The stars who lit up the Round of 16 in the Champions League

The stars who lit up the Round of 16 in the Champions League

The Champions League moves closer and closer to discovering its champion as the competition passes into the final eight. The familiar faces are there, headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but also a few surprises in the form of Porto, Ajax and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's young Manchester United. 

The Premier League leads the way with four teams in the Quarter-Finals, with Manchester City the most impressive after a 10-2 aggregate win following their 7-0 annihilation of Schalke at the second leg at the Etihad. Liverpool were also extremely impressive, overcoming a 0-0 home match with a 3-1 win away to Bayern Munich, largely thanks to Sadio Mane.

Tottenham and Manchester United also overcame more fancied opponents to complete the English quartet, but with Barcelona and Juventus still lurking and the possibility of even facing each other, there will be no easy fixtures remaining.

LiveScore takes a look at the star player from each tie including Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick, Mane's brace and Dusan Tadic's masterclass.

Porto vs Roma - Alex Telles

Porto outlasted a dogged Roma side in extra-time in the second leg after both results turned in 2-1 scores after 90 minutes. Adrian Lopez's late goal in the first leg proved vital for Porto, after Nicolo Zainolo smashed in two goals in six minutes to give the Italian side the upper hand. Daniel De Rossi's penalty at the end of the first half in the return leg in Portugal appeared to have Roma in pole position to progress, only for Moussa Marega to restore Porto's lead minutes after half-time. It was the lethal Alex Telles who converted a controversial VAR decision award the home side a penalty, securing a 3-1 win and sending Porto through.

It was Telles who proved the most consistent and deadly force throughout the tie, marauding down the flank out of his left back position, repeatedly threatening the Roma goal with his delivery from crosses and set pieces. Wanted by Europe's elite, Telles is the ideal modern fullback. A dogged defender with impressive speed combined with comfortability on the ball and clinical distribution, particularly in the final third.

While he currently sits behind Marcelo and Alex Sandro in the pecking order for the Brazilian national team, he led the way for Porto against Roma and was the standout player in a Round of 16 showdown that could have gone either way.

Manchester United vs Paris Saint-Germain - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Paris Saint-Germain arrived at Old Trafford for the first leg of their mammoth Champions League tie with Manchester United and tore through a hapless Red Devils side despite the absences of marquee forwards Neymar and Edinson Cavani. Former United player Angel Di Maria was the catalyst for a dominant offensive showing from the French champions, combined with a ruthless defensive effort led by the versatile Marquinhos. With as many as 10 first team players missing for the English side in the return leg in Paris, few thought Manchester United stood a chance of turning the tie around, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his staff constructed a plan that would produce one of the most unlikely Champions League comebacks the competition has ever seen.

Unlike the first leg where United were much too static and afraid to get forward in fear of being cut apart by Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe and the PSG attack, the Red Devils were the aggressors from the opening whistle, using the combination of Romelu Lukuku's physicality with Marcus Rashford's pace up front. Fullbacks Luke Shaw and Ashley Young also appeared to have a freer license to roam forward, which forced their opposite numbers to sit deeper both with and without possession of the ball.

Solskaer's conviction and confidence to change his system and play on the offensive despite missing a gluttony of players has him the star of the tie, a result that has likely earned him the job on a full-time basis. His ingenuity and willingness to adapt was critical in earning the famous club entry into the last eight.

Tottenham vs Dortmund - Jan Vertonghen

Tottenham drew the Bundesliga leaders in the Round of 16 and after a number of high profile injuries and a series of underwhelming performances, few thought they would progress against a side dominating their respective league. They completely erased any doubt with a stunning first leg performance that saw them put three past the Borussia Dortmund defence and all but secure their place in the Quarter-Finals. Harry Kane's strike in the second leg at the Westfalenstadion securing a dominant 4-0 aggregate score, but it was one of Spurs' elder statesmen at the back who proved most important.

With both Ben Davies and Danny Rose unavailable for the first leg at Wembley, Jan Vertonghen was required to fill in at the left wingback role, a position the centre-back would not be expected to look overly comfortable or be significantly effective in. Vertonghen had other ideas.

