The UEFA Champions League continued on this week with four more first leg matchups from the round-of-16, including a rematch of last year’s final.
Defending champions Real Madrid took one step towards the quarter-finals with a remarkable victory away to Liverpool, while Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen continued his brilliant run of form this season for Napoli.
Here’s what else stood out from this week’s games:
Romelu Lukaku the hero for Inter Milan in win over FC Porto
You have to feel for Romelu Lukaku. Inter Milan’s star striker had been mired in a goal drought dating back to last October when he finally scored last weekend in Serie A in the Nerazzurri’s win over Udinese. Despite that, the Belgian was under immense pressure coming into Wednesday’s tilt against FC Porto at San Siro, as he had just one goal in this season’s Champions League.
The weight that Lukaku was carrying on his broad shoulders was considerably lightened after he scored in the 86th minute to lift Inter to a 1-0 win over Porto. Lukaku came off the bench in the 58th minute and then became the hero when he connected on a header off a Nicolò Barella that hit the post before tucking in the rebound.
Lukaku has been maligned for his lack of production at Inter this season as he’s battled through injury issues and a lack of form. But the Belgian looked like his old self by scoring against a Porto side that was riding a 22-game unbeaten streak and whose back line had been breached just twice in 11 games in all competitions.
Scoring against a team with such a stellar defensive record will do Lukaku’s confidence a world of good and will no doubt have benefits for Inter as it seeks to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011.
Central midfielder Stephen Eustáquio, a 26-year-old from Leamington, Ont., was an unused substitute for Porto, who have some work to do to overturn this deficit going into the second leg on March 14.
Manchester City settles for draw away to Leipzig
All things considered, Manchester City should be fine and stand a very good chance of moving on to the quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw to RB Leipzig in Germany on Wednesday. Still, on paper, this is a game that the English giants should win given the rather large gap in quality and star power that exists between the clubs.
That star power didn’t work to City’s advantage, though. Top scorer Erling Haaland was kept in check by the German outfit before finally breaking the deadlock in the 27th minute off a flicked pass from teammate Ilkay Gundogan. After that, Leipzig’s defence, admirably anchored by Croatian international Josko Gvardiol, did a good job of frustrating Haaland for the rest of the match.
As Haaland drifted out of the game, Leipzig seized control and started asking questions of City’s defence with its vibrant attack. The Germans’ persistence paid off when Gvardiol levelled the score in the 70th minute, allowing the Bundesliga side to earn a share of the points and giving them a fighting chance going into the second leg back in Manchester.
Leipzig received a helping hand from City manager Pep Guardiola who inexplicably didn’t make a single substitution during the match. With his team needing an offensive spark, the Spaniard chose to stick with his pat hand while the likes of Phil Foden and Julian Álvarez wasted away on the bench.
Real Madrid puts on a show in comeback win at Anfield
Anfield is where the dreams of so many teams have been dashed on European nights over the decades. Playing in front of the Kop brings out the best in Liverpool, and visiting sides often feel overwhelmed by the barrage of noise produced by supporters in the club’s home fortress.
Real Madrid wasn’t impressed nor intimidated by the mystique of Anfield. They spotted Liverpool an early two-goal advantage before scoring five unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win in Tuesday’s opening leg. Brazilian Vinícius Júnior bagged a brace and set up another goal in a commanding performance that inspired the reigning Champions League holders to victory. Karim Benzema also scored twice for Real.
At 22 years and 224 days, Vinícius Júnior is the youngest visiting player to score twice against Liverpool at Anfield in major European competition since Johan Cruyff (19 years and 233 days) did it for Ajax during the 1965-66 European Cup season.
Darwin Núñez's exquisite back-heel goal after three minutes and 10 seconds was Liverpool's quickest ever scored in the Champions League at Anfield, and when Mohammed Salah doubled the home team’s advantage just 10 minutes later it looked like the Spaniards had been cooked.
But los blancos showed once again why it’s not so easy to kill them off, and that they are not going to give up their title as European champions without a good fight.
Liverpool couldn’t stop Vinícius Júnior, as the Brazilian scored in quick succession to draw the visitors level, his opening goal in the 21st minute a product of his individual brilliance. Panic soon set in for Liverpool, as it was unable to deal with Real’s swarming attack, and the game quickly slipped away from the English club’s comfortable grip.
Is there a club that’s more fun to watch than Napoli?
Not enough people are talking about Napoli, which is a shame because the Italian side has been one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the world.
Gli Azzurri have been the class of Serie A campaign thus far, as they currently top the table with a 15-point lead, scoring a league-high 56 goals and only conceding 15 times in 23 matches. Barring a spectacular collapse, Napoli will win its first domestic league title in 33 years when Diego Maradona was still at the club.
Napoli has also been running rampant in the Champions League. The Italians cruised through the first round, topping a group that included Liverpool by winning five of six games and scoring a competition-high 20 goals.
The Serie A team continued to sweep all before them on Tuesday with a convincing 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen, one of the hottest players on the planet, opened the scoring just before halftime with his 10th goal in his last eight appearances in all competitions. Teammate Giovanni Di Lorenzo sealed the victory when he found the back of the net in the 65th minute.
Di Lorenzo’s goal was indicative of the vibrant soccer Napoli has consistently produced this season. A sweeping attacking move by the Italians was finished off by a curled shot from Di Lorenzo after he collected an audacious back-heeled pass from teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
“We played our style of football. Eintracht sat a bit deeper than they usually do and allowed us space to push forward with our defenders too,” Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski told Italian news outlet Sport Mediaset.
“The first half-hour was not easy, but then we took control and kept hold of it for the full match.”
