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What an exceptional finish to the Round of 16 stages! This is only the beginning guys and we have already seen all the thrills and spills that could be offered by a two-legged tie.
Juventus overturned their deficit at home thanks to the great Cristiano Ronaldo. Ajax and Manchester United overturned their deficit away from home with two away goals against them. Liverpool shattered the Bavarian fortress and of course, Lionel Messi played like Lionel Messi.
We started with 32 but we are now left with only 8 teams, four from England, and one each from Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands. So what next? A battle of philosophies between Ajax and Barcelona? A battle of the greatest individuals as the Old Lady goes up against the Blaugrana? A derby in Manchester? A battle between the former coach and the new-look team in Manchester City vs Barcelona? Everything is pretty much open.
We have already seen some mesmeric performances in the Round of 16, particularly in the second leg of each tie. We are about the countdown the best performers of the Round of 16 stages.
#5 Sadio Mane
The Senegalese maestro was exceptional against the Bavarians in their own fortress. Jurgen Klopp's gameplan was pretty clear to everyone. It wasn't fast and furious gegenpressing and rapid attacking that were on Liverpool's mind.
Instead, they let Bayern have the ball, held their lines well, and hit strongly when they had possession on the counter. As they say, when creating many chances is not your idea, then you got to take the chances that come without fault.
While Mo Salah is having a pretty bad run of form recently, Sadio Mane has caught fire. Think about it. A lobbed ball from Virgil Van Dijk and all we know is that he didn't mean to assist anybody. What does Mane do?
He takes a brilliant first touch, sees Manuel Neuer closing down the shot, turns away from him and Rafinha, and lobs the entire defence from the edge of the box. There is Van Dijk's big moment. Watch him score, watch him defend, and now watch him assist too.
But still, when Liverpool were leading 2-1 and Salah's brilliant delivery came into the box, there was Sadio Mane diving onto it and firing Liverpool through to the quarterfinals. Brilliant Mane, clinical Liverpool.
#4 Romelu Lukaku
PSG leading 2-0 from the first leg. Two away goals to their name. A home game coming up against an injury-hit Manchester United. No Alexis Sanchez, Jese Lingard, Anthony Martial, or Paul Pogba to halt the Ligue 1 leaders.
The substitutes? Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes, Mason Greenwood, James Garner. Wait, what? Is this the reserve team? Certainly seemed like it when Manchester United faced PSG. What else can you make of it when you see Scott McTominay starts on the right wing?
The task at hand seemed an easy one for the Ligue 1 leaders but somebody else was more aware of the situation than they were themselves. Manchester United had no imposing attacks on PSG, they had no pressure on PSG, nothing. But they had a striker, who they have been calling to get rid of, but who kept his cool and focus on the night. Romelu Lukaku a.k.a Flopkaku as some people like to call him.
Let's face it guys. If that man wasn't on the pitch against PSG, then the Red Devils wouldn't have won. Nobody else was looking for weak spots, nobody else was looking to find a way to score, no one was willing to take it to PSG, he was.
A misplaced pass from Kehrer was all it took for Lukaku to pounce. He beat Thiago Silva and rounded Gigi Buffon before making amends for a horrific touch by sliding and finishing from a tight angle.
Then after PSG equalized, he pounced again, this time from Buffon's spill of Rashford's shot on target. The goals he scored were poached by him alone and he also won 5 aerials and completed 4 dribbles.
He was the only one trying to drag the Red Devils back and thanks to them, VAR was generous enough to give a penalty and send them through to the quarterfinals. Although, without Lukaku the VAR decision would have meant nothing.
#3 Dusan Tadic
13 time European Champions, the reigning and defending champions carrying a 2-1 lead into the second leg with two away goals. Ajax couldn't possibly win this by just playing by their philosophy or beautiful football. After all, fearlessness doesn't win you games, execution does. Ajax did just that with a core group of young players.
Leading the attack of the young players was a Serb national and Southampton reject, Dusan Tadic. How well did Tadic play against Real Madrid? Absolutely no fear going up against Varane and on top of it, a pain in the head for him.
Tadic started his goal involvement as early as 7 minutes on the clock. A clear run into the open space into the box and then a neat pass for Ziyech to finish things off. Then he came again, 10 minutes later, this time passed from outside the box to Neres who rounded Courtois and finished.
When his moment came, he swung a foot at the ball from outside the box as the ball flung past the helpless Thibaut Courtois. Everything, done and dusted within 90 minutes for the reigning champs.
90 minutes of frustration and helplessness for the Madrid defence with the Serb being a constant threat on the attack. A Serb who got two assists, a goal, and 5 key passes, at Madrid's very home.
#2 Lionel Messi
Every time, there would only be one player worthy of sitting on top of the list after a matchday. More often than not, it would be Lionel Messi.
Lyon managed to shut Messi down at their home like they did 10 years back in the same stage of the competition. But Barcelona did score 5 goals on that night against Lyon in 2009, and the same happened again at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi's first goal contribution was his perfect execution of the Panenka kick. A penalty executed with authority, giving no chances to Anthony Lopes. Then he came again with his dribble and found Suarez.
In behind the defence, Suarez found Coutinho square and helped him score a goal in a long while. There was a mini heart-attack when Lyon equalized but then Messi turned the heat up again.
He dribbled straight into the Lyon defence while Denayer and Marcelo were in retreat. Messi got the ball into his left foot and feinted a shot, a trap which both Marcelo and Denayer fell for. The Argentine then easily shifted the ball to his right foot and slammed it past Gogelin.
We still thought that Messi was done for the day but no, he still had to show us the third eye that he possesses. Dribbling into the box from the side, Mendy with him and the whole defence stuck to him like a magnet, Messi cut a ball into the box with his right foot and Gerard Pique got himself what he likes, a goal.
To cap it off, Messi found Dembele near the box and the Frenchman made no mistake in finishing the piece of play. To think that Lionel Messi still wasn't a 100% or didn't try to perform at a high level is delusional.
Messi was not his usual self against Lyon and he passed, pressed, shot, ran, dribbled, all with the same intensity rather than walking on the pitch. But what if he still improves, he might have new tricks up his sleeve, ones that nobody have seen.
Well done Lionel Messi, and well deserved.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
The master of big games, a Champions League hero, the all-time top-scorer in the Champions League and yet an underwhelming season but only until...
Atletico Madrid travelled to Turin with two goals in their hand and the game could be as good as sealed if they score even one, or for that matter, they head to half-time with the scores level.
Atleti had managed to shut Cristiano down at their home but it wasn't to be in the second leg. As he has done so many times against Atletico Madrid, he stepped up to the task and willed his team on.
Fresh from the rest that he got against Udinese, the Portuguese ace was in great shape mentally and physically as his slightest of facial expression told us. It was only 28 minutes when he scored the first goal of the night with a peach of a header.
He doubled the lead for his team just after half-time and again with a header. Oblak thought he saved it but the power was too much on the ball and it sailed past the goal line. Then, when the clutch moment came, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and slammed the ball past Jan Oblak.
As easy as 1, 2, 3 for Cristiano Ronaldo and he went level with Lionel Messi for Champions League all-time hat-tricks tally. He also completed 6 dribbles and won four aerials.
