Winners and Losers of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16

This year’s Champions League Round of 16 was eventful to say the least.

Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid provided the headline acts, with matches featuring penalty drama and exciting high-level football that is the signature of the Champions League.

Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Dortmund and Aston Villa also made it through to the last eight in what is looking like an incredibly open competition.

As ever, read on for your winners and losers.

Losers: Defenders vs. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal

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This round is where Raphinha took a huge step towards winning the Ballon d’Or.
Mohammed Salah’s lack of contribution as Liverpool crashed out basically means he’s unlikely to be a contender for the biggest individual prize in football. 

At the same time, Raphinha became the highest-scoring Brazilian in a single Champions League season ever with 11. A feat Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka and greats of the past haven’t reached. That’s simply incredible.

Now take Raphinha on one wing and add in Lamine Yamal on the other. Think about how dynamic they are and how impactful they are when dribbling, delivering a cross or finishing a chance. How are you meant to stop that for two games? 

Benfica simply had no answer across two legs and Dortmund’s defenders, who are ropey at the best of times, have a hell of a task ahead of them in the quarter-finals.

If the footballing gods are in favour of style this season, we’ll get the PSG vs. Barcelona final we deserve.

Winner: Penalty Drama in the Madrid Derby

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Oh, you thought PSG’s penalty win over Liverpool was dramatic? The Madrid derby has something to say.

Julian Alvarez’s alleged double kick is going to be spoken about for a long time. He just about managed to score while slipping, and Atletico fans celebrated it, but the VAR intervention for the double touch put Madrid on a winning line that never looked like faltering, even after Lucas Vasquez saw his penalty saved by Jan Oblak.

Marcos Llorente then losing the tie by smashing his penalty off the bar is everything Atletico fans have come to expect against their rivals. Madrid simply don’t lose to Atletico in the Champions League. It’s nearly always this cruel.

Diego Simeone’s side were much better on the night and nobody would have argued if they went through to face Arsenal in the next round. Once more, it’s tears and feeling hard done by. Madrid’s mystique in this competition lives on.

Winners: PSG

After years of underperforming with superstars failing to gel, Luis Enrique’s gutsy, technically brilliant PSG put on a masterclass of a performance to eliminate Liverpool, who many noted as favourites for the tournament (myself included).

No team has come out of this round winning more fans than PSG. Just think about that for a second. A club that has been on the end of constant mockery as the Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé era failed. Now pinned as fashionable and unmissable.

To travel to Anfield, an intimidating cauldron of Champions League noise, and overcome the 1-0 first-leg deficit is nothing short of remarkable. It’s even more impressive when you break down the performances and dig into exactly how the Ligue 1 kings managed to shock the Kop on penalties after winning the second leg 1-0.

Vitinha’s ability to dictate play, and his willingness to collect the ball from deep, often removed Liverpool’s usually dominant midfield from proceedings. The energy of Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves alongside him now make up the trendiest midfield in football. Ousmane Dembele’s sheer incisiveness made Liverpool second-guess their attacks, providing a key outlet on the counter. Nuno Mendes pocketed Mohamed Salah for two games straight. Gianluigi Donnarumma answered Alisson’s incredible first-leg display with heroics of his own. Heroes everywhere.

PSG now face Aston Villa in the next round, and for many, have opened up a run to the final. Time to break the curse?

Loser: Xabi Alonso and Harry Kane Doubters

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Leverkusen’s 5-0 aggregate loss to German rivals Bayern Munich is a shocking result considering the recent history of both teams. 

Xabi Alonso’s men are firmly in the shadows of the Bundesliga’s mightiest club once more after last year’s incredible invincible run. They’ve now not scored against Bayern in three games. They’re eight points behind them in the race to defend their domestic title and now out of Europe. 

Arguably the most disappointing thing of all is that Alonso was outdone by Vincent Kompany and was unable to find answers as Bayern worked harder, flowed better and benefitted from the killer touch of Harry Kane.

Much of the talk heading into this one surrounded Kompany and how he’d deal with Leverkusen’s complicated transitional setup. He actually chose to fight fire with fire; numbing Leverkusen’s offensive threat from wide by utilising Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman in a free-flowing way, while relying on Kane to do what he does best. 

Having the additional pace and quality of Alphonso Davies made a huge difference compared to the league game, with the flying full-back basically doubling up for Bayern’s attack and keeping Jeremie Frimpong pushed back. 

Alonso had very few ideas, and once Florian Wirtz was confirmed out of the second leg, it essentially confirmed a return to the old ways: Bayern back to the summit in Germany.

As for the England No. 9, the former Tottenham moves a step closer to an elusive trophy and could be on course for a double with the Champions League Final in Munich.

Winners: Arsenal

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Arsenal got through two nights of work when they thrashed PSV 7-1 in the first leg of their tie. They worked double-time, did their homework straight away and once they got home, were just able to party. Wednesday’s 2-2 barely mattered.

You simply can’t ask for more in Champions League knockout games, especially when key players such as Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz remain missing through injury.