League phase leaders Liverpool will play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16 while Arsenal face PSV Eindhoven and Aston Villa take on Club Brugge. Elsewhere in Friday’s draw, there will be an all-German tie as Bayern Munich meet Bayer Leverkusen. Borussia Dortmund will play Lille, Barcelona will play Benfica and Feyenoord will go up against Inter Milan. Last but not least, title holders Real Madrid face local rivals Atlético Madrid
Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at home on Saturday evening, thanks to a second-half double from Marco Asensio, with Marcus Rashford providing both assists. Chelsea initially took an early lead when an unmarked Enzo Fernandez tapped home Pedro Neto’s cross on the 9th minute of the game, showing signs that looked like they were getting back on track, but the game would change when Rashford stepped foot on the pitch.
Jude Bellingham could face up to 12 matches on the sidelines if guilty of accusations, following his red card for an X-rated rant towards the referee in Real Madrid’s draw with Osasuna. The England and Real Madrid midfielder was dismissed on Saturday against Osasuna for what the Spanish authorities claimed was ‘dissent’. It came after Bellingham appeared to appeal a decision with the referee, who showed him a straight red card.
Tottenham Hotspur looked more like the team they once were before their injury woes as returnees James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario helped beat Manchester United 1-0 to end their long winless run at home and expose the problems facing Ruben Amorim and his recent injury-hit squad.
Chelsea Football Club had another bad day at the office on Saturday evening, which was really crucial as it saw them crash out of the FA Cup. Kaoru Mitoma’s second-half winner sent Brighton through to the fifth round at Chelsea’s expense, with the comeback victory easing the slight pressure on Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler.
Atletico Madrid managed to salvage a point at the Bernabéu on Saturday evening in the Madrid derby, giving more entertainment to the title race and also giving Barça a chance to join the race after their terrible December slip up.
Arsenal thrashed Manchester City 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium to send themselves back within six points of Liverpool. The Premier League leaders Liverpool had initially raised the pressure by beating Bournemouth on Saturday, but Arsenal offered up a statement victory in reply to pile more misery on the struggling defending champions.
Aston Villa have reportedly agreed a loan deal with Manchester United for Marcus Rashford. The loan comes with an option to buy this summer for £40m, and Villa will cover 70% of the salary. It was reported that Villa made the move as a result of the sale of Jhon Duran to Al Nassr. Unai Emery’s side have also brought in Paris Saint-Germain’s Marcos Asensio, and are still interested in Chelsea’s Joao Felix, as confirmed by Villa’s president of football operations Monchi.
Barcelona reignited their spark to get back to winning ways in La Liga in spectacular fashion with a 7-1 thumping against Valencia at the Monjutic on Sunday night. A free-scoring La Blaugrana, who had been winless in the league since December 3, and had only taken maximum points from one of their previous eight top-flight games, ran riot on the night, racing into a 5-0 lead before half time as they put their visitors to the sword in ruthless fashion.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a defeat at home against Leicester City, who had lost their previous seven games, piling pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou. Richarlison initially put Spurs ahead after 33 minutes in his first league start of the season, but Leicester shocked the home crowd with two goals in the first five minutes of the second half to turn the game around.
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