MILAN (AP) — Defending champion Real Madrid, Liverpool and Barcelona all have one-goal leads to protect going into the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 this week.
Real Madrid also has city bragging rights at stake as it visits Atletico Madrid on Wednesday with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
Liverpool hosts Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday knowing it was fortunate to snatch a 1-0 win in France.
Barcelona also only has a 1-0 advantage over Benfica, while some other teams are feeling a lot more comfortable — Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 and Arsenal crushed PSV Eindhoven 7-1.
Smash and grab
Liverpool's players don’t really care how they’re winning — as long as they continue.
Arne Slot’s team withstood a barrage of attacks at Parc des Princes before a late goal from Harvey Elliott, who had only just come off the bench, stunned PSG.
That was only Liverpool’s second attempt on target compared to a whopping 27 shots at goal for PSG.
The runaway Premier League leader had another poor performance on Saturday but still managed to come away with a victory over Southampton.
“It’s just about winning, not how we win. Sometimes you have to win dirty and today was one of them days,” Elliott said after that match. “We know that’s what winners do really: When times are hard, what do you do? How can you come up with something to win the game? Luckily this squad is full of them players.”
This week will be decisive for Liverpool’s treble bid as it plays Newcastle in the English League Cup final on Sunday.
“We just need to make sure that energy-wise we’re still there," Elliott said. "We’re still fighting, we’re still hungry to achieve things this season, although it’s a very tough period.”
The loss to Liverpool was PSG’s first defeat since November and halted a run of 10 straight wins for the French team.
"Regardless of the result, which could have been different, our way of preparing for the match hasn’t changed,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said on Monday.
“What is true is that as things stand we are eliminated. So we only have one option, which is to go out to win, although that is what we would have done anyway.”
If Liverpool prevails it could face an all-English quarterfinal as it would play Aston Villa or Club Brugge. Their second leg takes place on Wednesday in Birmingham, with Villa holding a 3-1 advantage over Club Brugge.
Madrid derby
This was supposed to be the year Atletico finally got the best of Real Madrid in the Champions League after losing two finals to its city rival and being eliminated the other two times they faced off in the knockout rounds.
Going into the first leg, Atletico was ahead of Madrid in the Spanish league and was also undefeated in the past four Madrid derbies.
But it is now on the verge of going out yet again to its neighbor.
Atletico has also slipped behind in La Liga after two late goals saw it lose 2-1 at Getafe at the weekend, while Madrid managed to grind out a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was also able to rotate his squad and was further boosted by the return of Jude Bellingham. The England midfielder had missed three of his team’s last four games through suspension — including the first leg against Atletico.
Barring a major shock in London, the winner will face Arsenal in the final eight.
Treble chances
It’s not just Liverpool which has its eye on lifting a trio of trophies this season.
Atletico, Real and Barcelona are also in the semifinals of the Spanish Cup and fighting it out at the top of the league table.
Leverkusen is also still involved in two trophies domestically. Although it would need something of a miracle to make up the eight-point deficit it has to Bayern in the Bundesliga as well as overturn a three-goal disadvantage in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Inter Milan, which won the treble in 2010 under Jose Mourinho, is in better shape. It leads Serie A, will face AC Milan in the Italian Cup semifinals and has a 2-0 advantage over Feyenoord going into Tuesday’s second leg.
The winner of that match will face either Bayern or Leverkusen in the quarterfinals.
Barcelona’s matchup against Benfica also takes place on Tuesday, with the winner set to play Lille or Borussia Dortmund.
Wednesday's game in France is the only one that is level after Lille and Dortmund drew 1-1 in the first leg.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Daniella Matar, The Associated Press
