It started with 36 teams, and now there are just eight remaining in this season's UEFA Champions League.
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00:00We've reached the quarter-final stages of this season's Champions League.
00:05So far, we've seen surprise early exits, but for the teams that are left,
00:10all eyes are on the prestigious prize.
00:13So, who will make their way to the final from here and lift the trophy in Munich?
00:23Hello and welcome to Football Now, here from the Albeit Stadium in Qatar.
00:29We're reaching the business end of the 2024-25 season,
00:34and on this week's episode of the show, we're taking a look ahead
00:37to the quarter-finals and beyond of this year's UEFA Champions League.
00:42It was a season that debuted a new look format for the competition
00:46with the introduction of the league phase,
00:49but now we're back to the familiar two-legged knockout round ties
00:53as teams battle to book their place in the final in Munich on May 31st.
00:59So, let's take a look at some of the fixtures we have to look forward to.
01:04Eight teams remain in this year's competition and the paths to the final are now set.
01:10French champions PSG meet Aston Villa after knocking out Liverpool in the round of 16.
01:16It's Villa's first European Cup quarter-final since 1983.
01:21In the same side of the draw, Arsenal will face Real Madrid.
01:25With the Premier League title race now looking all but over in England,
01:29is this competition now Arsenal's best chance of making this season a successful one?
01:35Yeah, we've got to have tunnel vision now in the Champions League.
01:37You know, the Premier League is done and dusted.
01:39I know Mikel Arteta won't ever say that, but let's be realistic.
01:43It's all got to be on the Champions League,
01:44so it will be interesting to see team selections going forward,
01:47especially when you've got the Premier League games and then the Champions League games.
01:50What Arteta does in those.
01:52But yeah, for sure, the only hope now of a trophy is the Champions League.
01:56And even at best, I think we're still probably deemed underdogs in our side of the draw.
02:01You know, Madrid in the quarter-final.
02:03It's a long shot, but it's our only shot.
02:05So yeah, we should be focusing fully on the Champions League from here on out.
02:09Yeah, for sure.
02:10Elsewhere, Barcelona will come up against German opposition Imba Russia Dortmund,
02:15who have impressed so far this season in this competition.
02:19Barca, though, are desperate to win their first Champions League title
02:23since the departure of Lionel Messi in 2021.
02:27Finally, a heavyweight clash will see Bayern Munich face Italian champions Inter Milan
02:33after comfortable wins for both in the round of 16 stage.
02:37Over at Bayern Munich, the appointment of Vincent Kompany as their new manager last summer
02:43certainly raised a few eyebrows.
02:45But now they have one hand on reclaiming the German League title from Bayer Leverkusen
02:51and a dream of playing in the Champions League final,
02:54which this year will be held in their home stadium.
02:58There's a little bit of that yearning now in Munich again for this final at home,
03:05because this is a team that I think has its weaknesses.
03:09But I think that's what makes teams so interesting and fascinating to us as fans.
03:14On big days, they can maybe gloss over their weaknesses.
03:18I think Inter is going to be a big test for them,
03:21especially because as an Italian team, you know, they'll be tactically very well prepared.
03:25I think they have a good shot at making it to the final and then anything can happen.
03:30So as I briefly mentioned earlier, this season debuted a new look format for the competition.
03:37It saw the introduction of the new 30-16 league phase to begin the tournament,
03:42rather than the traditional eight groups of four.
03:46This generated some huge fixtures such as Liverpool versus Real Madrid,
03:50PSG versus Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen versus Inter Milan.
03:56The plans for the new format were initially met with some apprehension,
04:00but have fans found that the new way of doing things could be better than it was before?
04:06I like it a lot. I think it's great for fans
04:10because I think it's a much better indicator of performance among all these clubs.
04:16You know, you used to have these teams that Real Madrid would get all the points.
04:20You know, that's fun for the spectators, but it doesn't really tell you about where they stand.
04:25And I think now with the league phase, it does.
04:28And it makes that contrast even starker to the knockout stages, in my opinion,
04:32because then you have PSG v Liverpool and Liverpool were top in the league stage
04:37and everyone kind of counted them among the favorites for the title.
04:40And then they went out. That format has added fuel to the fire of the drama in the competition.
04:47And I think that's only for the best.
04:49Yes, there are some exciting fixtures to look forward to before that final in Munich on May the 31st.
04:57But right now, with the competition as wide open as we've seen it for many a year,
05:02the obvious question is who could be the ones lifting that trophy?
05:06I would put PSG really up there in terms of favorites because I think it's really wide open.
05:11If I'm looking at who is the best team in Europe right now, who's playing the best football,
05:15whose players are most on form, it's PSG.
05:18Real Madrid could be got at. I think they've shown that in the Champions League.
05:22I think they've also shown that in La Liga this year as well.
05:25You can never count against them. They've got history on their side.
05:28And we know how capable they are of getting results when they need the most.
05:32So I'd be very wary of them. But there's a lot to play for.
05:34I think that PSG have been confident, have been bullish and rightly so
05:38because they're right in the race for the Champions League title.
05:41We're set for an exciting climax to the season then as the UEFA Champions League begins to reach its final stages.
05:48Let us know who you think will lift the cup in May using the hashtag
05:52FootballNowChampionsLeague2425
05:56That's all we've got time for though here this week. We'll see you next time. Bye for now.