Surprises and mostly Italian presence in this Champions League playoff where aristocracy and nouveau riche will compete for eight spots in the round of 16, where four British teams await among the best of this edition of the top European club competition. Beyond Real Madrid's fiasco, the surprise of this round, to be played this week and the next, is written in French and not precisely by Monaco, where Mbappé emerged from.
Life goes on in Paris, or at least the pattern repeats itself from last year for PSG. If in the first edition of this format they just made it through, two consecutive winless matches have left them out of the top 8 this season. There is no doubt that Luis Enrique was able to steer the ship last season and succeed in all competitions the French participated in except for the Club World Cup, where they were swept aside by Chelsea. However, the recent league defeats have stung in the dressing room and generated tensions that the Asturian coach has quickly quelled, at least outwardly.
"I will not allow any player to put themselves above the club." That's how the coach responded to the Ballon d'Or, Ousmane Dembélé, after he labeled his teammates as "individualistic" following the loss to Rennes in the league. Out of the French Cup in January after being defeated in the capital derby, the first national title that Luis Enrique loses since his arrival, the Champions League must serve as a balm against Monaco, whom they already lost to in Ligue 1 despite playing 15 minutes with one more player. The Principality's team suffered a harsh setback against Real Madrid but has shown great seriousness throughout the continental competition.
In the Italian-involved playoffs, perhaps Inter Milan has the best chance of advancing against a surprising Bodo Glimt. The Norwegians secured their qualification by winning at the Metropolitano in the last match of this group stage, although their real strength has been mainly shown at home, where they easily defeated Guardiola's Manchester City. The neroazzurri rule Serie A with an iron fist thanks to a Lautaro Martínez who has scored in four of the last six consecutive victories for Milan. The latest, precisely against a Juventus that played with one less player for over a half.
Turin's teams, also present in this playoff, must defeat an inconsistent Turkish team, Galatasaray, filled with great individual talents but with little ability to play good collective football. Sané, Osimhen, or Icardi will try to make the most of the offensive potential of the Istanbul team. The other playoff with an Italian team pits Atalanta against Borussia Dortmund, a fast-paced and fierce duel between two teams separated by just two points and two positions in the standings. The yellows, finalists just two years ago, have a well-balanced squad between the experience of Emre Can and the youth of Jude Bellingham, brother of Real Madrid's Jude.
Newcastle is the only English team that did not do well in the group stage, but it is true that they had tough matches against Barcelona and PSG, from which they managed to secure a valuable draw. The British team faces, in principle, the weakest opponent in this playoff. Qarabag, a team that Athletic Bilbao defeated at San Mamés, accumulated many points at the beginning of this group stage and has since been living off those results.
Mendilibar's Olympiakos has followed the opposite path, squeezing their chances in the last group stage matches to make it to this playoff where they will face Bayer Leverkusen. Both teams faced each other in Piraeus less than a month ago with a victory for the Athens team. The Greek team's main threat, El Kaabi, has only scored once since his return with the national team and they will need his instinct if they want to progress in this tournament. The round of 16 draw will take place on February 27, with the winners of this round and those already qualified in the top 8.