Over the past two weeks, we have been handled to eight breathtaking UEFA Champions League quarter-final matches. Final week, Bayern Munich and Manchester Metropolis held Arsenal and Actual Madrid to 2-2 and 3-3 attracts, respectively. After failing to win the primary leg at residence, Arsenal wanted a optimistic consequence on their journey to Munich to proceed. Sadly for the English facet, Bayern Munich have been a tad higher than them and beat them 1-0 on the Allianz Space. Manchester Metropolis, in the meantime, fancied their possibilities of progressing after drawing on the Santiago Bernabeu. However Actual Madrid, with all their may, got here by within the reverse leg on the Etihad Stadium, beating the reigning champions on penalties after holding them at 1-1 on the finish of additional time.
Whereas the aforementioned groups have been on degree floor after the primary leg, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona got here out on prime of their first hurdle. Los Rojiblancos beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at residence whereas Barca secured a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) away, positioning themselves as favorites to progress. Unluckily for the Spanish golf equipment, issues didn’t go in response to plan within the reverse leg. Dortmund bagged an excellent 4-2 win over Atletico to progress to the semis whereas PSG picked up a fair higher 4-1 victory over 10-man Barcelona in Catalonia.
Over two components, we’ve got already paid homage to the standout performers from the primary and second legs. At the moment, we are going to check out those that dropped the ball. Listed below are the highest 5 gamers who couldn’t reside as much as expectations within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
#5 Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico Madrid’s first-choice striker Alvaro Morata drew blanks in each UEFA Champions League quarter-final matches towards Borussia Dortmund. Within the first leg, he solely accomplished 11 passes and had one shot on the right track. Because of his lack of fluidity, coach Diego Simeone hooked him within the sixty fourth minute.
Morata bought a spot within the beginning XI for the return leg at Dortmund, however his efficiency was arguably worse. Dortmund remoted him fairly successfully, and with none service, the Spaniard didn’t make a tangible influence. The previous Actual Madrid man failed to check the keeper even as soon as and missed one huge likelihood earlier than being hooked at halftime.
#4 Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
Premier League giants Arsenal performed two mediocre video games towards Bayern Munich within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, drawing the primary leg and dropping the second. There have been many forgettable performances over the 2 legs, however Gabriel Martinelli’s show was essentially the most disappointing. The Brazilian winger lacked guile going ahead and was simply brushed apart by Bayern attackers on the break. Martinelli was partially liable for Joshua Kimmich’s successful purpose within the second leg, as he didn’t put sufficient effort to maintain Raphael Guerreiro from placing the cross into the field.
Throughout two legs, Martinelli solely accomplished 29 passes, had only one shot on the right track, missed one huge likelihood, and misplaced possession 5 occasions.
#3 Frenkie De Jong (Barcelona)
Barcelona supervisor Xavi has finished every little thing in his energy to assist midfielder Frenkie de Jong. He has made fairly a couple of tweaks to let the Dutchman play in his most well-liked place and surrounded him with gamers who can help him. Nonetheless, regardless of receiving such aids, De Jong has been in a position to boss the midfield, not in video games towards high-quality opposition.
De Jong couldn’t maintain his personal towards PSG midfielders Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, and Warren Zaire-Emery. They typically overpowered him in duels or bypassed him altogether, rendering him ineffective. De Jong additionally lacked urgency throughout transitions. He typically took a tad too lengthy to pick the proper move and didn’t cost the opposition aggressively sufficient when defending. Over two legs, De Jong didn’t create any goalscoring probabilities, performed simply eight passes into the ultimate third, and misplaced 4 floor duels.
Barcelona could take into account delivery him off in the summertime switch window if he doesn’t markedly enhance his efficiency over the approaching weeks.
#2 Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Barcelona anticipated Robert Lewandowski to turn out to be their messiah after they signed him from Bayern Munich in the summertime of 2022. The Polish striker has certainly produced some top-tier shows since shifting to Catalonia, however only a few of them have are available tough matches.
The previous Bayern Munich talisman was properly beneath expectations within the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals towards French powerhouse PSG, particularly within the second leg. After meaningfully contributing to Barca’s trigger within the 3-2 win in Paris, Lewandowski fully fell off the radar within the second leg. PSG marked him closely and restricted his actions, and each time he did break away, his ending let him down.
Within the decisive second leg, Lewandowski had 4 photographs, however solely two of these wanted Gianluigi Donnarumma’s intervention. He was additionally dispossessed 3 times, misplaced 10 duels, and dedicated two fouls, one among which earned him a yellow card.
#1 Erling Haaland (Manchester Metropolis)
Arguably one of the best striker on the planet, Manchester Metropolis ace Erling Haaland was shockingly poor in each legs towards Actual Madrid.
Within the first leg, Antonio Rudiger took it upon himself to mark the formidable striker. The previous Chelsea man caught with him all through the sport, snatching the ball away from him each time he tried to get into the sport. Within the first leg, which ended 3-3 in Madrid, Haaland solely accomplished six passes, lodged just one shot, and misplaced 5 of 10 floor duels.
Haaland didn’t tussle with Rudiger within the return leg on the Etihad Stadium, with Nacho Fernandez accepting the duty of dealing with him. Regardless of having a bodily drawback, Nacho did a quantity on Haaland, proscribing him to only one shot on the right track. The Norwegian did hit the woodwork as soon as, however he didn’t look in charge of the looping header he dispatched.
Haaland has now confronted Actual Madrid 4 occasions within the final couple of seasons, failing to attain even as soon as.
