Champions League quarter-finals confirmed! Premier League's six contenders fail to advance, Europe's four elite clubs maintain their dominance

Written by Han Bing At early morning Beijing time on March 19, this season's Champions League quarter-finals have concluded. The Premier League, which had a record six teams in the Champions League quarter-finals, only saw Arsenal and Liverpool advance to the quarter-finals.

In contrast, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain have all reached the Champions League quarter-finals for at least three consecutive seasons, demonstrating the continued dominance of Europe's four elite clubs in the Champions League—it is worth noting that these four clubs also ranked as the top four in last season's Deloitte Football Money League. Additionally, Atlético Madrid's tradition of reaching the quarter-finals every other year has continued for the fourth time.

Sporting CP, who overturned a 5-0 deficit at home to advance, became the only non-"Big Five" league team in the Champions League quarter-finals over the past three seasons. In the last seven seasons, non-"Big Five" league teams have only qualified four times for the quarter-finals, all taken by Portugal's three top clubs, making the Portuguese league the true sixth league in Europe.

The 16 matches of this season's Champions League quarter-finals produced a total of 68 goals, setting a new record for goals in this stage since 1960 (74 goals), with 36 goals scored on the second matchday of the quarter-finals second legs. The six Premier League teams that record-breakingly reached the quarter-finals had a goal difference of 18 scored and 30 conceded, averaging 2.5 goals conceded per match. Only the advancing Arsenal and Liverpool each conceded one goal, while the other four eliminated teams conceded at least five goals each. Chelsea and Tottenham conceded five goals in a single match in the first leg, and Newcastle United suffered a 2-7 defeat in the second leg. Among the four matches in the quarter-finals with seven or more goals, three involved Premier League teams, all ending in heavy defeats.

Liverpool advanced with a dominant 4-0 home victory, boasting overwhelming advantages of 32-4 in shots, 16-1 in shots on target, and 84%-16% in possession. Salah contributed with a goal and an assist, and the score could have been higher if luck had been better. Salah became the first African player to score 50 goals in the Champions League, and Liverpool regained their Premier League champion form, at least salvaging this season's Champions League campaign. Tottenham, who strategically prioritized relegation over the Champions League, secured a 3-2 home win against Atlético Madrid—who also conserved energy for the Madrid derby—thanks to Simons' brace. Although they exited with a 5-7 aggregate score, Tudor's first win as coach was more crucial for Tottenham, building important confidence for the weekend's relegation battle.

Newcastle United was not so fortunate, suffering a 2-7 away defeat to Barcelona, becoming the second English team to concede seven goals in a single Champions League match since Tottenham in October 2019. Since 1955, Premier League teams have only three times conceded eight or more goals in a single Champions League round, with Chelsea (2-8) and Newcastle United (3-8) each accounting for one instance this season. Like Chelsea, Newcastle United's second leg also had no added time in the second half, as the referee seemingly wished to avoid a更大的惨案. The simultaneous elimination of four Premier League teams in one round also set a historical record for the number of teams from a single league eliminated in a Champions League round.

Although Arsenal remains the top favorite to win (3.25), only two Premier League teams remain in the quarter-finals, creating a stark contrast with the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Liverpool, as last season, faces the Champions League defending champion Paris Saint-Germain; even if they advance, they must challenge the winner between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich,两大巨头. Liverpool, trapped in the "death half," faces significant difficulty in creating a miracle.

Compared to the rollercoaster six-in-two and frequent disasters of the Premier League in the quarter-finals, Europe's four elite league clubs performed consistently. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich all advanced with big wins: Paris Saint-Germain secured an 8-2 aggregate double, avenging last year's Club World Cup final loss to Chelsea; Real Madrid and Barcelona also defeated Manchester City and Newcastle United by large margins; Bayern Munich's 10-2 aggregate sweep of Serie A's sole representative Atalanta reflected the实力差距. Europe's TOP4 elite clubs have reached the Champions League quarter-finals for at least three consecutive seasons, maintaining the recent dominance of Europe's four major leagues over the Premier League at the quarter-finals level.

The "3 vs 3" clash between Premier League and La Liga in the quarter-finals直观结果 of Europe's four major leagues, particularly La Liga, against the Premier League. Before the second matchday of the Champions League quarter-finals second legs on March 18, La Liga president Tebas joked at a press conference: "You didn't ask about the Premier League today because two Premier League teams were eliminated yesterday?" And right after Tebas finished his press conference, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid eliminated two more Premier League teams. La Liga's three clubs advancing together to the quarter-finals marks La Liga's 13th time having at least three teams in the Champions League quarter-finals, far领先 England (8 times) and Italy (4 times).

Barcelona's 7-2 victory over Newcastle United was the highest-scoring match of this season's quarter-finals. Barcelona's大开杀戒 also set three individual scoring records: Lewandowski's Champions League brace at the oldest age (37 years 209 days), Yamal surpassing Mbappé as the youngest player to reach double-digit Champions League goals (18 years 248 days), and Fermín equalling Barcelona's club record for most Champions League goals by a Spanish player in a single season—thanks to their outstanding performance against Newcastle United, Barcelona's夺冠赔率 (5.5) rose to third place,仅次于 Bayern Munich (4.33) and Arsenal (3.25).

After the Champions League quarter-finals were confirmed, the quarter-finals draw is clear. Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain meet in the knockout stages for two consecutive seasons; last season Paris Saint-Germain won in the quarter-finals via penalty shootout. Also in the upper half, Real Madrid faces Bayern Munich, meeting again in the knockout stages after one season, with Bayern Munich eliminated by Real Madrid in the 2023/24 season semi-finals. In the lower half, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid stage a Spanish derby; in April, the two teams will play three consecutive matches in the Champions League and La Liga, totaling six encounters this season. Arsenal, advantaged by their half draw, faces the weakest quarter-finalist Sporting CP, with Jokai莱什 facing his former club.