners Inter will also pass through the knockout phase playoffs in the hopes of advancing, while former finalists Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are amongst a group that await meetings with the league phase’s top eight teams, including Arsenal and Bayern.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch
Paramount+ will have every minute of Champions League action this week, while CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network will provide select coverage. Tuesday’s slate begins on CBS Sports Golazo Network with Champions League Matchday and the broadcast of Juventus’ trip to Galatasaray, while CBS Sports Network will have the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show before airing Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Atalanta. (Those matches will also be simulcast on Paramount+.) The Golazo Show on Paramount+, as usual, will return for the late slate of matches on both days. After the UEFA Champions League Today post-match show on Paramount+ (and on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday), each day’s coverage concludes with new editions of The Champions Club and Scoreline on CBS Sports Golazo Network. (The Champions Club will also be simulcast live on YouTube.)
UEFA Champions League bracket
Knockout phase playoffs first leg schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
Storylines for the knockout phase playoffs
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid return: Real Madrid’s injury crisis has hamstrung them over the course of the season but on Saturday, Los Blancos finally earned a reprieve and reintroduced Trent Alexander-Arnold to the fold in a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad. It was the England international’s first start since December and only his 17th appearance of the season during an injury-plagued first campaign with Madrid, but Alexander-Arnold’s return comes with a major boost for Arbeloa and company. Mbappe has been the most consistent attacker in Europe this season with 39 goals across all competitions but Alexander-Arnold offers more range and dynamism for Los Blancos’ offense at a very crucial juncture of the season. He’s a uniquely creative right back, the best in the world at what he does with an ability to distribute from just about every position on the right flank. His assist on Saturday is merely a precursor for what he can offer Madrid and though he does not solve all of the team’s problems (of which there are many), he automatically makes them more of an attacking presence – and harder to beat.
Weston McKennie’s big season: Juventus are still in the thick of the top four race in Serie A but have a chance to make their deepest Champions League run in four years with a tie against Galatasaray, thanks in large part to Weston McKennie’s recent form. The U.S. international is already in the midst of his best goalscoring season ever with seven across all competitions, his performances allowing him to be what Juventus need at exactly the right time. McKennie, who also has four assists this season, has been a utility player for many of his six years with the Turn-based club but has become an out-and-out attacking force since Luciano Spalletti took over as the team’s coach last fall. It is a tactical shift that suits McKennie really well and has allowed him to hit another level with a World Cup on home soil just months away, the 27-year-old peaking at just the right time. For a team that’s in the middle of the pack in terms of their goalscoring form – Juventus scored 14 in eight league phase matches – McKennie’s uptick in form may just be well-timed for them, too, especially against a goal-shy Galatasaray.
First-timers target upsets: For Azerbaijan’s Qarabag and Norway’s Bodo/Glimt, their history-making European campaigns were not reserved solely for the league phase. The pair have reached the knockouts for the first time, Glimt doing so in their first-ever Champions League campaign and less than a year removed from their historic run to the UEFA Europa League semifinals. Naturally, though, things will not get easier from here. Qarabag host Newcastle United, who will travel more than 2,500 miles to Baku for the first leg, the visitors down on their luck in domestic play but still full of quality. Glimt, meanwhile, have quite the uphill battle against Serie A leaders Inter, who continue to seek redemption after their potential treble-winning season unraveled completely a year ago. Big results over the course of the league phase, though, including Qarabag’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea and Glimt’s 3-1 win over Manchester City, should provide enough confidence for the ambitious underdogs to draw upon as the knockouts approach.
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