In a half dominated by Atletico Madrid, Saul Niguez's goal was unquestionably the highlight. The Atletico midfielder torched his man, cut into the middle on his left foot and rifled the ball into the top corner.
Need a goalazo? Better call Saúl. #B04ATL #UCL https://t.co/bE5SnQx6P5
It only took Monaco six minutes to respond to Manchester City’s opening goal. Radamel Falcao cashed in with a perfect diving header to even up the score. It was his 14th goal in 15 games across all competitions.
Textbook diving header from Falcao, his 14th goal in 15 games (all comps). #UCL #MCIASM https://t.co/8TMQeD84KD
Whenever a big side like Manchester United get played close by a smaller club, there's inevitably talk of the "Magic of the FA Cup", and, though that usually refers to some plucky underdog dethroning one of the elite, rich clubs, sometimes the magic of the cup is just watching Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic do something cool.
Case in point:
No 24 for Zlatan
Lovely assist from Pogba pic.twitter.com/ovQRaofihg
This is the last thing Atletico Madrid wanted to see ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League first leg: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has hit top form again. With a brace against Augsburg on Friday, Chicharito made it five goals in three matches for Leverkusen.
After going through the longest goal drought of his career, Chicharito has been back with a vengeance throughout January and February. He put Leverkusen up 2-0 in the 40th minute with a left-footed shot.
First off, I just have to say I love how this guy absolutely hammers the ball without bothering to do anything whatsoever with his body shape. If I opened a footballing school for the gifted, this is the technique I would impart to my pupils. If ever, ever the ball the ball sits nicely in front of you, preferably on the bounce, just lace it. It’ll be worth it, no matter what happens.
But what happens next, after he catches that sumbitch flush, is a miracle.
Napoli have played adventurously at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Real Madrid have shown why they’re the defending champions of this competition by extending their lead to 3-1 thanks to a wonder goal from Casemiro.
The defensive midfielder smashed this effort in the 54th minute to give Real a commanding advantage in the Spanish capital.
It’s not often you see an attempt like this when a goalkeeper is off his line. Our first instinct was to blame Keylor Navas for Lorenzo Insigne’s eighth-minute opener for Napoli in their round of 16 match with Real Madrid, but this is a sensationally instinctive finish from Insigne.
Rather than attempt to chip the goalkeeper, Insigne sends a low, curling shot beyond a scrambling Navas and into the side-netting. Karim Benzema has since equalized for Real Madrid as we approach halftime.
Angel Di Maria has scored another sensational strike to put PSG up 3-0 over Barcelona in the 55th minute. Barca look completely shell shocked following a left-footed attempt from the Argentine that flew into the corner.
Can you feel the love, Paris?
Barcelona have chosen the absolute worst moment to put in one of their most carless performances of the season. They’ve given the ball away and been unable to play with a rampant PSG side that finds themselves up 2-0 at half. While Barca have been awful, PSG have been simply brilliant, dominating the Catalans in every aspect of the game. PSG have launched 11 shots in the first half, putting seven on target.
This is a really good goal from AC Milan’s Suso, and it rescued a point in the 85th minute for his side against Lazio. But what really sticks out is how apeshit the Lazio defenders go after watching Suso dribble through them all.
A win for Lazio would’ve taken them to fourth, and you can tell just how devastating this late goal was. In Italy, the land of catenaccio and solid defensive organization, Suso’s ability to drift between defenders and leave two Lazio players on the floor just isn’t acceptable.