As the stakes mounted in the Champions League, the usual suspects once more rose to the occasion with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski starring in the last 16, first legs. NaijaBet
Season after season, these pre-eminent performers deliver on the biggest stages and administer severe punishment to striving title contenders – including Neymar’s aspiring Paris Saint-Germain.
A Ronaldo double propelled holders Real to a 3-1 advantage over PSG in Spain, while Messi grabbed a vital away goal for Barcelona in a 1-1 draw at Premier League champions Chelsea. NaijaBet.com
But it came as no surprise to Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, who warned PSG repeatedly of the danger posed by Ronaldo in the weeks leading up to the encounter. NaijaBet.com
“Cristiano has shown once again in the big matches that you must still count on him,” Zidane said. NaijaBet.com
As for Messi, he further enhanced his untouchable legacy with a first goal in nine games against Chelsea. At 30, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is also closing in on the 100-goal mark, presently two shy at 98 in Europe’s premier club competition.
“They don’t miss. It’s a magical duo. It’s lasted more than a decade and (Tuesday) they conjured up a goal which could lead to their qualification,” Santi Nolla gushed in Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo.
ADVANTAGE TRADITIONAL GIANTS
Ahead of the return legs, which teams hold an advantage looking towards the quarterfinals? NaijaBet.com
By and large, it’s those with a history of success at this level: record 12-time champions Real Madrid, and a trio of five-time winners in Barca, Bayern and Liverpool.
Manchester United, who have won the Champions League three times but found themselves in the Europa League last year, emulated Tottenham with an away draw at Sevilla.
Nothing is settled in the tie featuring Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma (2-1).
Yet, PSG had two-time defending champions Real on the ropes. And Chelsea made Barca suffer for long periods, twice hitting the post through goal-scorer Willian, before gifting the Catalans an equaliser with a dreadful defensive lapse. NaijaBet.com
“To play football well is to dominate the situation, among other things. To put it more clearly: don’t commit stupidity,” wrote Alfredo Relano in Madrid sports daily As.
“There is something at the old and big European clubs that places them above the rest: they don’t give gifts, and if they are handed them, they take advantage of them,” he added. “It’s perhaps a pure coincidence, or perhaps the sangfroid of an expert.” NaijaBet.com
That notion was backed up this week by Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, twice a Champions League winner, when he said: “I believe a good mix of experience and knowledge of football is key.”
Barcelona and Real Madrid found ways to neutralise their opponents’ biggest stars.
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, a standout during the group phase, was largely restricted by Barca as he was deployed in an unusual centre-forward role at the start of the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
The expectations will be much higher for the return fixture, with the spotlight set to be firmly fixated on Neymar after the Brazilian was more spectacular than influential – the opposite of Ronaldo and Messi, who provided telling contributions. NaijaBet.com