The Belgian looked as if he had played his entire career on the wing, rampaging up and down the touchline with overlapping runs while still nullifying the potent threat of Jadon Sancho and Akraf Hakimi. Vertonghen produced an inch-perfect cross for Son Heung-min to open the scoring, looping the ball over the head of Dortmund's Dan-Axel Zagadou and where goalkeeper Roman Burki could not reach it. He nearly provided Tottenham with their second with another fizzing ball into the box for Son, only for it to be knocked away. He then doubled their lead with a vollied finish the likes of which any striker would be happy with, making a darting run in behind the German side's defence and sealing the win.

In the second leg he returned to his more familiar role in the heart of Tottenham's defence and he provided another resolute performance, earning a clean sheet for Spurs in one of the most difficult atmospheres to play in in world football. He was Tottenham's shining star of their Round of 16 triumph.

Ajax vs Real Madrid - Dusan Tadic

Three-consecutive Champions League titles saw Real Madrid as heavy favourites to progress to the Quarter-Finals yet again, despite indifferent performances in La Liga. The Galacticos had traditionally always found a way to put their aside whatever struggles they may be experiencing in other competitions to produce their best in Europe's elite competition, and despite a wobbly first-half in Amsterdam, the Spanish giants were able to find two goals in the final 30 minutes, including a late Marco Asensio winner, to put themselves in a strong position to advance. Ajax's performance was however extremely impressive, led by their young stars Frenkie de Jong and Hakim Ziyech complimented by the experienced Dusan Tadic.

The second leg at the Bernabeu was a one-way street, but not in the direction most had anticipated. The decision of Sergio Ramos to accrue a yellow card on purpose to avoid potentially missing a Quarter-Final match was one of severe arrogance, and it deeply impacted his side. Ajax ran through the Madrid defence as if they were training cones, with Tadic gliding in off the right flank to tee up Ziyech for the first before transforming into Lionel Messi to produce their second, pirouetting past Casemiro and playing in David Neres who finished cooly. Tadic then smashed in their third in another sweeping piece of counter-attacking football, adding a goal to his two assists and sending the Dutch side into the Quarter-Finals.

Tadic, who was a talented but inconsistent attacking midfielder during his time at Southampton, has clearly found the perfect system to harness his ability and has produced one of the most outstanding performances by an away player at the Bernabeu in recent memory.

Barcelona vs Lyon - Lionel Messi

Barcelona were expected to push Lyon aside and stroll into the Champions League Quarter-Finals, but the tie nearly took a surprising turn as the French side repeatedly threatened the goal of the opponent in the first leg, with Marc Andre ter Stegen having to produce one of his finest performances in the famous blue and garnet to keep them at bay. The Spanish champions employed a relatively defensive side for the opening match, and Lyon attempted to sieze upon those tactics, as Hassem Aouar and Martin Terrier forcing full-stretch saves. The game finished 0-0, a result the French side will feel they needed much more from if they were to produce an upset.

The tie headed to the Camp Nou for the second leg and it was Lionel Messi who breathed the game into life, cheekily converting a panenka in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez theatrically fell in the Lyon penalty area. He was narrowly denied a second and Barcelona's third early in the second half, having his chipped effort cleared off the line, before Lucas Tousart restored some hope for the travelling team. From there however it was all Messi, faking out two Lyon defenders before sliding the ball into the Lyon net for his second, before assisting Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele to add two assists two his tally of two goals.

Messi joins Robert Lewandowski atop the race for the Golden Boot with eight goals, taking his personal tally in the competition to 108, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo. He also moved past 35 goals across all competitions this season, making it the 11th-consecutive season he has done so. Are we set for a Messi-Ronaldo collision course?

Liverpool vs Bayern Munich - Sadio Mane

Liverpool and Bayern Munich played out arguably the marquee tie of Round of 16, but the opening match left a lot to be desired. A 0-0 stalemate saw either side seemingly too scared to concede, with Liverpool understanding an away goal could prove decisive while Bayern were cautious of the Reds' dominant record at Anfield when they score first. The reverse fixture offered much more in the way of a contest. 

Sadio Mane opened the scoring with a wonderful piece of play, controlling a Virgil van Dijk lob with an equisite touch before cutting back from defender Joshua Kimmich and delicately finishing over an incoming Manuel Neuer. However, 13 minutes later Serge Gnabry's cross would be inexplicably played into his own net by Joel Matip, earning Bayern an equaliser against the run of play. Despite a 42-58 percent possession split, it was Liverpool who continued to look the most likely. In the 68th minute Neuer got his finger tips to a dangerous corner kick that was drifting towards his back post, but there wasnothing he could do about the resulting restart of play as van Dijk towered above the Bayern defence, heading into the bottom corner to all but push the Reds into the Quarter-Finals.

