After a two-month hiatus the Uefa Champions League is making a comeback. With the group phase complete, there are some sumptuous Round-of-16 fixtures that await football lovers.

They include reigning European club champions Manchester City taking on Danish heavyweights Copenhagen. Record Champions League winners Real Madrid (with a haul of 14) are in action against Germany’s RB Leipzig, while Kylian Mbappe’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) face a potential banana peel in the form of Spanish side Real Sociedad.

Half of the last-16 fixtures will be played this week, with the others scheduled for 20 and 21 February. That second batch also has some mouthwatering matches, with the pick of the lot being Barcelona’s tussle with Italian outfit Napoli.

Arsenal are up against a tricky Porto outfit in their bid to reach the quarterfinals of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since the 2009/10 season.

The Gunners are back in the Champions League mix for the first time since 2017, where they were eliminated at this stage of competition by a ruthless Bayern Munich. The Bavarians hammered the misfiring Gunners 10-2 on aggregate during that campaign.

Of course, much has changed since then, including Bayern recruiting one of English football’s greatest goal scorers, Harry Kane.

Harry Kane of FC Bayern Munich (left) and Rocco Reitz of Borussia Mönchengladbach compete for the ball during a Bundesliga match at the Allianz Arena in Munich on 3 February 2024. (Photo: Marcel Engelbrecht – firo sportphoto / Getty Images)

From left: Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and teammates Eric Dier, Sacha Boey, Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Leon Goretzka during their Bundesliga match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the DE Bay Arena in Leverkusen, Germany, on 10 February 2024. (Photo: ANP via Getty Images)

Bayern’s Bavarians

The Englishman has adjusted to German football seamlessly, and added great value to a Bayern side that is already one of the most feared in Europe. Every season, the Bavarians start as one of the favourites to be crowned Europe’s best club.

An imperious group-stage record makes this perennial prediction even stronger. Bayern had won a Champions League record of 17 group games before they were held to a nil-all draw by Copenhagen in their penultimate group-stage game of this season.

Nevertheless, another competition record by Bayern is guaranteed to remain intact for at least another campaign. The Bavarians are unbeaten in 40 Champions League group-stage matches. Since losing to PSG in 2017, the Germans have won 36 matches and played to four draws.

However, this impressive record has not prevented them from being eliminated during the quarterfinals of the previous three editions of the club competition. The last time they went beyond that stage was in 2019/20. That season they won their sixth Champions League title.

In this season’s round of 16 they face Italy’s Lazio. On paper the Bavarians have enough firepower to blast the Biancocelesti aside and reach the last eight. And further.

With the final being at London’s historic Wembley Stadium, reaching it and winning there would be a dream for Kane.

“[Part of the reason for] joining this club was to try to win the Champions League and to have a good chance of winning it,” Kane was quoted as saying by the Telegraph upon joining Bayern.

“There is a long way to go but that prospect of trying to win it at Wembley would be amazing for me personally. I am not going to lie.”

Harry Kane (right) of Bayern Munich and teammates applaud fans after a Uefa Champions League group match between against Manchester United in Manchester on 12 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Adam Vaughan)

Bruno Fernandes (right) of Manchester United in action against Leon Goretzka of Bayern Munich during a Champions League group match in Manchester on 12 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Adam Vaughan)

Kane has since earned the respect of his teammates. The England striker has scored 24 league goals in 21 matches. He also has four goals from six Champions League matches to date.

“So far it has been ‘amazing’, as the English would say,” Kane’s teammate Thomas Müller told Uefa.com of the 30-year-old’s impact on the German club to date.

“Not just in terms of statistics or goals, but also how he handles himself as a person. As well as a player. The way he does it all. He isn’t selfish and thinking ‘goal, goal, goal’. He just plays his football,” Müller added.

“It’s team play. He gives his all to ensure in the end that the team wins, and is a very funny guy off the pitch. So, it’s awesome.”

Luke Shaw and Sofyan Amrabat (middle) of Manchester United in action against Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich during their Champions League group match in Manchester on 12 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Adam Vaughan)

Bruno Fernandes (right) of Manchester United in action against Harry Kane of Bayern Munich during a Champions League group match in Manchester on 12 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Adam Vaughan)

For Kane it would be even more awesome to walk away with his first piece of silverware as a senior footballer.

Though Bayern have won every German league title since 2013, this season they are up against an extremely determined Bayer Leverkusen side. The Xabi Alonso-coached outfit is yet to taste defeat this season. They lead Bayern by five points, with 21 of 34 league games played to date.

There is a genuine chance that the Bavarians may miss out on the league title this season, though there is much football still to play before then. The Bavarians are also out of the domestic cup.

In the Champions, their destiny is in their own hands. If they can replicate their group-stage form, they will be unstoppable. And Kane can finally claim some silverware. If they fail to pick up any silverware this season, it would be the first time since the 2011/12 season. DM    

Champions League Round-of-16 fixtures (first eight)

RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid (13 February, 10pm)

Copenhagen vs Manchester City (13 February, 10pm)

Lazio vs Bayern Munich (14 February, 10pm)

Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad (14 February, 10pm)