The first leg matches in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals have been played, and teams will have a good idea of what next week’s second legs will bring and what they need to do to secure progression to the semi-final stage of the competition.
A Luis Suarez brace for Barcelona in Wednesday night’s Champions League action gave the Catalans a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint Germain, thanks to an opener from Neymar. The Parisians were playing at home, and they were able to get a late consolation goal from defender Gregory van der Wiel, giving them some semblance of hope for the return match at the Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi did not get on the score sheet himself, but once again he was the puppet master, pulling the strings in the match and ensuring that the visitors were the dominant side on the night. Many would suggest that Barcelona have it in the bag with this decisive result, as they will keep a great deal of possession in front of their own fans, and will be incredibly dangerous on the counter attack, forcing PSG to be cautious in their strategy.
In Wednesday’s other quarter-final match, the same scoreline as in the Barcelona game was replicated as Porto surprised German powerhouse Bayern Munich, defeating them 3-1 in Portugal to set up a very interesting second leg in Bavaria.
Porto front-man Ricardo Quaresma was on fire against the visiting Germans, scoring a penalty before a second strike from the skilful attacker pushed the scoreline further away from the usually dominant Germans. Thiago Alcantara returned fire at the other end, making it 2-1 and bringing Bayern back into the match, before an excellent goal from Jackson Martinez put the Portuguese in a commanding position with a 3-1 advantage going into the second leg.
Algeria international Yacine Brahimi was part of Porto’s excellent victory, providing his usual solid performance in midfield before being substituted in the 80th minute after a good shift for the Portuguese side.
The Madrid Derby between Real and Atletico at the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday ended goalless, setting up a very exciting Champions League second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Despite a strong attacking display from the footballers on both sides of the Spanish capital divide, the heroes of the night were goalkeepers Iker Casillas of the Galacticos and Jan Oblak for the home side.
Casillas also surpassed Barcelona’s Xavi to become the competition’s highest capped player with 147 games, and he will likely stretch that record somewhat before retirement.
Juventus, Italy’s representative in the Champions League, defeated Monaco 1-0 at the Juventus Stadium, giving the Bianconeri a slim lead to take to the principality in the second leg next week.
A penalty was all that set the two teams apart on the night, as Alvaro Morata was brought down illegally and Arturo Vidal was on hand to ensure the spot kick was converted expertly.
