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The Champions League returns this week with the round of 16, and there are some huge matches on show in Europe’s biggest competition – Chelsea vs Barcelona, Paris St. Germain vs Real Madrid and Juventus vs Tottenham amongst them.
With Europe’s best players vying to become Champions League legends, now is the time for them to shine and reputations could soar if certain stars live up to their expectations in this round. Here are five players who could see their stock rise to new heights with good performances in the round of 16.
#1 Keylor Navas
Real Madrid’s Costa Rican goalkeeper, Keylor Navas has come under fire recently – like most of Los Blancos’ squad – as Zinedine Zidane’s side have hit a bit of a sticky patch, drawing with Levante and losing to Villareal since 2018 began. Navas himself has had to deal with constant rumours about Real looking for a replacement for him, with David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois both linked with moves to the Bernabeu.
Navas though has promised to hold fast at Real – reportedly refusing to accept a move that would involve a pay cut – and with no other club seems willing to match his Real salary, it looks like he’ll be sticking around for a while - which is why the round of 16 and Real’s tie against Paris St. Germain is so important for him.
PSG were terrifying in the group stages – scoring a wild 25 goals in the 6 games. They have one of the most formidable front trios in world football in the form of Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani. If Navas can perform well and keep that trio from scoring – allowing Real to get through a difficult tie – then his stock would soar and perhaps Los Blancos would forget about looking for a replacement.
#2 Eden Hazard
Chelsea have been struggling in general as of late and Antonio Conte’s men seem to have a mountain to climb if they want to overcome current La Liga leaders Barcelona in the round of 16. But they do have an ace up their sleeve in the form of their mercurial Belgian star Eden Hazard. Hazard hasn’t been in form recently but that could be due to the way in which he’s been deployed.
With Alvaro Morata absent due to injury since mid-January, Conte has used Hazard as a false #9, which seems to have limited his abilities and also blunted Chelsea’s attack somewhat. The drop in form has meant Hazard’s stock has dropped somewhat too – worrying for a man who was linked with Real Madrid as recently as a couple of months ago.
With Olivier Giroud now part of Chelsea’s squad, however, it’s expected that Hazard will return to his more familiar role as a left-sided attacking midfielder. If he can return to his best form and shoot down Barcelona in the upcoming tie, then not only will his reputation rise to the point where he’s seen as one of the world’s best again but also if he wishes to leave Chelsea, then those links to Real are almost guaranteed to restart.
#3 Harry Kane
It almost feels like Harry Kane’s stock couldn’t be much higher right now – he’s already scored 32 goals in 33 games across all competitions for Tottenham this season, including 6 in the Champions League group stages. He most recently shot down Spurs’ biggest rivals Arsenal in the North London derby. But in Europe at least, he has yet to face a defence quite as mean as the one he’ll be up against in the form of Italian champions Juventus.
Juventus only conceded 5 goals in the group stages – only four sides conceded less and when you consider that they had to contend with one of the most dangerous attacking outfits in Barcelona in their group, that statistic seems even more impressive. And the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro and Andrea Barzagli are regarded amongst the best defenders in the world.
If Kane can score goals past a defence as tough as that – particularly if his goals allow Tottenham to make the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the Gareth Bale-driven 2010/11 season – then nobody could possibly deny his place as one of – if not the – world’s best strikers. His stock would simply go through the roof.
#4 Kylian Mbappe
Even by the lofty standards of the Champions League, the tie between Real Madrid and Paris St. Germain feels huge. Real have been the standard-bearers in the Champions League over the past few seasons – winning the tournament in three of the last four seasons – while PSG have been aiming for the trophy since their Qatari takeover, but have fallen slightly short in every attempt.
Right now, though it feels like Real are more vulnerable than ever, PSG were the hottest side in the group stages, winning 5 out of 6 games and scoring 25 goals. As the hype for the tie has been building, though, it almost feels like a one-on-one match between Real’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, and PSG’s crown jewel – Brazilian mega-star Neymar Jr.
That idea forgets one man though – PSG’s French uber-prospect Kylian Mbappe. Last season he shot to fame in the Champions League with Monaco, but right now he’s behind Neymar and Edinson Cavani in the European goal stakes. The tie with Madrid is his big chance to step out of Neymar’s shadow and if he can shred Real’s defence – which he’s more than capable of – it’ll be his name everyone is talking about after the tie, not Ronaldo or Neymar.
#5 Wissam Ben Yedder
One of the ties flying under the radar somewhat in the round of 16 is the clash between Manchester United and Sevilla. It’s likely because there are higher profile matches, and also because Sevilla feel like major underdogs – they came through their group looking clearly second-best to Liverpool, and right now they’re 6th in La Liga – outside of the Champions League qualifying spots.
It’d be easy to see this as a potential whitewash for United, but even ignoring their current poor run of form – two losses in their last two matches – you simply can’t write Sevilla off due to the existence of players like French striker Wissam Ben Yedder. He’s scored 16 goals this season, including a phenomenal 8 goals in 8 games in the Champions League.
His goalscoring exploits earned him links with Borussia Dortmund in January, but he remains at Sevilla – for now. If he can shoot down Mourinho’s United side and send Sevilla through in an upset, then his stock would soar massively – not only could he make a move to one of the true European giants, but he might even find himself in line for a call-up to the France international squad – just in time for the World Cup.
