Each year, thirty-six of the greatest soccer teams within Europe compete in the acclaimed Champions League. The UEFA, which stands for Union of European Football Associations, is a well renowned organization that oversees competition for European professional soccer. This competition is very anticipated by fans as the act of winning the Champions League is a title of high prestige in men’s professional soccer.
This year was no exception as the level of caliber was higher than ever. In order to compete in the Champions League, teams have to participate in a series of matches to qualify for the tournament. This preliminary competition is known as the qualifying phase of the event. The teams who score the highest amount of points are eligible to perform in the Champions League. After qualifying for the Champions League, the top performing teams spent the next months vigorously training in preparation for the huge title.
For the 2024 to 2025 season, the competition officially started in Sept. 17, 2025. Since then, the competition has transitioned from the league phase, which consists of a total of 36 teams into the knockout phase with a total of 24 teams. The competition got even harder narrowing down a total of 16 teams to participate in the Round of 16. This round consisted of plenty of fan favorite teams such as PSG, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
Round of 16 is a cutthroat stage in which half of the competing teams are eliminated and only 8 are able to proceed to the next round. Entered in the Round of 16 were teams including Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid from the Spanish league La Liga. Joined by Bayern, Leverkusen, and Dortmund from the German league Bundesliga. In addition to Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Liverpool from the British Premier league.
To many fans such as myself, the Liverpool vs PSG match stood out for notable reasons. PSG is a notable soccer team who is currently ranked first in their respective league, Ligue 1. Similarly, Liverpool is currently placed first in their own league, the Premier League. In addition, both teams were fan favorites and top contenders for the grand title coming into this season. The teams were neck and neck during the match, resulting in a penalty shootout to decide a winner. Ultimately, PSG prevailed, scoring 4 penalties whereas Liverpool scored 1 penalty.
In addition, other fan favorites including Barcelona, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Bayern have moved onto the quarterfinals. Matches such as Arsenal vs Real Madrid and Barcelona vs Dortmund have made their mark as anticipated games. The quarterfinals of the Champions League are set to take place from April 8 to April 16 of 2025.
