London, February 23 (BNA): An Associated Press look at what’s happening in European football on Wednesday:
Champions League
The last two first leg matches in the Round of 16 will see Atletico Madrid host Manchester United while Ajax travel to Benfica. Three of the teams are former European champions – with the exception of Atlético, whose title ambitions have been repeatedly thwarted by Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Real Madrid and also at Juventus.
Now at United, Ronaldo still scores freely in the competition. He scored in all the five group stage matches he played.
The Champions League is the last hope for both teams for big titles this season, with Atletico’s defense of their title in Spain in tatters, and United simply battling to finish fourth in the Premier League.
Atletico have not lost any of their 14 home matches in the Champions League knockout stage since 1997. It was Sebastian Haller who contributed to Ajax’s six-of-six winning streak in the group stage, scoring in every match – only Ronaldo did So before – he is the top scorer in the competition with 10.
Benfica are playing in the knockout stages for the first time since 2017, while Ajax are playing at this stage for only the second time since 2006. The other time was in 2019 when the Dutch side reached the semi-finals.
England
Liverpool can reduce Manchester City’s lead in the Premier League to three points with a home victory over injured Leeds. It would be City’s smallest advance since the end of December and set up what could be an exciting title race with 12 games remaining for each, including the two teams meeting at the city’s Etihad Stadium in April.
With Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino injured, Liverpool are likely to stick with the new trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz. They will face an already tense Leeds defense that will also miss Robin Koch, who is completing return-to-play protocols after suffering a concussion in the 4-2 loss to Manchester United on Sunday.
Leeds have conceded 10 goals in their last three matches and are only five points clear of the relegation zone. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp may give some players discounted minutes before the League Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday.