6 Things We Learned from Champions League Last 16 First Leg:
After two more eventful nights of top-level UEFA Champions League football from across the Continent, there have been a plethora of talking points and incidents to digest and discuss.
And so whether it be an English club side finally managing to score a goal in Europe this year after more than eight hours of trying, although still no Premier League outfit tasting victory, Olympiacos creating history by becoming the first Greek team ever to beat Manchester United, or Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo becoming the leading scorer in the competition, these are the six things we learned from the Champions League last 16 first-leg ties this week.
United and Moyes Suffer Greek Tragedy
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While Manchester United’s first defeat in the UEFA Champions League this season at Olympiacos on Tuesday night may not be terminal, it has most definitely left David Moyes’ side with a monumental hurdle to overcome in the return leg at Old Trafford in three weeks’ time.
In fact, the last time that the Red Devils managed to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit in Europe came exactly 30 years ago when Ron Atkinson’s team overcame FC Barcelona 3-0 at the Theatre of Dreams in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals.
However, United are going to need to produce a significantly improved display next month than they managed in Athens if they are to stand any chance whatsoever of turning this Round-of-16 tie around next month, with the visitors not even having a shot on target until the very last minute against the Greek champions.
And after the full-time whistle, United’s beleaguered boss offered no excuses about his team’s limp performance, with the Scot pulling no punches by calling it “the worst we've played in Europe” as his last hope of winning a trophy in his debut campaign in the Northwest all but evaporated in the Greek capital.
"Manchester United's season can still be salvaged. They've got three matches left to do it: http://t.co/Q2hSmqbiXB pic.twitter.com/rIEi4JPrT9
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) February 25, 2014"
It Is Looking Like RIP for RVP at Old Trafford
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Robin van Persie’s future at Manchester United looks to be increasingly in doubt after the striker appeared to question how manager David Moyes had set the visitors up in their shock 2-0 loss at Olympiacos in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 clash on Tuesday evening.
The Netherlands international, who missed the Premier League champions’ best opening of the entire night when he blazed over late on, claimed after the match that too many of his own team-mates were taking up the same attacking positions that he liked to operate in.
"Our fellow players are sometimes occupying the spaces I want to play in,” the 30-year-old told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
“And when I see that it makes it difficult for me to come to those spaces as well. So that forces me to adjust my runs, based on the position of my fellow players. And unfortunately, they're often playing in my zones. I think that's a shame.”
And while Moyes’ side may have bettered the home team when it came to the overall possession and passing stats, the Red Devils actually ended up spending more time in their own half during the course of the tie.
One thing is for sure, though, the Scot will need his usually red-hot marksman to be back to his best for the return meeting if United are to overturn odds of 2/5 and make it through to the last eight of the competition.
"David de Gea completed more passes against Olympiakos (12) than Robin van Persie (10).
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 26, 2014"
If at First You Don’t Succeed...
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Last season’s runners-up, Borussia Dortmund, took a giant step towards reaching the last eight of the UEFA Champions League for the second year in a row following Tuesday night’s impressive 4-2 win at Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of their Round-of-16 clash.
However, while Jurgen Klopp’s side may currently lie in third place a massive 20 points behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, Dortmund’s chances of making it back to the Champions League final again in May could actually be improved by their disappointing title challenge back home.
With no realistic chance of winning this season’s league, Klopp can put all his eggs in one basket and focus his team’s energies on making up for the heartbreak of falling at the final hurdle against Bayern at Wembley last year.
And one man who most certainly looks in the mood to go that one step further is striker Robert Lewandowski, whose quick-fire brace after half-time in Russia made it six goals in just seven Champions League matches in what is his final season with Dortmund before he moves to the Allianz Arena this summer.
"18 - Robert Lewandowski has scored 18 goals in European Competitions for @BVB, beating the club record of Stephane Chapuisat (16). Milestone
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) February 26, 2014"
Mancini Proves He Too Can Be Special
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Galatasaray head coach Roberto Mancini was on the receiving end of a pre-match hand grenade lobbed in his direction from Jose Mourinho in the Chelsea dugout, with the Special One delivering a typically withering assessment of the Italian’s time in charge of Inter Milan.
However, Mancini showed that he also knows a thing or two about top-level management as the Turkish champions entertained the Blues in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 tie on Wednesday evening.
As it was, the Gala boss's subtle tactical switch just past the half-hour mark when withdrawing wide-man Izet Hajrovic in favour of central midfielder Yekta Kurtulus while moving to a 4-5-1 formation that brought the home side back into the proceedings after the shock of going behind so early in the match.
And in the end, Mancini’s side were well worth the 1-1 draw secured courtesy of defender Aurelien Chedjou’s first-ever Champions League goal.
"Mancini clearly gets it wrong in Europe with some frequency but, #tobefair, he's always prepared to roll the dice. He's got balls.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) February 26, 2014"
Beware the Portuguese Man of War
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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was once making all the headlines in the buildup to Wednesday night’s Champions League encounter in Istanbul with the Portuguese’s much-publicised comments on both the effectiveness of his current strike force at Stamford Bridge, as well as the importance of full-back Cesar Azpilicueta to his team.
Yet again, however, Mou’s words seemed to have the desired effect as his makeshift Spanish left-back created the West London club’s key away goal for front man Fernando Torres - his sixth in his last fight starts - after just nine minutes of their first-leg Round-of-16 UEFA Champions League fixture at Galatasaray.
And despite the Turkish giants’ second-half fight back, the visitors are unbeaten in their last seven knockout games in Europe and will now be huge favourites to finish the job off in three weeks’ time against a Gala side who have never won an away fixture against English opponents in eight efforts.
"Boss Mourinho hails Chelsea defender - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho singles out Cesar Azpilicueta for praise afte... http://t.co/yt8E3Rih6V
— Chelsea News (@chelseanewsonly) February 23, 2014"
Los Blancos Can Win in Germany as Ronaldo and Co. Hit Schalke for 6
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Real Madrid may have only won one of their previous 25 ties away to German opposition in Europe before Wednesday night’s trip to Schalke 04, however, los Blancos well and truly put that embarrassing statistic to bed with a thumping 6-1 win in the first leg of their Round-of-16 clash at the Veltins-Arena.
And it was the visitors’ fearsome-looking front three who gave the Bundesliga outfit’s back four a torrid evening, with Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo all netting braces in Gelsenkirchen as the Liga giants scored for a record-breaking 32nd hampions League game in a row.
"Cristiano Ronaldo's night in numbers: 6 shots on target, 2 goals, 2 assists, 5/6 take ons. Class act. pic.twitter.com/F1ucxaocgR
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 26, 2014"
However, it was the recently crowned FIFA World Player of the Year who particularly caught the eye, with the Portuguese forward having the same number of efforts on goal in the match as the entire home team put together, 10, on his way to registering goal No. 60 and 61 in Europe’s premier club competition behind leading scorers Raul (71) and Lionel Messi (66).
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