Top Winners and Losers After Tuesday's Champions League Round of 16 Results
The first-leg fixtures in the Champions League Round of 16 are nearly complete with Tuesday's matches in the books.
Inter Milan holds a slim lead on Atlético Madrid thanks to a 1-0 victory at the San Siro. PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, played to a 1-1 draw in Germany.
Neither match qualified as an instant classic, but both second legs are finely poised and will carry plenty of drama when the clubs return to the pitch on March 13. Here are some of the individual winners and losers from the night.
Winner: Marko Arnautović
1 of 4
Much was expected of Marcus Thuram after he scored in each of his last two Serie A appearances. His 12 goals in all competitions are second on Inter Milan behind Lautaro Martínez.
But an injury forced Thuram to come off at halftime, and fans were left to wonder if the France international would've put away the golden opportunity presented to his replacement, Marko Arnautović, in the 63rd minute.
On the edge of the 6-yard box, Arnautović skied his shot over the bar.
The 34-year-old redeemed himself in the 79th minute. He was in the right place at the right time to hammer home the rebound after Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak denied Martínez.
It was quite the roller-coaster ride for Arnautović in the second half.
Loser: Diego Simeone
2 of 4
Diego Simeone's tactics can be effective in a knockout format, but it undoubtedly leaves Atlético Madrid with razor-thin margins at times. And his defensive style can be even tougher to swallow when it fails to yield the desired outcome.
Atlético didn't muster a single shot on target, with the pair of Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann left isolated at the top of the 3-5-2 formation.
The trademark Simeone style didn't even ensure Atlético delivered a solid defensive performance on this occasion to keep things all square going to Metropolitano Stadium. Arnautović should've scored, and the back line was left woefully exposed as Martínez bore down on Oblak. Then, nobody followed Arnautović at the back post.
A 1-0 defeat isn't a disaster for Simeone. The gap between Atlético and Inter does at least feel bigger than that based on how little the Spanish side created going forward.
Winner: Non-celebration Celebrations
3 of 4
Donyell Malen opened the scoring for Borussia Dortmund in the 24th minute, but it was a moment of conflicting emotions for the 25-year-old winger.
Malen was part of the Ajax and Arsenal youth teams but made his breakthrough with PSV and appeared in 116 matches before moving on to Germany. Because of that, he wasn't in an overly exuberant mood when he found the back of the net, making the universal sign of refusing to fully celebrate.
The magnanimous gesture probably did little to dampen the disappointment from the Philips Stadion crowd after watching the home club concede the opener.
Loser: VAR
4 of 4
It wouldn't be a round of world football fixtures without at least one VAR controversy.
In the 54th minute, the referee blew the whistle for a foul by Dortmund defender Mats Hummels on PSV midfielder Malik Tillman in the 18-yard box. The incident went to a video review, and subsequent replays seemed to provide enough evidence to overturn the original call.
Instead, the decision was upheld. Luuk de Jong stepped up to the spot and beat Dortmund goalkeeper Alexander Meyer with a shot into the bottom left corner.
Borussia Dortmund will have good reason to feel aggrieved that that's how PSV found an equalizer, but the draw was a fair result on the balance of play. The Dutch side had 14 total attempts to Dortmund's eight, though the latter managed one more shot on target (five).
Neither team did enough to claim an advantage heading into the second leg.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