Mane then finished the rout by heading in a deft chip from Mo Salah to seal a man-of-the-match performance for the Senegalese star, tilting the tie in his side's favour and sending Liverpool into the final eight of the Champions League for the second consecutive years. Often criticised for his inconsistency, Mane has found a more reliable touch in front of goal this year with a tally of 16 in the Premier League alone. He is Liverpool's x-factor, and usually acts as their litmus test. He will be crucial to them making a second consecutive final.

Juventus vs Atletico Madrid - Cristiano Ronaldo

The great Cristiano Ronaldo moved into the knockout stages yet again in his career, but this time in the unfamiliar black and white stripes of Juventus. He headed back to Madrid for the first leg, but this time to the Wanda Metripolitano rather than his former home at the Bernabeu, to face his old nemesis Atletico. It was the home side who produced a typical dogged, watertight effort. Juventus dominated possession with 64% of the ball, but could only manage two shots on target as the hosts applied their famed lockdown defence. With 12 minutes to play in the opener Jose Giminez smashed the ball in the back of the net after extremely scrappy defending from Juve allowed the ball to roll into his path from about 8 yards out. Five minutes later captain Diego Godin capitalised off similarly lacklustre defence, finishing from an accute angle after the ball richoeted out to him and sealing a 2-0 win.

The result meant the tie would go back to Italy with Ronaldo needing to produce something special if he were to keep his hopes of a fourth-consecutive Champions League title alive. Did he ever produce that.

In the 26th minute a floating cross from winger Federico Bernardeschi found the head of Ronaldo who sprung above his defender to breathe life into the stadium and the tie, another Champions League knockout stage goal for its greatest ever performer. Four minutes after the half-time break, he struck again, this time off an Emre Can cross from the right flank. Ronaldo flew above the rest with a powerful header that Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak somehow managed to parry out but not before it had fully crossed the goal line. 

The comeback was well and truly on, and Juventus were going in for the kill against an Atletico Madrid side that had failed to make any impact on the game. Then, with just five minutes to play, Bernardeschi was fouled in the penalty box, allowing Ronaldo the chance to step up and not only claim his eighth Champions League hat-trick (tying Lionel Messi for the most ever) but also to win the tie on his own boot. The Portugese of course smashed the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal and lifted the roof off the Allianz Stadium. Another chapter in the Cristiano Ronaldo fable.

Manchester City vs Schalke - Leroy Sane

With Schalke languishing near relegation in the Bundesliga, Manchester City were expected to sleepwalk past their German opponents, but the opening half of the first leg at the VELTINS-Arena suggested otherwise. Sergio Aguero predictably put the Citizens ahead after 18 minutes, but a handball by Nicolas Otamendi in the box and Fernandinho dragging down his opponent in the penalty area allowed Nabil Bentaleb to convert twice from the spot and put the pressure on the visitors. Otamendi was shown a second yellow with just over 20 minutes remaining in the match, further complicating the situation for the Sky Blues. However, the introduction of former Schalke star Leroy Sane would prove a match-winning one by Pep Guardiola, as the wonderfully talented young winger scored a thumping free kick with five minutes remaining, before a ridiculous length-of-the-pitch kick from goalkeeper Ederson found Raheem Sterling who showed strength and poise to snatch the most unlikely victory for City.

The second leg was not expected to be as competitive, and it was not. Aguero again opened the scoring with a penalty, before doubling his tally and City's lead three minutes later. Leroy Sane produced a clinical finish in the 42nd minute to make it 3-0 to the hosts before half-time. Sane produced the most breath-taking of passes for Sterling on the other wing to make it 4-0 just after the break, before grabbing his second assist of the match in the 71st minute after finding Bernardo Silva wide open in the middle of the box. He added a third assist with a wonderful piece of skill to find space before playing in starlet Phil Foden for City's sixth goal, before Gabriel Jesus sealed the tie with their seventh.

A 10-2 aggregate score provided one of the most lopsided in the history of the competition, but the tie looked far from determined until Sane's introduction in the first leg. The 23-year-old injected energy and life into a Manchester City side that appeared without a pulse away from home, before being directly involved in four goals in the following leg. It was one of the most impressive performances over two matches the competition has seen in this and many other editions of Europe's elite league.