Champions League Team of the Week: Courtois Saves the Day, Ronaldo Recovers
The first half of four of the eight Champions League last-16 ties are in the books, with Real Madrid and Chelsea among those big sides managing to get solid away results.
The defending champions secured a 2-0 win against Schalke in Gelsenkirchen to effectively put one foot in the quarter-finals, while Chelsea grabbed an all-important away goal in their 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain to give them a slender but important advantage heading back to Stamford Bridge.
Elsewhere, a late penalty for Porto enabled them to clinch a 1-1 draw with Basel in Switzerland, while Bayern Munich were held to a 0-0 draw by Shakhtar Donetsk in Lviv in perhaps the one marginally surprising match of the bunch.
Amid those four tight games there were a number of impressive individual performances. Click on for our selection of the Champions League team of the week (laid out in a narrow 4-4-2 formation).
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
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Thibaut Courtois earned the nod ahead of Petr Cech for Chelsea's trip to Paris and repaid his manager's show of faith with another impressive individual display.
The Belgian could perhaps do little to stop Edinson Cavani's second-half header (that was more a result of poor defending), but he was otherwise imperious, making a number of fantastic saves throughout the 90 minutes—with a couple against Zlatan Ibrahimovic (one with his right leg, the other with his hands) standing out.
"Yes. Phenomenal," Jose Mourinho told reporters, when asked if Courtois had saved the Blues. "He made two or three important saves in the game."
As PSG's David Luiz added: "We didn't win the game tonight because of a great performance by their goalkeeper."
As a result, Chelsea hold a slender advantage in the tie going into the second leg.
Full-Back: Danilo (Porto)
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Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic looked well-placed to join his team-mate Courtois in this exalted lineup, until another full-back popped up with a goalscoring display to dislodge the Serbian (who, his goal apart, was tormented at times by PSG down his right flank).
Stand up Porto's Danilo. Per my colleague, and tactical expert nonpareil, Sam Tighe:
"Danilo coolly converted a high-pressure penalty to give FC Porto a valuable away goal in Basel.
It was the cherry on the top of a strong performance from the right-back, who regularly galloped forward and provided an option high up to pass to. His driving runs to the byline also won a series of corners, where the Dragons were able to pressure goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik with some well-worked routines.
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Centre-Back: Joel Matip (Schalke)
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It is ironic, and somewhat unfortunate, that the only photos of Joel Matip in the galleries from Wednesday's game show him watching from a distance as Cristiano Ronaldo headed Real Madrid into the lead.
Matip could undoubtedly have done better in that moment, but you are always going to have such slips against a Real forward line that forces them multiple times a game. Beyond that moment, however, Matip had a very impressive evening—making countless important interventions as his positioning, awareness and anticipation made life difficult for Real.
A 2-0 defeat will still be considered a disappointment, but when compared with the 6-1 drubbing suffered against the same opposition 12 months ago, Matip's performance can be considered a qualified night.
Centre-Back: Yaroslav Rakitskiy
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Ukrainian centre-back Yaroslav Rakitskiy takes up the position alongside Matip, although he is taking the credit for a general defensive performance from Shakhtar Donetsk that saw them hold Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday.
Bayern are often a free-scoring and irrepressible attacking force—just ask Roma about that—but Shakhtar shackled the Germans remarkably effectively, reducing them to just a handful of half-chances over the course of the game.
Xabi Alonso's sending off undoubtedly helped in that regard, but nevertheless it was a job very well done by Rakitskiy and his teammates.
Full-Back: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
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Full-back partner Marcelo grabbed the headlines with a brilliant late goal, but it was Dani Carvajal who perhaps had the better all-round performance as Real Madrid eased to victory against Schalke.
The full-back was involved throughout the game, making a number of brave and important defensive interventions that left him in the wars (indeed, he was substituted late on).
Above and beyond all that he was the driving force behind Real breaking the deadlock, picking out Ronaldo with a brilliant cross midway through the first half. A very good evening's work.
Defensive Midfield: Fernando (Shakhtar Donetsk)
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Another Shakhtar player bolsters our midfield. While the Ukrainian side's back four produced a solid team display against Bayern Munich, they were helped by their midfield—with Fernando in particular doing an impressive job of helping out his defence against a Bayern side that typically dominates in that area.
The Brazilian made a number of important tackles and stops, regaining possession in key areas to relieve the pressure. He will have to be even better in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, of course.
Defensive Midfield: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
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Another game, another masterclass from Toni Kroos. The German produced one pass to take the breath away in the game against Schalke; it was just unfortunate that Karim Benzema was unable to finish off the opportunity.
The metronome of the side, Kroos took on his usual responsibilities while also directing and assisting the clearly nervous Lucas Silva, who was thrust into one of the biggest matches of his career.
The German World Cup winner has seen many such games before, of course, and his understated brilliance was a key part of another comfortable win for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Midfield: Hector Herrera (Porto)
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Once again, over to Mr. Tighe:
"FC Porto's first-half performance looked slow and cumbersome despite dominating the ball, but Hector Herrera's turn of pace and creative spark helped his team turn a corner in the second period.
His scything passes into Cristian Tello's path on the right had Basel on the back foot for long periods, and he looked the most likely of the midfield three to score.
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Midfield: Blaise Matuidi (PSG)
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The Frenchman Blaise Matuidi has slowly but surely blossomed into a vital part of the PSG projects, one of the lesser expensive acquisitions that has proved to be every bit as useful as some of the banner names.
Against Chelsea he underlined that progression, proving to be one of the most consistent dangers for PSG as he ran down the left channel.
PSG's equalizer, a goal that gives them a realistic chance in the tie, came from his hard work, as he beat Branislav Ivanovic before crossing perfectly for Edinson Cavani.
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
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Helped somewhat by a lack of viable rivals (there were only six goals in the four games, after all), Ronaldo gets into our team after equalling Lionel Messi and Raul with his 76th goal in all European competitions.
The Portuguese ended his personal goal drought (which extends back less than a month!) with a fine header midway through the first half, a moment that seemed to settle him down after a slightly selfish, unfocused start to the game.
After that he was hardly perfect—his free-kick attempts were occasionally laughable—but he had perhaps already proved his value on the night.
Forward: Edinson Cavani (PSG)
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Another goalscorer, Edinson Cavani, rounds out our team. The Uruguayan has often come in for criticism for his perceived lack of impact in the biggest games, but this was one occasion where he outshone teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Cavani was in the right place at the right time to head PSG back on level terms, while he had a number of other eye-catching moments on a night where he hit back at many of his critics. He was perhaps unlucky not to get a second goal (one shot, after a slalom run, went narrowly wide of goal), but nevertheless his name warranted being on the scoresheet given his all-round efforts.
