Champions League Results 2015: Scores, Top Players for Round of 16 Day 2
This season's Champions League round of 16 continued on Wednesday as Real Madrid and Porto each edged toward claiming their places in the final eight, clinching results against Schalke and Basel, respectively.
Los Merengues have one foot in the quarter-finals after sealing a 2-0 away victory in Germany, while Porto were unfortunate not to claim more than a 1-1 draw from their trip to St. Jakob-Park.
As the elite of the European competition seek to make their presence felt in the tournament's latter stages, we discuss some of Day 2's most impressive performers ahead.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Top Players
Cristiano Ronaldo
Starting with the cream of the crop, Cristiano Ronaldo dusted off the cobwebs to give a display more reminiscent of his former self at the Veltins-Arena.
Having gone three games without a goal, Real's star man jumped back to his best in a controlling performance at Schalke and was hailed by coach Carlo Ancelotti after the game, per BBC Sport.
Heading his side into a 25th-minute lead, the Portuguese proceeded to tee up team-mate Marcelo in the second period and help double Los Blancos' lead, ending with a direct hand in both of Real's goals.
According to The Sun, it was a perfectly rounded outing to celebrate the forward's all-encompassing contribution to the Real Madrid cause in Europe these past two seasons:
Ronaldo hasn't gone four games without a goal in succession for four years. Thanks to such a monolithic game on Wednesday, he ensures that kind of drought is kept at bay once again.
Casemiro
Speaking of Real Madrid stars, it was another one of Ancelotti's players, Casemiro, who impressed in Porto colours in midweek and was unfortunate not to guide the Dragons to victory in Switzerland.
Basel were quite simply outclassed under an onslaught of Porto pressure, and the on-loan Real Madrid midfielder was at the heart of that probing, picked out by WhoScored.com as man of the match:
The player's six tackles were the most made by any player at St. Jakob-Park on Wednesday evening, but the Brazilian gave his side a terrific launchpad in attack, too.
As Brian Homewood of Reuters explained, Casemiro did actually put the ball in the back of the net early in the second half at Basel but was distressed to learn his team-mates had been flagged for offside:
Irrespective of that disappointment, the 22-year-old controlled all of Porto's momentum from the core of their three-man midfield, maintaining an 84.2 percent pass accuracy rate while also standing firm when without the ball.
Raphael Varane
Although the scoreline may suggest otherwise, Real Madrid's win in German territory didn't come without its share of scares, and Raphael Varane took his opportunity well to shine in the absence of Sergio Ramos.
Pepe came back from injury as a welcome addition to Ancelotti's lineup, but it was French international Varane who earned significant plaudits for his display, The Ancelotti Way being among those admirers:
"Varane = WALL! Great match kid
— The Ancelotti Way (@TheAncelottiWay) February 18, 2015"
Pepe and Ramos have held down their places as the preferred partnership in central defence, but Klaas-Jan Huntelaar found it difficult to contend against the young centre-back.
SocialRMadrid even goes as far to suggest that Varane might pinch a starting place from Ramos:
"Right now I prefer Varane over Ramos. The man does literally nothing wrong and defends like a beast.
— SocialRMadrid (@SocialRMadrid) February 18, 2015"
No player won more aerial duels than Varane at Schalke (five), and the defender also topped the tackling charts with five on the night, rejecting everything the Miners could throw in his direction.
All statistics come courtesy of WhoScored.com.
