Arsenal rise to the Champions League occasion and advance; Inter look to prove they're contenders vs. Atleti

Hello! The final week of the Champions League round of 16 is off to a dramatic start and with two more closely contested matchups on the schedule today, some more entertainment could be in store. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a Champions League-themed midweek check-in.

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Wednesday, March 13
🇪🇺 UCL: Atleti vs. Inter, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Dortmund vs. PSV, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🌍 Concacaf Champions Cup: Inter Miami vs. Nashville, 8 p.m. ➡️ FS2

Thursday, March 14
🇪🇺 Europa League: Slavia Praha vs. AC Milan, 1:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 Europa League: Liverpool vs. Sparta Praha, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 Europa League: Leverkusen vs. Qarabag, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

⚽ The Forward Line

✅ Barcelona advance, Arsenal survive

Barcelona and Napoli may have come into yesterday's second leg on equal footing, but La Liga's reigning champions cruised to victory and booked their spot in the quarterfinals. Barcelona won 3-1 and though plenty of high-profile players stood out, Chuck Booth says the match was actually a launching pad for the young talent that could lead the team into a new era.

• Booth: "Out of the 29 players to feature for Barcelona in La Liga or Champions League play this season, 11 of them are 21 years old or younger. … It may be a season for Barcelona that doesn't end in silverware, but this seems like the beginning of what could be a great era for the club if proper development continues. Financial issues can be eased by relying on the academy and under Xavi they're showing improvement by the day. Playing with house money in the last eight of the Champions League, Barcelona will become a team that no one wants to face as when there is no pressure, there's nothing to lose."

Things were less straightforward for Arsenal, who scored in the first half to make things 1-1 in their tie against Porto but had to go all the way to a penalty shootout to book their first spot in the Champions League quarterfinals in 14 years. The 120 minutes before the shootout were not full of meaningful goalscoring chances for either side but James Benge writes that the spot kicks offered a chance for the Gunners to truly shine.

• Benge: "For so much of the long drift from Leandro Trossard's equalizer across the tie, it had felt like Mikel Arteta had been guilty of keeping one eye on the shootout, refusing to throw too many forwards on in pursuit of victory and open up gaps for Porto to burst into on the break. Perhaps he had a point. Arsenal have long been extremely good at taking penalties. In Premier League and European football, they have taken 29 spot kicks since the start of the 2020-21 season, Arteta's first in the job. They have scored 25 of them, their expected goal value 22.9. When it comes to shootouts, the return is even more impressive. Thirteen taken, 12 converted. All that without one ace spot-kick taker. More than a great many of their counterparts, Arsenal share the 0.79 xG wealth."

The pair join Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the quarterfinals and will find out their roads to the June 1 final at Wembley through Friday's draw. There are still two more spots up for grabs, though, and speaking of…

Sponsored by Paramount+

🔗  Midfield Link Play

🔵⚫ Inter aim to make a statement

Wednesday's action is led by Inter, who carry a slender 1-0 lead into their second leg at Atletico Madrid. Last season's Champions League finalists have followed that up by going on a tear in Serie A, where they currently have a 16-point lead over second place AC Milan and have lost just once. That form has many asking how deep they can go in Europe, which Tony Meola argues means the onus is on Inter to prove their worth against an Atleti team that has been here before.

• Meola: "I think this game, in a lot of ways, is more important for the current history of Inter Milan than it is for Atleti because we think Atleti, every year, is going to be a final eight team. Inter Milan is trying to prove that they're one of the top five teams in Europe. They've built something over the last couple of years, Champions League final last year. Some people doubted it because of their run and the draw that they had and all of that stuff. We keep giving them all of these plaudits about how good they've been. I think this is vitally important for them, this next step against a team that has been here before."

Today's other match will see Borussia Dortmund host PSV after last month's 1-1 draw. While it would be the first quarterfinal appearance in three years for Dortmund should they win, PSV have the chance to book their first last eight appearance in the Champions League since the the 2006-07 season.

🔗  Top Stories

🇪🇺 UCL check-in: Here's more on Barcelona's impressive display, plus the stats on who the Champions League youngest goalscorers are.

❌ Sarri out: Maurizio Sarri resigned as Lazio's manager after a loss to Udinese, which leaves them ninth in Serie A, and last week's elimination from the Champions League.

🩹 Ederson injury: Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson could miss up to four weeks with a muscle injury that could alter the state of the Premier League's title race.

🔮 Liverpool's future: Michael Edwards is back at Liverpool in a new role as the CEO of football. Plus, a deep dive on Lens manager Franck Haise, who has been name-dropped as a potential Jurgen Klopp successor.

🇺🇸 Dunn vs. Nighswonger: The Gold Cup opened up a new USWNT positional battle, with club and country teammates Crystal Dunn and Jenna Nighswonger currently duking it out to be the starting left back.

🔵 Chelsea win: Malo Gusto stood out in Chelsea's 3-2 win over Newcastle, and could be the key to their future success.

🇮🇹 Investigation in Italy: Investigative authorities collected documents from AC Milan's offices in relation to allegations that execs Giorgio Furlani and Ivan Gazidis for obstructing the Italian FA's supervisory authority, but the club denied they are not the subject of the investigation.

🏠 Henry at the Emirates: Thierry Henry returned to Emirates Stadium for yesterday's Champions League broadcast, where he talked about his love for the club and predicted their win in penalties -- without watching them.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Concacaf Champions Cup: Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC, Wednesday, 8 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: More than 2.5 goals scored (+108) -- Last week's 2-2 draw in the first leg of this round of 16 was perfectly on trend for both teams, who have been involved in high-scoring matchups at this early stage of the season. Both teams have scored 12 goals this season and though they have the ability to keep clean sheets, their defenses have been a little shaky so far. Miami have conceded six goals this season and Nashivlle have let in five, so expect both sides to have a strong chance at scoring in this high-stakes matchup. Miami's chances at scoring will naturally be boosted if Lionel Messi is on the pitch, which is he expected to be after he was rested over the weekend.
  

📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network

☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.

📦 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+. 

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Just because the NWSL season is over doesn't mean that our coverage of the women's game is going anywhere. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT. NWSL offseason and European domestic season all winter long.

👟 Kickin' It (Tuesdays): CBS Sports Golazo Network's unfiltered interview show releases Tuesday. Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch. 

⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.

🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.

📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer comPetitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.