The Cavani-Lavezzi Show

In case you missed it, here are the highlights from Tuesday's UEFA Champions League action.

The results

Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow battled to a 1-1 draw in Russia, while Napoli defeated Chelsea 3-1 in Italy.

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Match highlights: CSKA Moscow 1, Real Madrid 1 | Napoli 3, Cheslea 1

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What these results mean

Despite Pontus Wernbloom's injury-time goal for CSKA, Real Madrid still controls this two-match tie thanks to their road goal. The Spaniards are a virtual lock to move on to the quarter-finals, requiring a victory or a 0-0 draw at home in the return leg. Realistically, the Russians need to beat Real Madrid in order to stay alive -- no small task considering los blancos have only lost once in La Liga and have won six of seven matches (with one draw) in the Champions League this season.

Chelsea scored a road goal on Tuesday, but they will still have it all to do when the series shifts to Stamford Bridge. The London club needs a two-goal victory over the Italians in order to book their place in the next round. Unless they can keep Napoli off the score sheet, the Blues can kiss a quarter-final berth good bye.

The major storyline

And a pair of South Americans shall lead them.

Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi were the undoubted top two stars of the Champions League on Tuesday, Napoli's front men combining for all three goals in a 3-1 win over visiting Chelsea.

Much of the post-match analysis will focus on the horrendous performance of the Blues' back line. Considering John Terry was absent (he'll miss the next six weeks with a knee injury) and the hapless displays by David Luiz and Gary Cahill (they both looked lost at sea) that's perfectly understandable.

But Chelsea's defensive shortcomings don't tell the full story, as Lavezzi and Cavani raised their games on European soccer's grandest stage, making Luiz and Cahill look like mugs.

The Uruguayan and Argentine effectively linked up for most of the match, with Lavezzi providing sublime service for Cavani who routinely made probing and intelligent runs off the ball to work himself into dangerous positions.

The ease with which they poked holes in Chelsea's defence was amazing to watch, and owed much more to the intuitive relationship the South American duo has forged over the past two years than to the Blues' frailties at the back.

Neutral fans who were expecting a dour, defensive performance from the Serie A side have clearly not being paying attention. With a 3-5-2 formation, Napoli plays an expansive and open brand of football, often using their quickness on the counter-attack to sucker their opponents.

Playing three at the back is risky, but Napoli more than handled Chelsea's meagre attack on the night. Aside from Paolo Cannavaro's horrendous error that led to Juan Mata's goal, the Blues never really threatened the Napoli goal

And if not for the stellar play of Petr Cech, the Italians could have inflicted more damage and put the tie beyond doubt before the return leg in London.

Interesting tidbits

-- Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 36 goals in 35 matches in all competitions so far this season.

-- Napoli has not lost at home in European competition since 1994.

-- Italian clubs have outscored English teams 7-1 (including AC Milan's 4-0 win over Arsenal) in the past week in the Champions League.

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Play of the day: Wernbloom's goal for CSKA

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Goal of the day

Real Madrid appeared on their way to earning a victory when they conceded an equalizer in the 93rd minute. The Spanish defence failed to clear a cross that dropped into the middle of the box, and the ball fell kindly to Pontus Wernbloom who converted on a brilliant volley from close range.

Save of the day

CSKA goalkeeper Sergei Chepchugov came up with a brilliant double stop in the 17th minute to thwart a flowing offensive move by Real Madrid. Gonzalo Higuain forced a save from Chepchugov, before the goalkeeper quickly picked himself up and blocked a rebound attempt by Sami Khedira.

Burning questions

-- Considering Napoli has scored in each of their Champions League away games this season, can Chelsea keep a clean sheet in the return leg at Stamford Bridge?

-- CSKA did well to get a draw at home, but can they realistically earn a positive result in Spain in the decider?

-- Will Napoli abandon its attacking 3-5-2 formation for a more defensively-minded 4-4-2 set-up in the second leg in London?

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Wednesday programming alert: Watch Marseille v Inter Milan live on Sportsnet starting at 2:30 pm ET, and Basel v Bayern Munich live on Sportsnet World starting at 2:30 pm ET.

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3 stars

1.) Ezequiel Lavezzi: The Argentine was sublime, using his speed and deft runs to rip apart Chelsea's defence at will, and scoring a pair of goals to lead Napoli to a crucial win over the Premiership outfit.

2.) Edinson Cavani: The Uruguayan was his usual brilliant self, scoring one goal (which stood up as the winner) and had a hand in setting up each of Lavezzi's goals.

3.) Sergei Chepchugov: Chepchugov did very well deputizing for injured CSKA captain Igor Akinfeev, coming up with a number of big saves to help the Russians earn a draw.