Top Winners and Losers After Wednesday's Final Champions League Round-of-16 Results

There are now only eight clubs still in contention for the 2022 Champions League title after Chelsea and Villarreal punched their tickets to the quarterfinal.

There was plenty of drama in the final day of round-of-16 matchups Wednesday. Chelsea defeated Lille 4-1 on aggregate after a 2-1 win in the second leg. Villarreal knocked out Juventus with a 3-0 victory after the two sides finished the first leg in a 1-1 draw.

Here are the winners and losers from the latest UCL matchday.

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Winner: Christian Pulisic

The season hasn't always been smooth for Christian Pulisic, but he has been in excellent form in recent weeks.

The American scored an important goal for Chelsea just before the half, putting the club up 3-1 on aggregate:

The finish from a tough angle was especially impressive:

Pulisic scored his first Champions League goal of the season against Lille in the first tie and now has three goals in his last four starts. He is playing with confidence, which has allowed him to create opportunities and finish with more consistency than we saw earlier this year.

Chelsea went with a conservative approach in this match, using a 3-5-2 with only Pulisic and Kai Haveretz up front. This was seemingly all the team needed, as Pulisic put the club in good position for a win.

Mason Mount, who subbed on at halftime, helped seal the deal by setting up Cesar Azpilicueta for the final score:

When the attackers are performing at this level, Chelsea will be difficult to beat.

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Loser: Juventus' Run of Play

The side that plays the best doesn't always win in this sport, and that seemed to be the case Wednesday between Juventus and Villarreal.

The Italian squad controlled the first half, handling the majority of possession while getting four shots on goal compared to zero from Villarreal. The one-sided play continued into the second half, yet the score remained 0-0.

The shot off the crossbar was one of several great chances that didn't lead to a goal for Juventus.

Despite getting few chances from open play, it was Villarreal that scored the first goal on a penalty in the 78th minute.

A foul by Daniele Rugani in the box led to a Gerard Moreno goal to give the visitors the lead on aggregate.

Villarreal then helped clinch a spot in the next round with two more goals.

It might not have been the best performance from Villarreal, but the scoresheet is all that matters, and it showed an easy win.

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Winner: Unai Emery

Villarreal is just seventh in the La Liga table after finishing seventh last year. But there is no denying Unai Emery in cup action.

The manager led the club to the Europa League title last year and won the contest three other times with Sevilla. He also reached the Europa League final with Arsenal.

Now with a chance to make a run in the Champions League, Emery is taking advantage.

Villarreal advanced to the knockout stage despite a tough group that featured Manchester United and Atalanta, while the latest victory over Juventus puts the team in the quarterfinal.

Though overmatched on paper, the strategy to sit back and wait for mistakes worked to perfection. It has helped the squad easily exceed expectations for European competitions.

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Loser: Ligue 1 and Serie A

With Paris Saint-Germain eliminated by Real Madrid and Lille losing to Chelsea, Ligue 1 won't have any teams in the quarterfinal.

PSG had a difficult draw, first in a group with Manchester City before facing Real Madrid in the knockout stage, but the club was aggressive in the transfer window to add players needed to win a title. Lionel Messi, Achraf Hakimi and others weren't enough to get the squad over the top, though.

Lille didn't quite have the same expectations, but last year's league winner couldn't advance despite finishing first in its group.

It continues the drought for France, which hasn't had a Champions League winner since Marseille in 1993.

With last year's third-place team Monaco not even qualifying for the group stage, Ligue 1 is clearly a step below the other major leagues at this time.

Serie A is also going through a tough spell without a title since Inter in 2010.

Juventus and Inter each had the talent for a deep run, but both were eliminated in the round of 16. Juventus had what seemed to be a favorable draw for the second year in a row but couldn't take care of business.

Atalanta and AC Milan didn't advance to the group stage, shutting Italy out of the quarterfinal for the second straight year.

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Loser: Chelsea's Limited Spending

Because of sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea is limited in its spending, transactions, travel expenses and more. So far, this hasn't been a problem.

Manager Thomas Tuchel lamented the challenges but said his team will work around them. 

"We will deal with it," Tuchel said. "As long as we have shirts and are 'alive' as a team, we will be competitive and fight hard for our success. We owe it to the people who support us. We are in the spotlight and it is our responsibility to do so. We will do it."

The travel expenses could be a problem later in the season with further Champions League trips, but the club appears focused on winning trophies.