An historic and goal crazy Champions League round of 16 has come to its conclusion, the usual woes for Arsenal fans and the biggest comeback in the competitions history played out in some captivating ties.

 

Real Madrid secured their passage to the last eight after a brave Napoli side took the lead in both games before succumbing to the Spanish giants 3-1 in both legs. The San Paolo stadium was a spectacle to behold but the reigning UCL holders proved just to be too much with a 6-2 aggregate win. 

 

Arsenal went out at this stage of the competition for the seventh consecutive season after being humiliated by German champions Bayern Munich. The task was an unenviable one after losing in Munich 5-1 but the score was repeated at the Emirates as the English club crashed out in a embarrassing 10-2 aggregate score.

 

Borussia Dortmund were not made to rue their missed chances in the first leg defeat in Portugal to Benfica, a hat-trick from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the icing on the cake of a great team performance as they put four past Benfica in Germany to progress with a two legged 4-1 win.

 

Juventus continued their quest for European success with consummate ease as they dispatched Porto, the Portuguese team played the majority of both legs with a man disadvantage. Telles in the first leg and Pereira in the second made a tough task almost impossible, but a professional if uninspiring performance from the Italian champions ensured safe passage the quarter finals with a 3-0 aggregate win.

 

Leicester City’s Champions League dream continued with probably the surprise result of the round, Jamie Vardy’s away goal in a 2-1 first leg in Seville defeat proved to be crucial. A below par performance from Sevilla encapsulated by Steven N’Zonzi’s penalty miss allowed goals from Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton to be decisive as the Premier League champions won 3-2 over the two legs.

 

An untypical Atletico Madrid performance in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen gave the Spanish side a big advantage heading into the second leg. Normally compact and organised Diego Simone’s men conceded twice but scored four times to head home with the tie in their favour. Normal service was resumed at the Vicente Calderon but Leverkusen did make Atletico work hard for their 0-0 draw with goalkeeper Jan Oblak the Spanish sides’ man of the match, a performance which included a fantastic triple save. 

 

Another other season this would have been tie of the round as Manchester City and Monaco shared eight goals in a 5-3 home win for Pep Guardiola’s side, and the second leg proved to be just as goal friendly as the current Ligue 1 leaders won the tie on away goals after a 3-1 home win. Monaco quick out of the blocks with Kylian Mbappe scoring after eight minutes, City failed to pose a threat in the first half and ultimately their defensive frailties cost them as they went out on away goals.

 

 

Undoubtedly tie of the round and arguably in the competitions history was the Barcelona against Paris Saint-German tie, the French champions travelled to the Camp Nou with a four goal lead and a clean sheet. An awful performance in the first leg had left Luis Enrique’s side with huge task; a Luis Suarez goal after three minutes gave the Spaniards huge impetus. It was 3-0 after 50 minutes before Edinson Cavini found an away goal needing the Catalan side needing to score another three. In an incredible last seven minutes of the game two goals from Neymar and a 96th minute winner from Sergi Roberto completed the greatest comeback in Champions League history.

 

 

The top five performers of the round has an attacking bias with so many goals scored.

 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made amends for his wasteful first leg performance with a hat-trick for Dortmund.

 

Robert Lewandowski for Bayern Munich, with two goals and one assist over the humbling of Arsenal sees the German side’s quest for their holy grail continue.

 

Teenager sensation Kylian Mbappe scored two goals for Monaco whilst eliminating Manchester City enhancing his already growing reputation, dark horses the French side maybe but this team has a real attacking threat.

 

Toni Kross with a goal an assist over the two legs as real Madrid look defend their trophy, the German International was influential in the midfield with his vision and passing.

 

Kasper Schmeichel for Leicester City, the Danish goalkeeper saved two penalties over the two legs and a string of fine saves kept the Foxes in the tie in Seville.

Mark Neale