The Champions League last-16 stage came to an end with all almighty bang in Munich as Bayern overcame a huge scare to eventually brush aside Juventus in the most emphatic fashion. 2-0 down with 20 minutes to go and staring elimination in the face, Pep Guardiola’s side came from behind to force extra time courtesy of goals from Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller. Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman crucially netted to send Bayern into the quarter-finals, where they joined Real Madrid, Wolfsburg, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Benfica.
Juventus can feel hard done by following their exit from the competition having fought their way back into the encounter in impressive fashion at the Juventus Stadium before racing into a two-goal lead at the Allianz Arena, only to crash out of the Champions League. Last season’s runners’ up were carrying out Max Allegri’s game plan to perfection, only for the Italian coach to shoot himself in the foot as the clock ticked towards the 90-minute mark.
Allegri is renowned for his clever substitutions, with his picks from the bench often swinging a tie back in the Old Lady’s favour. Yet, his decision to withdraw Alvaro Morata from action with a little under 20 minutes to go left fans scratching their heads. The Spaniard has developed a reputation for his big game performances performances and Wednesday's showing proved no different, with Morata tormenting Bayern's defence during the 72 minutes he was on the pitch.
All in all, Morata spent 87 minutes on the field of play over the two legs against Bayern. In that time, Juventus had a positive aggregate score of 3-0. In the 123 minutes without him, however, the Serie A leaders lost 6-1. The young striker was almost unplayable at times prior to his withdrawal, providing a sensational assist for Juan Cuadrado to double Juventus’ lead in the first half. The way in which the 23-year-old cut straight through the middle of Bayern's midfield and defence, before laying of Cuadrado, was remarkably impressive. It was then disappointing to see Allegri bring on the former Bayern frontman Mario Mandzukic in his stead, which ultimately cost Juventus.
The Budesliga side grew in confidence as a result with the increase in pressure finally paying dividends. Morata's WhoScored rating of 7.97 was enough to secure a spot in the Champions League team of the week, though the young striker failed to make the best-rated side of the last-16 stage given his lack of game time. The places in attack instead go to Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ronaldo was directly involved in three of Real Madrid’s four goals against Roma, with the Portuguese striker’s helping himself to two goals and one assist.
His strikes - one in Rome and one in Madrid - took his goal tally to 13 in the Champions League this season, more than any other player. Ibrahimovic - like Ronaldo - netted two and assisted one as PSG navigated a potentially tricky tie with Chelsea in order to secure their place in the next round of the Champions League. The experienced Swede has previously struggled against English opposition, and specifically Chelsea, but was vital in the club’s progression to the quarter-finals, with his goal at Stamford Bridge effectively sealing PSG’s spot in the draw for the next round.
However, as good as the pairing were in attack, their exploits were masked by Neymar, who is one of three Barcelona players in the highest rated last-16 XI. The Brazilian played a crucial role in the Blaugrana’s quest to become the first team to defend their Champions League crown since its 1992 restructuring. Neymar excelled in both legs against Arsenal, gaining the WhoScored man of the match award having opened the scoring at Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
Over the two legs, Neymar scored one and assisted another, played eight key passes, completed 12 dribbles and created three clear-cut goalscoring opportunities to contribute to a WhoScored rating of 9.08, better than any other player, with teammate Lionel Messi (8.95) second in the ratings pecking order. The defence, though, is where the major talking point comes.
Three of the four defenders play for Atletico Madrid and PSV. It took a high-quality penalty shootout to separate the two teams over both legs after they became the first sides to play out two goalless legs in the knockout phase of the Champions League. Jeffrey Bruma, Gimenez and Filipe Luis all feature in the backline, with Bruma’s performance earning him the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.68. Bruma made more clearances (16) than any other player in the last-16 stage, highlighting his importance over the 210 minutes, contributing to a WhoScored rating of 8.13.
Centre-back partner Gimenez may only have made one appearance, but over the 120 minutes of action in Madrid, the Uruguayan made nine interceptions; no player made more in the last-16 stage. With an impressive ability to sense danger and read the game, PSV forged just two shots on target in normal and extra time and created a combined six key passes, in part owing to Gimenez’s notable ability to snuff out danger and relieve the pressure on Jan Oblak’s goal.
While their excursions drew the plaudits, though, Neymar rightly earns the adulation of his peers and fans following two superb outings against Arsenal, maintaining what has been a stunning season so far for the 24-year-old.
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