5 best players from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16
The Champions League Round of 16 has drawn to a close and we're now down to eight teams. Top clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Inter Milan have had their European journeys cut short this week.
But some of the most dominant clubs on the continent have blazed past the Round of 16 and we're set for some fiery encounters in the quarter-finals.
The Champions League Round of 16 featured some heroic individual performances
The Champions League knockout stages are where heroes are born and legends thrive. This year hasn't been much different. We have witnessed several players step up to the task at hand and deliver big time when their teams have needed them most.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best players from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
#5 Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)
Chelsea managed to beat Lille 4-1 on aggregate. They registered a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge before beating the Ligue 1 outfit 2-1 on their own turf on Wednesday (March 16).
Christian Pulisic scored a vital goal in each of the two legs. He was deployed down his favored left wing in the first leg and was full of energy and enthusiasm. The USA international weaved his way past defenders with characteristic ease in the first leg and his link-up play was on point as well.
The 23-year-old desperately needed a good game and he delivered by scoring Chelsea's second goal of the first leg. He was less involved in the second leg as the Blues were rattled as Lille showed a lot of intent in the first half.
After Lille had gone ahead through a Burak Yilmaz penalty in the 38th minute, Pulisic produced a delightful finish from an acute angle to restore parity in first-half stoppage time. He also put in a defensive shift and was available to help out his defenders whenever the need arose.
4 of Christian Pulisic's 7 goals in the Champions League have come in the knockout stages.
He loves the big occasion 🇺🇸 https://t.co/vvknPmRMLe
#4 Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva has become one of Manchester City's most important players this season. This is in stark contrast to his plight at the club last term when he was heavily linked with an exit. Silva has been in phenomenal touch for Pep Guardiola's side this term and he took that form into the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Sporting Lisbon.
Silva produced a sensational performance in the first leg at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. He scored a wonderful goal to double Manchester City's advantage after Riyad Mahrez had put them ahead as early as the seventh minute of the game.
Silva then scored Manchester City's fourth as well and if that wasn't enough, he set up Raheem Sterling for their fifth goal of the night. The second leg at Etihad ended goalless and though Silva wasn't at his usual best, his relentlessness in midfield was crucial to stifling Sporting's attacking impetus.
#3 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappe's heroic performance in PSG's 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg at the Parc des Princes was the talk of the town at the time. The Frenchman scored a stunning stoppage-time winner, slaloming his way past two Real Madrid defenders before slotting the ball home through Thibaut Courtois' legs.
He had earlier won a penalty for PSG in the 61st minute of the game after drawing a foul from Dani Carvajal. The way PSG had outplayed Real Madrid in the first leg, they were widely viewed as favorites to go into the quarter-finals.
It also looked like everything was going to script as Mbappe opened the scoring for PSG in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 39th minute. The Frenchman seemed to be in irrepressible form.
But all of his good work was undone as PSG caved into a Real Madrid onslaught with just half an hour remaining in the tie. They ultimately fell 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate to crash out of the Champions League.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
When Bayern Munich were drawn against RB Salzburg in the Round of 16, they were expected to make mincemeat of their Austrian opposition. But the first leg at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg was a well-contested affair with the match ending 1-1.
Bayern Munich then absolutely decimated Salzburg in the second leg and Robert Lewandowski was at the heart of it. He produced a faultless performance and practically ended the tie by scoring a hat-trick in the first 23 minutes. The Polish international won and converted two penalties for Bayern in the 12th minute and 21st minute of the second leg.
His third goal came in the 23rd minute of the game, completing his unprecedented trio in 11 minutes. Lewandowski also combined well with Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane as Bayern Munich turned on the style and invited our focus to the sheer gulf in class between them and their opposition.
23 - Robert Lewandowski has completed a hat-trick within 23 minutes against FC RB Salzburg tonight; the earliest treble ever scored by a player in UEFA Champions League history from the start of a match, overtaking Marco Simone for Milan v Rosenborg in 1996 (24 mins). Snappy. https://t.co/aVNNmGdgVV
#1 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid conceded a goal to PSG in the dying embers of the first leg to take a 1-0 deficit into their encounter at home last week. The Parisians looked determined to see this one through and started off strongly and even took the lead through Mbappe in the 39th minute of the game.
They were resolute for two and a half hours of the tie but found out in the harshest manner that you can't afford to leak blood around sharks. Karim Benzema took it upon himself to deliver hell's fury on Lionel Messi and co. in the business end of the game as they lost focus.
He scored one of the most sensational Champions League hat-tricks of all time in the span of 17 minutes to send Santiago Bernabeu into a state of delirium. Benzema showcased ruthless marksmanship and elite finishing to remind us that he is still very much in the conversation of who's the best striker of this generation.