Top Winners and Losers After Wednesday's Champions League Round of 16 Leg 2 Results
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVMarch 8, 2023
Bayern Munich cruised. AC Milan held on for dear life. Both teams are heading for the Champions League quarterfinals.
Bayern claimed a 2-0 victory over PSG on Wednesday, winning 3-0 on aggregate, while Milan's scoreless draw with Tottenham was enough to see them through 1-0 on aggregate.
Below, we'll break down the biggest winners and losers from the day's UCL action.
Loser: PSG's European Aspirations
Once again, PSG said au revoir to their European hopes in the Round of 16. Last year, European giants Real Madrid sent them packing. This year, it was Bayern Munich, behemoths in their own right.
Winning Ligue 1 should be a formality for a club of PSG's stature and resources, so Europe is always the main prize. And yet again, facing down a major European power, the Parisiens simply folded.
PSG couldn't solve Bayern's defense. They couldn't hold off their counterattacks or fully deal with the press. They simply were outclassed across two ties. It was an abject failure for Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and the rest of PSG's stacked roster.
Winner: Bayern's Defense
PSG's disappointment will get more headlines, but Bayern were brilliant. More than one PSG goal was snuffed away because of heroic defending or goalkeeping in this one.
Conceding precisely zero goals against two of the most talented attacking players to ever live is astonishing. Take a bow, Bayern—that was a pair of brilliant performances.
Loser: The Antonio Conte Era
Did you know that Tottenham haven't won a trophy since 2008?
Spurs fans knew. The hope was that the Antonio Conte era would change that, but so far that hasn't happened. And Wednesday's draw ensured it wouldn't for yet another season, unless Spurs somehow magically eliminate an 18-point deficit against hated rivals Arsenal in the Premier League with just 12 matches remaining.
Yeah, that isn't happening.
James Olley @JamesOlleyFT 0-1 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACMilan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACMilan</a> on agg. Tottenham are out of the Champions League. Antonio Conte said he would "transmit my energy to the team" after returning to the dugout following gallbladder surgery. Either he failed to do so in disastrous fashion or he has nothing left to give.
James Horncastle @JamesHorncastleMust say I'm surprised Conte hasn't been able to bend this team to his will and impose his mentality on it. Group of players hasn't moved on since Pochettino, hasn't gotten over him. Most insipid Conte team since he briefly got a crack at Atalanta, his first top flight gig
Suffice to say, the positive early returns of the Conte era haven't sustained. He's never really committed to Spurs beyond the season. There is more doom and gloom surrounding the club than one might expect from a group sitting at fourth on the table.
Wednesday's uninspired performance won't change that one bit. The Conte Era feels like it is on life support.
Winner: AC Milan's Hope for Glory This Season
AC Milan won't win Serie A—Napoli already have that title locked up. They bowed out of the Coppa Italia early on, too. So for Milan to salvage this season, at the very least a deep run in the UCL was required.
Wednesday's performance gave them hope in that regard. It was a long time coming.
Carlo Garganese @carlogarganeseCongratulations Milan. Back in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UCL</a> quarters for the first time in 11 years 👏 <br><br>Totally deserved. Should have won by 3 tonight <br><br>Spurs has ONE big chance in 180 mins - a Kane header in the 92nd minute tonight<br><br>Theo, Tomori, Tonali, Brahim Diaz and Maignan all fantastic 🔴⚫️
It wasn't always a pretty performance. More a "hold on for dear life" type of deal at points. But they held on nonetheless. Milan fans will take it.