5. Inter Milan
Strong attacks can win you matches, but strong defenses win you tournaments. Conceding only their second goal in the UCL this season, Inter did well negotiating the Feyenoord challenge. After a robust 2-0 win in the first leg, the Nerazzurri completed a 2-1 win at home. They looked mostly in control even without Federico Dimarco out wide.
But, they’ll have tougher challenges ahead in the form of Bayern. However, with both Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram hitting form at the right time, this may be a much-improved team to the one that lost to Manchester City in the final of the Champions League in 2023.
Out of all the fixtures, Inter against Bayern stands out as the most evenly matched, at least based on recent form, if not on paper. It will be interesting to see how it pans out with both teams yet to prove to be title contenders.
4. Bayern Munich
It is still hard to say that we’ve reason enough to believe in Bayern’s credentials to win the Champions League this season, even after a dominant 5-0 win on aggregate against their league rivals Bayer Leverkusen. Vincent Kompany’s men will have questions to answer when they meet Inter for the quarterfinals.
Having lost to the likes of Feyenoord, Barcelona, and Aston Villa in the campaign already, Bayern haven’t given a flawless account of themselves. However, they’re flying in the Bundesliga and so is Harry Kane with 32 goals and 2 assists in all competitions for Bayern.
If they are clinching these power rankings against Inter, it is only because of their recent history in the Champions League, Harry Kane’s form, and a better performance in the Round of 16 stages. As said earlier, this tie would be closely-fought and we’ll hope to get answers to whether Kompany’s men are contenders this season or they’re bowing out.