Lineup thoughts

• Isco up front with Vini and Asensio; Zidane and the rest of us hoping for three-peat Isco to show up
• Zapata and Muriel starting up front; I've normally seen one starting and not the other but maybe this isn't as surprising as I think it is

First half thoughts

• 12' - a lot of U-shaped passing for Real Madrid and some cross-field passes sprinkled in; there's not really an aerial threat up front so this is how Madrid will build up their attack
• 13' - great lob pass from Isco to Vini but the Atalanta keeper gets there Neuer-style; keeper probably lucky not to get a card there since he left his leg on Vini after clearing the ball
• 16' - already two great defensive stops by Nacho/Mendy to dispossess Zapata
• 17' - great 1-2 from Mendy and Vini; Vini releases Mendy into the open space and he gets fouled by an Atalanta defender who gets a red card; I'd like to see another angle on the card-worthy foul but a red card seems a bit harsh
• 23' - some great dribbling from Vini on the left flank which started with Kroos opting to pass to the left instead of slinging another pass to the right
• 24' - Nacho surprisingly beats Atalanta's backline into the box but overhits a cross; we're going to need more of this 
• 25' - where was Mendy on that Atalanta break?
• Not much from Asensio up to this point but Madrid haven't been attacking from his side a lot
• Attacking plan so far has been to switch the play from one side of the field to the other, dribbling up to the 18-yard box and attempting a through ball to a player; no luck so far
• 37' - first great chance! Isco outside of the boot pass to Modric who dummies an Atalanta player and plays a pass to Isco in the box; Isco has his back to the goal but is able to get a shot off which leads to a corner
• 38' - another great chance; Madrid wins the ball in Atalanta's half; Isco releases Vini in the open space and his shot gets deflected; great from Vini
• TUDN commentator mentioned that Benzema probably makes it 1-0 there but no complaints from me; old Vini probably doesn't do much there
• Mendy playing so high up near the middle of Atalanta's 18-yard box

Second half thoughts

• Madrid need an away goal; Casemiro will be out for the second leg and Madrid need to take advantage of currently being a man up
• 56' - failed counterattack from Madrid after winning the ball in midfield
• TUDN commentator mentioned an interesting stat (Madrid-Atalanta still 0-0): 6 away sides so far had won the first leg for this year's round of 16, with Porto being the only home team to win the first leg against Juventus

Real Madrid win 1-0 after Mendy scores with a shot from outside the box late in the game. Atalanta never really threatened and Madrid playing again with a makeshift lineup. Madrid should have some key players back for the return leg.

Lineup thoughts

• No Griezmann, no Dembele in the starting lineup for Barcelona
• I'm thinking Barca has enough creativity already on the field and you want someone like Braithwaite to take advantage of this; we'll see how this goes

First half thoughts

• 5' - Elche misses a big chance...
• 14' - Both teams playing on Elche's side of the field with Alba and Mingueza high up on the wings; Elche almost had a counterattack with Umtiti and Pique practically exposed but they did not capitalize...no way Barca does this against a better team
• 19' - Silky, smooth dribbling from Trincao near the 6-yard box but an even better save from the keeper; Elche taking it to Barcelona with these counterattacks but can't complete that last pass
• 39' - Trincao dispossessed against three Elche players but wins the ball back; chance is there for the taking but Elche is not capitlizing
• 40' - Again, another bad pass from Elche that kills off an attack
• Quiet game from Pedri and Messi so far
• 43' - Another counterattack from Elche that finally leads to a shot on target but it's straight at ter Stegen
• beIN Spanish broadcast showed us a graphic that most of Barcelona's attacks have come on the right flank via Mingueza and Trincao

Second half thoughts

• Messi takes the lead in the Pichichi race; insane considering his slow start this season
• 69' - Messi makes it 2-0 but De Jong did all the hard work; game over
• 73' - Messi with the half-assist to Braithwaite who heads it to Alba who makes it 3-0
• beIN Spanish commentators commenting how different Barcelona looks in the second half

A tale of two halves. Elche really should've done better in the first half with the plethora of counterattacks that they had. FC Barcelona was forgiving in the first half but in the second half they were not.

Lineup thoughts

• I did not know Vertonghen was a Benfica player
• I completely forgot about Weigl (ex-Dortmund) and was surprised to see him in the lineup
• Excited to see Núñez; thank you r/soccer for introducing me to him
• Solid lineup from Arsenal; good to see Tierney back on the bench and happy for Ode

First half thoughts

• Auba missed a big chance earlier in the game; no idea how...
• 26' - Delightful through ball from Ode to Saka as he played a pass almost from half-field into the box; more of this!
• 28' - ESR wins a ball in midfield; failed counterattack but great pressing sequence which led to Benfica giving the ball away
• Dani playing pretty deep, receiving the ball from Leno and trying to build the attack from the back
• Xhaka attempting crosses to the wing/inside the box...should opt for the simple ball
• 39' - Simple 1-2 with Saka and Bellerin leads to an ESR chance in the box; see my previous point
• 39' - Great passing sequence between Dani and Ode leading to another great chance but Luiz was ruled offside
• 41' - Good recovery from Dani; getting Casemiro + Kroos vibes with his interventions + passing
• 42' - ESR has been a constant threat on the left
• 45' - Xhaka giveaway (crossing across team's own box) almost leads to a Benfica goal...

Second half thoughts

• 53' - Unlucky penalty call; Leno almost stopped it too
• 56' - Arsenal tie-up the game; Cedric assist to Saka but key play was the Ode line-breaking pass to Cedric - yes!
• TUDN commentator commented on Ode having a "partido flojo" or "sub-par game" - Ode has had his moments this game but he seems to drift in and out; haven't seen him exert his influence on a game like he did when he was at Real Sociedad
• 67' - Great tackle from Dani to win the ball from Everton; not bad, not bad
• Asides from the one shot on target that forced Leno into a save this half, Benfica haven't threatened much...great from Arsenal but they need to take advantage of this on the other end
• 70' - Tierney-ESR partnership down the left :handshake_emoji:
• Uneventful last 15 minutes tbh

1-1 draw.

First half thoughts

• Gana (Gueye) was walking on a tight rope with his first yellow card
• I wish more replays were shown regarding the penalty given to Barcelona; it looked like De Jong tripped himself
• Mbappe showed great composure to create space in the box and score; when he dribbles, it's like the ball is stuck to his foot
• As much as I miss the energy from the fans, it's great hearing what players and coaches are saying on the pitch
• Verratti has been immense so far; great assist to Mbappe on one of his goals
• Kean's performance so far has been serviceable; he's been linking up well with the midfielders and he's playing the right pass
• I'm watching the TUDN broadcast and one commentator mentioned that PSG had been the more physical side so far

Second half thoughts

• Long balls have been Barcelona's undoing
• Ter Stegen is Barcelona's second best player; PSG have 2-3 more goals if he's not in goal
• Not much Messi magic; he was dispossessed a couple of times when he wasn't fouled
• Counterattack leading up to the Mbappe 4-1 goal...ruthless
• No Neymar, no problem

PSG earn a 4-1 victory!