The break between the Champions League group stage and knockout rounds always feels a bit strange. The competition drives and dictates the European soccer season to the point where we follow the top-four races in the top leagues as closely as we do the title races -- or more so, due to the competitiveness of such races -- but we typically take an approximately two-month break from the competition in the winter months. This year, said break was 3½ months.
A lot's gone on in the soccer world since Nov. 2, when RB Leipzig and AC Milan stomped Shakhtar Donetsk and Salzburg, respectively, to claim the final spots in the round of 16.