After Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and Manchester City seized center stage last week, the Champions League spotlight will now turn to shine on others this Tuesday.
The four remaining first-leg games in the round of 16 this week feature the beaten finalist last season, the champions of Italy and Spain, plus the team with the best record in any of the top European leagues this season.
Inter Milan host Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as the clear leader in Serie A and looking a more solid contender now than on its run to the 2023 final against Man City.
Napoli host Barcelona on Wednesday in a pairing of teams unlikely to retain their domestic league titles and seem to have just one chance left to win a trophy this season.
PSV Eindhoven are hot favorites to win the Dutch league having dropped the fewest points, just four, and amassed the biggest goal difference (60) in any of the major European leagues.
PSV host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in a clash of clubs that each lifted the European Cup trophy once.
Arsenal go to Porto on Wednesday after back-to-back away wins by a combined score of 11-0 in the Premier League.
Arsenal are the only English team in European action this week though its title rivals at home, Liverpool and Man City, each have a Premier League game in midweek.
Inter Milan were an unexpected finalist last season avoiding any English or Spanish opponent in the knockout rounds until the final. An unlucky 1-0 loss to Manchester City in Istanbul showed doubters the three-time European champions were worth its place.
Inter go to Madrid after six straight wins in Serie A helped them build a nine-point lead ahead of Sunday's games.
Inter and Atletico will put up their traditionally solid defenses against productive attacks this season: Inter's Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram have combined for 35 goals in all competitions while the Alvaro Morata- Antoine Griezmann duo has 37 for Atletico.
There is much at stake for Barcelona and Napoli in their two meetings over the next three weeks, starting at the Italian club's stadium named for Diego Maradona.
Each trail by a distance in defense of their domestic league title, both are out of the domestic cup and whichever is eliminated in the Champions League cannot qualify for the lucrative 32-team Club World Cup that FIFA relaunches next year in the United States.
Barcelona coach Xavi will leave at the end of the season and his successor likely will inherit a Champions League entry.
Napoli is currently ninth in Serie A and the only route back to the Champions League for coach Walter Mazzarri, who replaced the fired Rudi Garcia during the group stage, could be to win this one.
Second-leg games are played three weeks after the first leg.
On March 5, Bayern Munich will host Lazio trailing 1-0, and Paris Saint-Germain takes a 2-0 lead to Real Sociedad.
Mbappe scored the first goal Wednesday in Paris one day before it was confirmed he told the club he will leave as a free agent when his contract expires in June.
On March 6, Real Madrid – Mbappé's expected next employer – host Leipzig with a 1-0 lead and defending champions Manchester City have a 3-1 lead against visiting Copenhagen.
The other second-leg games are played March 12-13. The draw for the quarterfinals and semifinals is made March 15 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
