Michael Regan/Getty Images

Top Winners and Losers After Wednesday's Champions League Round of 16 Results

Nick Akerman

Another week of Champions League Round of 16 first legs have concluded.

It was a night of drama, too, as Porto stunned Arsenal in the final moments with a 1-0 win. Elsewhere, Napoli and Barcelona played out a drab 1-1 draw to the surprise of absolutely nobody as both ties remain firmly in the balance.

Let's check out the winners and losers of the night.

Winner: Galeno

MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images

It was late, very late, but Galeno grabbed his moment with a brilliant 94th minute winner against Arsenal. The ball seemed to take an age to fly beyond David Raya, and when the net finally rippled, it was well worth the wait.

Galeno's excellence came after one of the strangest misses of the season. He had two surefire opportunities within a blink to give Porto the lead. The first, he smashed off the left post. The second, he somehow managed to put beyond the right post. The stadium celebrated thinking he'd scored.

For a brief moment it even looked like the 26-year-old's body was naturally running off as if he scored, despite his head being in his hands.

He only had to wait a little longer to celebrate for real though on a huge night for the Portuguese outfit.

Loser: Gabriel Martinelli

Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Gabriel Martinelli was excellent last season. He's having a very poor follow-up, all things considered.

It's not just the drop off in goals and assists. His link-up play has become untidy, he doesn't seem to skip beyond opponents like he used to and his concentration is off.

The young Brazilian struggled throughout the trip to Porto and thrust the Gunners towards a disappointing defeat with a rushed clearance that eventually fell to Galeno. He could have held the ball, welcomed a foul and just done ANYTHING ELSE other than kick it right back to the home side.

Arsenal should still be considered favourites to progress in front of the Emirates Stadium. Martinelli can even be key in that. Wednesday goes down as one of his worst performances for the North Londoners, though.

Winner: Robert Lewandowski

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images

The mediocrity of Napoli and Barcelona's seasons produced many headlines ahead of the Blaugrana's trip to Italy. Neither team are where they want to be this season. The Champions League is a major distraction from league campaigns that have been pretty awful.

Such struggles showed in a game of minimal quality. Barca were the better team in the first half and looked more confident, while Napoli grew as the game went on. Both were fragile and relied on their best player to impact things.

Lewandowski's excellently taken goal is a reminder that you're always dangerous if you have a world-class striker. Barca are in a good position to push on and progress when the second leg arrives at home.

Loser: Napoli

Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

It's fair to suggest Victor Osimhen deserves praise for his tidy equaliser against Barca. The Nigerian sorted his feet and delivered a key strike at a moment where the game turned in their favour.

So why the hell did Francesco Calzona immediately sub him off?! The new boss's changes added spark and simultaneously removed the one person who looked like they could finish the chances created.

Napoli's entire match acted as a snapshot of a dreadful season. They lacked energy in the opening 45 and couldn't nudge themselves ahead when dominating in the second. The struggling Serie A champs will have had more eyes on them tonight than they have all season. It's fair to say few will be impressed. This seemed like their best chance of making it through and the flame never ignited.

   

Read 18 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)