From the fact that Real Sociedad were drawn in Paris, we can feel the boring draw for the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League. You know, Grand Paris has drawn the former Champions League champion in this stage for 9 consecutive seasons, although it is unlucky, but at least it can allow fans to watch two strong collisions at this node. But this season, even Grand Paris has begun to transit, and the confrontation of Mars hitting Earth is no longer provided, let alone other teams. Bayern drew Lazio, Manchester City drew Copenhagen, and Arsenal drew Eindhoven, all of which were very suspenseful matchups. There is a bit of suspense about Barcelona and Napoli, Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, but there is a high probability that the two giants of La Liga will also be able to pass the test.
There is only one game, and the suspense is great. Moreover, the game is delicate.
First of all, there is really not much difference in the strength of the two teams. Secondly, the Champions League results of the two teams are also similar, especially in the past 10 years, the best results of the two teams are runners-up.
Inter vs. Atletico Madrid.
On the surface, Inter Milan were runners-up in the Champions League last season and once suppressed Manchester City in the final, but it is for this reason that this game seems very delicate.
What do you mean by that?
In recent years, we've been talking about the rise of Serie A. Italy's Euro 2021 triumph seems to provide a footnote to that assertion. But with Italy again absent from the 2022 World Cup, it seems that this assertion has been overturned again. However, last season, the performance of the Serie A team in the Champions League was indeed eye-catching, especially the Milan duo, both reached the semi-finals, this kind of grand occasion has not appeared for more than ten years.
However, there is one problem worth noting, the results are only the appearance, and the specific results depend on the process and difficulty of obtaining them. In fact, although the Milan duo reached the semi-finals last season, to tell the truth, they have not met many strong teams along the way since they advanced from the group. For example, Inter, 16-8 and 8-4, they eliminated Porto and Benfica respectively. Although the Portuguese Super League is a dark horse, its strength is limited after all. And AC Milan eliminated Tottenham Hotspur in 16 and 8, and how poor Tottenham's form was last season is obvious to all, and at the end of the season they didn't even qualify for Europe. Eight into four eliminated Napoli, this belongs to the Serie A civil war. It wasn't until they reached the semi-finals that the Milan duo staged a Milan derby in the semi-finals.
In short, in the process of entering the semi-finals, the Milan duo either encountered teams that lacked form and strength, or pure Serie A internal friction, and teams like Bayern, Real Madrid, and Grand Paris, they did not meet any of them. Inter finally met the top team Manchester City in the final, but they still lost.
So this involves the question, is Serie A on the rise? Last season's Champions League semi-finals, Serie A teams accounted for two seats, which seemed to be prosperous, but considering the promotion process, is it a bit of a false prosperity?
Of course, it is not possible to make a conclusion at this time, after all, AC Milan and Inter Milan did not meet the top teams in the knockout rounds last season (except in the final), if they do meet Bayern Real Madrid, maybe they can also make it through? If they can get past it, we do have to look the other way through Serie A.
Don't look at Atletico Madrid's absolute strength may not be stronger than last season's AC Milan, Napoli, etc., but Atletico Madrid is known for its hard bones in the Champions League, and it is very difficult for any top team to eliminate them. In the 21-22 season, Manchester City was so strong, but they only won Atletico Madrid by one goal in the two legs, and they were almost overturned by their opponents on the road. In this Champions League round of 16, the reason why Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid are delicate is because of Atletico Madrid's characteristics, which can indeed serve as a touchstone for top teams. Although in terms of historical background, Inter Milan is far superior to Atletico Madrid, but judging from the performance of the Champions League in recent years, the gap between the two teams is not big.
In the round of 16 of the Champions League this season, Lazio wants to overthrow Bayern, which is unlikely, and Napoli wants to eliminate Barcelona, which is also very difficult. Therefore, Inter Milan is likely to become the only seedling of Serie A, but this still needs to ask Atletico whether they will agree. In the extreme case, there will not be a single Serie A team in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In that case, Serie A will not mention the rise for the time being.