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Typical, isn’t it? Sevilla go to all that effort to squeeze past Manchester United, humiliating Jose Mourinho and delighting most of the rest of Europe in the process, and what do they get? A draw against five-time champions Bayern Munich, one of the strongest teams left in the competition. Random chance is such an ingrate.
How Sevilla got here
As much as United were terrible — and they really, really were — it’s important to note Sevilla were pretty decent over both legs. They created chances all through the first leg, Ever Banega was the best midfielder on show in the second, and Wissam Ben Yedder’s two goals at moved him past Harry Kane and Edinson Cavani in the race for the golden boot. All told, they demonstrated they have the capacity to capitalise on anybody else’s off-day.
How Bayern Munich got here
On the other hand, if there’s a big team that don’t really do off-days, it’s Bayern Munich. The German champions-elect put eight past Besiktas over two legs, and it could easily have been more. That, along with the 20-point gap in the Bundesliga, suggests that Bayern are pretty decent at winning the games they’re supposed to win.
Key player: Robert Lewandowski
Given the quality all through the squad, it would be inaccurate to describe Bayern as a one-man team. But they do have one man who scores almost all their goals, and that’s Robert Lewandowski. At the time of the draw he had 32 for the season, including five in the Champions League, and that puts him 22 ahead of his nearest challenger, Thomas Muller. He is, essentially, the perfect striker, and he’s in decent form.
Prediction
On the basis that Bayern Munich are a significantly more dangerous, capable, and sensible side than Manchester United, we’re going for the Germans. By quite some distance. Sorry, Sevilla. You’ll always have Old Trafford.