The winners and losers from the CL knockout phase so far.
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Winners:
1) Luis Suarez
Back on English soil and back amongst the goals, Luis Suarez’s double for Barcelona against Manchester City could prove crucial for the team in this season’s competition, and it may well be the start of a fine run of form for the Uruguayan, who has been somewhat slow to get going since quitting Liverpool for the Nou Camp in the summer.
2) Luis Enrique
A manager under pressure who managed to get a big result. Coming just days after a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Malaga, Barca played with the style and confidence that we are so used to seeing, and the win at the Etihad Stadium could buy the Spaniard a bit more time to put his stamp on this squad.
3) Chelsea
Far from at their best, but with a hard earnt draw and a crucial away goal, Chelsea will be delighted with their work so far in the Champions League knockout stage, with a place in the quarter-final looking more than likely now for Jose Mourinho’s side.
4) Cristiano Ronaldo
Another goal, another win, another night of records. Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 win over Schalke, making it 12 consecutive away games on the scoresheet for him in Europe, plus his 76th European goal to put him level with Lionel Messi and Raul.
5) Dimitar Berbatov
Another former Premier League star who found joy upon returning to these shores, Dimitar Berbatov showed his class for AS Monaco with a crucial and well-taken second goal in the 3-1 win away to Arsenal – one of the shocks of the competition so far this season.
Losers:
1) Arsene Wenger
As much as his players may have let him down with some poor individual moments, Arsene Wenger cannot hide from his atrocious record in the Champions League, and is facing another early exit from the competition this season despite getting perhaps the easiest possible draw, on paper at least. Arsenal fans will be unhappy again, and there will surely be more calls for the Frenchman to finally step down at the end of this campaign.
2) Olivier Giroud
One of the individuals who was badly off form for Arsenal on the night, Olivier Giroud had an absolute shocker for the Gunners against Monaco, missing chance after chance before being hauled off after the hour-mark. The Frenchman is not a bad player by any means, but this game perhaps highlighted his lack of quality at the very top level, or simply the wrong mentality to cope with the big-game situation.
3) Jurgen Klopp
After a nightmare season in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp will have been hoping for some respite in the Champions League. Sadly for him, his side were beaten once again this season as they lost 2-1 to Juventus. Given the quality of their opposition, it’s hard to see them turning it around in the second leg, even if they managed an away goal through Marco Reus. This team is certainly a far cry from the side that reached the 2013 final and turned all of Europe into temporary Dortmund fans.
4) Vincent Kompany
Like Giroud for Arsenal, Vincent Kompany put in a dire performance for Manchester City that could have big consequences for his career at the club. The Belgian centre-back was badly caught out by Barcelona and looked at fault for the first goal in particular, leaving his side with a mountain to climb for the second leg at the Nou Camp.
5) Lionel Messi
As Barcelona got the right result, Lionel Messi probably won’t be too bothered, but the Argentine was the subject of a comical ending to the game at the Etihad Stadium, firing a poor penalty almost straight at Joe Hart before then getting the diving header on the rebound badly wrong when it looked impossible to miss, and in doing so missing the chance to totally kill the tie.