uMthunywa
ABALANDELI benguqu yase-Europe kuleli sebezakuthi ukuphatha emlonyeni udaba lokukhitshwa koluhlu lwe-Last 16 ye-Uefa Champions League, nanko phela umdlalo wakuleli usubanga emaphethelweni.
Uluhlu lwamaqembu alitshumi lasithupha la, akumbango wenkezo enkulu lukhitshwe kuliviki kodwa imidlalo izaqhutshwa ngomnyaka ozayo. Umqhudelwano we-Uefa ubalwa njengomkhulu kulayo yonke emhlabeni, okwenza ubelodumo laseZimbabwe.
Kuyinjwayelo ukuthi ukukhitshwa koluhlu lwe-Last 16 kube ludaba olusegudwini.
I-Liverpool izakuba lelinye ithuba lokuziphindisela kuReal Madrid nanko amaqembu la azaphinda atholane kumbango we-Uefa Champions League.
Amaqembu womabili ahlangana ku-final yomqhudelwano lo, edolobheni leKyiv ngo-2019, lapho okwanqoba khona iqembu leSpain nge 3-1.
Okukhunjulwa kakhulu ngomdlalo lo yindlela umgadli weLiverpool, uMohammed Salah, awiswa ngayo nguSergio Ramos, owayedlalela iMadrid ngaleso isikhathi, wakhitshwa ngesigaba sakuqala ngenxa yokulimala ehlombe.
Ngenxa yalokhu umdlali we-Egypt lo wafunga elokuthi ufuna ukuphindisela ngaphambili kokuthi amaqembu ahlangane ku-final, nxa kungenzeka lonyaka.
Ekhuluma leSky Sports ngemva kokuhlelwa kwamaqembu, uStephen Warnock owayeyibamba emuva kuLiverpool uthe iqembu likaJurgen Klopp lilesikhathi esaneleyo sokulungiselela.
“Kuzakuba nzima kuLiverpool, ikakhulu njengoba kumele idlale ekhaya kuqala,” nguWarnock lo.
“Njengoba kuzadlalwa ngoNhlolanja, balesikhathi sokulungisa okwenzakala eqenjini okwakhathesi. Bangahle bazame lokusayinisa abadlali abathile ngoZibandlela.”
Omunye umdlalo ozabe ukhangelwe ngabomvu ngophakathi kweParis Saint-Germain leBayern Munich. Amaqembu la ahlangana ku-final ngo-2020 kwanqoba iBayern nge 1-0.
Ku-Europa League, iManchester United izadlala leBarcelona emidlalweni yayo yeLast 16, layo ezaqhutshwa ngomnyaka ozayo.
“Kufanele silwe njengoba kufanele siye eManchester ukuyadibana leqembu elithuthuke kakhulu selokhu kwafika umqeqetshi u-Erik ten Hag,” kutsho umqeqetshi weBarcelona u-Xavi ekhasini leqembu lakhe kuTwitter.
“Sizakuba lesikhathi sokubahlaziya, baliqembu eliqinileyo emuva laphambili. Angitsho uCristiano Ronaldo yedwa kodwa labanye abadlali. IManchester United iliqembu elikhulu futhi layo izabe ihlose ukunqoba.”
Imidlalo yeLast 16 yeChampions League: Liverpool v Real Madrid, RB Leipzig v Manchester City, Club Brugge v Benfica, AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur, Eintracht Frankfurt v Napoli, Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea, Inter Milan v Porto, Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Imidlalo yeLast 16 ye-Europa League: Barcelona vs Manchester United, Juventus vs Nantes, Sporting Lisbon vs FC Midtjylland, Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes, Ajax vs Union Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco, Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven, RB Salzburg vs Roma
