Champions League Player Rankings After Round-of-16 Game 1
Welcome to the opening knockout-stage round of our UEFA Champions League player rankings this season, in which we order the competition's top 20 players so far.
The criteria is simple: We pick the 20 best players on the basis of form in European games only.
We'll be running the ranking every week as the games take place, so for those playing next week, we'll simply note as appropriate. Group-stage form will still count, so strong performances before Christmas are still a factor in our grading.
Honourable Mentions / Dropping Out
1 of 21
Impressive Round 1 Performers
Marco Verratti: Ran rings around Chelsea's midfield
Thiago Silva: Shut down Diego Costa with ease
Hector Herrera: A dominant, commanding, creative and powerful performance
Marcelo: Next in line to enter; just missed out
Fernando: Shut the door in Bayern's face
Dropping Out
Gervinho: The only player to make it through six rounds of the group-stage rankings, despite being on a team which was eliminated, Gervinho automatically drops as Roma contest the UEFA Europa League.
Thomas Muller: A nonperformance against Shakhtar Donetsk leading the line in place of Robert Lewandowski sees Muller drop out.
20. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
2 of 21
Last Round: 20
Differential: None
Sergio Aguero's Manchester City tackle Barcelona next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
19. Blaise Matuidi, Paris Saint-Germain
3 of 21
Last Round: N/A
Differential: New Entry!
He doesn't do it as often as he should—in fact, it's as if he saves his big performances for UEFA Champions League nights now—but Blaise Matuidi's impact against Chelsea on Tuesday was remarkable.
His classic lung-busting runs were back, and his breaching of the penalty box caused Branislav Ivanovic no end of problems. His assist (cross) for Edinson Cavani's equaliser was inch-perfect, and he forced Thibaut Courtois into a superb save with a header of his own in the first half.
18. Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea
4 of 21
Last Round: N/A
Differential: New Entry!
Thibaut Courtois has had some excellent performances in the UEFA Champions League this season, but his form has been difficult to praise because he and Petr Cech share a spot.
Off the back of his latest performance, though, it's impossible not to include the Belgian in our top 20. He single-handedly saved Chelsea from returning to west London with a two- or three-goal deficit to recover.
He pulled off several excellent saves to keep Zlatan Ibrahimovic and co. at bay.
17. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
5 of 21
Last Round: 17
Differential: None
Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal tackle AS Monaco next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
16. Yacine Brahimi, FC Porto
6 of 21
Last Round: 10
Differential: -6
Yacine Brahimi was terrible against Basel on Wednesday evening. He was outmuscled early on and never recovered, as the home side played a physical game to disrupt his flow.
The moment he was substituted off for Ricardo Quaresma, FC Porto's attack stepped up two or three notches and equalised soon after. Quaresma's cross invited the handball and penalty conceded by Walter Samuel.
15. Ciro Immobile, Borussia Dortmund
7 of 21
Last Round: 15
Differential: None
Ciro Immobile's Borussia Dortmund tackle Juventus next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
14. Diego Godin, Atletico Madrid
8 of 21
Last Round: 14
Differential: None
Diego Godin's Atletico Madrid tackle Bayer Leverkusen next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
13. Gabi, Atletico Madrid
9 of 21
Last Round: 13
Differential: None
Gabi's Atletico Madrid tackle Bayer Leverkusen next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
12. Lucas Moura, Paris Saint-Germain
10 of 21
Last Round: 12
Differential: None
Paris Saint-Germain were ravaged by injuries ahead of their tie with Chelsea, and Lucas Moura was a key absentee. He, Serge Aurier, Thiago Motta and Yohan Cabaye were all ruled out.
11. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund
11 of 21
Last Round: 11
Differential: None
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's Borussia Dortmund tackle Juventus next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
10. Edinson Cavani, Paris Saint-Germain
12 of 21Last Round: 16
Differential: +6
Edinson Cavani impressed on the big stage and perhaps avenged his fruitless showing in the same fixture last year. His headed goal in the second half drew Paris Saint-Germain level with Chelsea and reignited the fight among Les Parisiens' players.
He should have scored a second later on, after a sublime piece of skill left him only Thibaut Courtois to beat from an angle, but he fired wide.
9. Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea
13 of 21
Last Week: 7
Differential: -2
Cesc Fabregas started slightly further forward again, playing near the No. 10 role in possession. He beat out Oscar to the spot as Ramires came into holding midfield, presumably to track David Luiz and Blaise Matuidi's runs.
The Spaniard, despite having a lot of space to use on paper, struggled to find a rhythm and was substituted late on for the aforementioned Oscar. He barely came close to his usual influential standards.
8. Juanfran, Atletico Madrid
14 of 21
Last Round: 9
Differential: +1
Juanfran's Atletico Madrid tackle Bayer Leverkusen next week in their round-of-16 matchup.
7. Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
15 of 21
Last Round: 4
Differential: -3
Despite Real Madrid winning 2-0 and effectively sewing up the tie with Schalke in Gelsenkirchen, Karim Benzema struggled.
He was caught offside frequently, even testing the limits Cristiano Ronaldo sets in this department, and his passing looked a little off. Given his 10/10 performance in the same fixture last year, this one stings a little.
6. Jackson Martinez, FC Porto
16 of 21
Last Round: 3
Differential: -3
Jackson Martinez disappointed immensely at Basel on Wednesday evening, failing to shake free the rather timid, weak grasp of Marek Suchy and Walter Samuel.
He had a case for a penalty in the first half, granted, but overall he struggled to make his mark on the match and FC Porto failed to play off him regularly due to a lack of space.
5. Koke, Atletico Madrid
17 of 21
Last Round: 6
Differential: +1
Koke's Atletico Madrid tackle Bayer Leverkusen next week in their round-of-16 matchup. He moves up due to those around him playing poorly.
4. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
18 of 21
Last Week: 5
Differential: +1
Eden Hazard had a quiet game at the Parc des Princes in front of the club who, in the past, have tried to extract him from Chelsea's ranks, per the Daily Mail.
Paris Saint-Germain fouled him nine times, per WhoScored.com, as the hosts attempted to keep him very, very quiet. Some of it was a bit rough-and-tumble—particularly the stuff from Marco Verratti—but the post-match fury from the Daily Mail is perhaps a little bit much.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
19 of 21
Last Round: 8
Differential: +5
A goal and an assist for Cristiano Ronaldo is par for the course. The Real Madrid man opened the scoring in the first half via an unmarked free header from a corner to break the Schalke resistance and then teed up Marcelo for the sealer.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of his performance was that he took a pretty good free-kick in the second half. But in 2014-15, the quality of his set pieces has been awful overall.
2. Lionel Messi, Barcelona
20 of 21
Last Round: 1
Differential: -1
Lionel Messi's Barcelona tackle Manchester City next week in their round-of-16 matchup. That will serve as the Argentinian's chance to regain the No. 1 spot in the rankings.
1. Nemanja Matic, Chelsea
21 of 21
Last Round: 2
Differential: +1
Most of Chelsea's midfield struggled immensely at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday evening, but Nemanja Matic rose to the occasion.
The Serbian broke up play superbly in front of his defence and put in several important challenges to halt Marco Verratti and co. He was stretched wide and forced to chase the likes of Blaise Matuidi back into the box and help the overrun Branislav Ivanovic.
He moves into the No. 1 spot, but a Lionel Messi masterclass could see him drop back down next week.
