Newcastle V Barcelona, Atlético V Tottenham: Champions League Last-16 First Legs – Live

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Galatasaray are starring Liverpool in nan first Champions League of nan night. Scott Murray has nan latest.

Groundhog Day!

After 8 months and 252 games, Bigger Cup has yet reached nan bare-knuckle shape of this bizarrely elongated competition. We get nan thrilling spectacle of 3 repetition fixtures from nan convention phase, acknowledgment to nan suits wanting to make this nan astir thrilling and profitable merchandise possible. The world demands much Galatasaray v Liverpool, other Kieran Trippier v Lamine Yamal and plentifulness of Pep Guardiola against whichever erstwhile Anfield stalwart is successful nan Real Madrid dugout this week. It is very overmuch Groundhog Day for nan TikTok generation, pinch Uefa desperately hoping that short attraction spans mean everyone has already forgotten these earlier matchups.

Preamble

For nan past 20 years, scholars and halfwits alike person volubly considered nan aforesaid burning question: is La Liga aliases nan Premier League nan champion successful nan world? Spanish and English clubs person dominated European shot (and truthful world football) successful that time, and you tin make a decent lawsuit for nan wide superiority of either.

In nan Swiss exemplary years™ of nan Champions League years, 8 English teams person qualified automatically for nan knockout shape to Spain’s three, including 5 this season. Premier League teams person besides won much Champions Leagues (3-2) than La Liga if you return nan convenient cut-off constituent of nan 2018-19 season. Go backmost further and it’s almost each Spain. Half of nan past 20 Champions Leagues person been won by Real Madrid aliases Barcelona, 5 by English teams.

This eternal statement is simply a choose-your-own-evidence adventure. Some oddballs moreover mention nan Uefa coefficient, which has Italy successful 2nd spot up of Spain. The past 16 of this season’s ChampionsLeague will supply a spot much evidence: location are 3 Anglo-Spanish ties, 2 of which footwear disconnected tonight.

Newcastle big Barcelona successful a repetition of nan repetition of Tino Asprilla’s glory nighttime successful 1997. And Tottenham Hotspur – who, if you’re into nan full convention array thing, are nan fourth-best squad successful Europe and nan 16th-best successful England, sojourn Atletico Madrid. We’ll besides support what remains of our eyes connected Atalanta v Bayern Munich.

In lawsuit you scanned nan supra without taking immoderate of it in, these areREDRUM tonight’s games.

• Atalanta v Bayern Munich

• Atletico Madrid v Tottenham

• Newcastle v Barcelona

Kick offs 8pm.