In the early morning of Wednesday Beijing time, on the third matchday of the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, defending champions Chelsea played against Lille, and Juve welcomed last season's Europa League champions Villarreal.
February 23
4 points: Chelsea vs Lille
Highlight 1: Two draws, fate is predetermined
The Champions League round of 16 draw was held twice, the first draw, and Chelsea won Lille. In the second draw, the Only Two Opponents of the Blues at that time were Real Madrid and Lille, with a 50% chance, and the result was to meet Lille again! The two teams are really destined.
Highlight 2: Chelsea's three-game winning streak over Lille?
Chelsea and Lille have only met twice in history, both in the 2019-20 group stage, two legs 2-1, the Blues completed a double kill, but the goal scorer only Azpilicueta is still in the team, this home battle, can you win three consecutive wins?
Highlight 3: The Blues have won five consecutive home games in Europe
In the last 13 European home games, Chelsea have won 7, drawn 4 and lost 2, and the last 5 have maintained full victories and 0 goals conceded! Stamford Bridge is a brass wall, and given that it is a home-and-goer, the new Club World Cup champions want to qualify and strive to win all three points.
Highlight 4: Big package? Learjet wanted to explode
It was Lille's first Champions League knockout round in 15 years, the last time being in 2006-07, when they were eliminated 2-0 by Manchester United, also from the Premier League, at two legs. From the perspective of value and strength, the defending champions of Ligue 1 are indeed slightly inferior, and now only rank 11th in the league, but since they can win the first place in the Champions League group, it may not be impossible to be upset.
4 points: Villarreal vs Juventus
Highlight 5: Juve is under a spell
As the traditional champions league giants, Juve are caught in the spell of the round of 16: they were eliminated by Porto last season using the advantage of scoring more goals away from home! In the 2019-20 season, it was also because of the disadvantage of few away goals that they lost to Lyon! Fortunately, the away scoring rules have been abolished, can the Bianconeri reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2018-19 season?
Highlight 6: Narrow roads meet, famous coaches duel
Juve and Villarreal have never met, so they meet in a narrow way. This is also a fight between two famous managers, both of whom are experienced and tactically capable, Allegri has reached the Champions League final, and Emery is the king of the Europa League, who has won the Europa League for 4 times, but has never touched the Champions League.
Highlight 7: Vlahović made his Champions League debut
Argentine striker Dybala is absent due to injury, but winter window champion Vlahović, who has a transfer fee of 80 million euros, is about to make his Champions League debut. Since joining Juve, he has only scored 1 goal in 4 games, can he score his debut goal in the Champions League in this game? We'll see!