The Champions League Round of 16 draw results are in, and although we have to wait until mid-February to get started, some things are too tasty to be left on the back-burner for that long. Here’s a look at all eight matchups, and an incredibly scientific ranking of which ties get us all hot and bothered.
Spectacular. The round of 16 draw
Real Madrid has had its ups and downs — mostly downs — this season since the departure of what’s-his-name. Fortunately for Los Blancos, their biggest competition in the Champions League group stage is having an equally tough go of it this season, which was perfectly embodied by a pitiful AS Roma miss from close range on Tuesday in Rome.
The magic was never going to last in Rome. Despite securing top three finishes in Serie A in each of the last five seasons and reaching the dizzying heights of last year’s Champions League semifinals, this is still a selling club, as evidenced by the big-money departures of Miralem Pjanić, Mohamed Salah, Antonio Rüdiger, Alisson, Kevin Strootman and Radja Nainggolan over the last three summers.
Even before fifth-place AC Milan and first-place Juventus kicked off at the San Siro on Sunday night, we were treated to an already excellent weekend in Serie A action.
On Saturday, Napoli kept the pressure on Juve after defeating Genoa 2-1 at the Marassi. The match was pretty much played underwater, giving extra significance to the three points for the Neapolitan side. Here’s a little sampling of the play out there:
Rome was witness to a horrifying escalator malfunction ahead of the Champions League match between Roma and CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.
While carrying fans headed to the match, an escalator at a metro station in Rome appears to have collapsed, sending riders careening to the bottom and a high velocity. Reports of serious injuries have already surfaced and the images are both terrifying and gruesome (so be warned).
Here’s video of the escalator malfunction. You can see one escalator working normally while others fly by, creating a massive pile-up at the bottom.
The goal itself was simple, straightforward and, if we’re being honest, fairly easy. The tribute after the goal was heartwarming.
Justin Kluivert moved from Ajax to AS Roma over the summer, but Ajax did not leave the 19-year-old’s mind. In particular, Kluivert’s former teammate Abdelhak Nouri.
Serie A made its TV debut on ESPN this weekend with AS Roma traveling to Turin to take on Torino FC. The match was broadcast ESPNews with Mark Donaldson and Matteo Bonetti (who used to call Serie A action for beIN SPORTS) commentating.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Real Madrid to Juventus, interest in Italy’s Serie A has increased tenfold around the planet. But even before Ronaldo made the move, the division was experiencing something of a renaissance with clubs like Napoli garnering immense praise for its playing style while traditional powers Inter and Milan began targeting glory again. With ESPN now committed to broadcasting the league stateside, an Italian revolution is upon us.
The Premier League opener between Manchester United and Leicester City failed to live up to the high-flying opener of last season. But the Friday night lights didn’t fail to elicit fantastic banter — from clubs outside of England.
The AS Roma Malcom transfer failed miserably as Barcelona FC hijacked the Brazilian for $48 million. Adding insult to injury, Swedish furniture company IKEA trolled Roma with a subtle kick to the Italian club’s fallen body.
Roma announced Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen’s signing via an IKEA-inspired tweet:
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