Champions League Round of 16 - Part Two

After last weeks action the Champions League had captured the headlines once again. Giants of the world game going head to head, and world class performances blowing their opponents away. This week was no different. One of recent histories most storied rivalries met at Stanford Bridge, with Chelsea welcoming Barcelona. German champions Bayern Munich welcomed Besiktas, looking to continue on after their great domestic form. Europa League experts Sevilla had the task of finding a way through the resolute defence of Jose's Manchester United. And in perhaps the most underwhelming tie of the round, Shakhtar played host to Italian side Roma.

Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona

Goals - Willian 62' - Messi 75'

Coming into the game a lot of the talk was about Lionel Messi. The Argentine had never scored against Chelsea coming into this round of 16 tie. Barcelona, who have lost only once in all competitions this season, came into the game as favourites. Chelsea not in great form domestically, but they came flying out of the box on Tuesday night. Hazard blazing a left footed shot over from range within five minutes, the Belgian looking sharp. Barcelona played their typical passing game, and their possession led to their first chance just past the 15 minute mark, Paulinho heading wide when he should do better.

Chelsea were holding their own against the Spanish League leaders, and could have been ahead after 32. Willian turning in and firing a sublime effort from outside the box. Ter Stegan stranded, but the post saved the German keeper. Antonio Conte, who hasn't enjoyed much of this current campaign, reacted as if he was certain his side were in front. And less then 10 minutes later Barcelona were again thanking the woodwork, and Willian again struck a viscous strike from the edge, this time heading into the opposite left hand corner. Again however, he left the post shaking. There was time for Hazard to again fire over before the half time whistle was blown. Willian could have had two, but the stalemate remained after 45 minutes.

The second half started with Barcelona trying to force the agenda. Luis Suarez running into the left channel and firing across goal, forcing the first real save of the game from Courtois. Despite a very impressive first half, Chelsea appeared to be set up very defensively in the second. Understandably against Barca, but surprising after the first half went the way of the home side.  But despite this, Willian, who was the best player on the park, continued to create danger. And third time proved to be the charm for the Brazilian. Barcelona hadn't learnt their lesson, again letting Chelsea's number 22 let fly from the edge of the box. But this time it found it's way into the near post. 1-0 to the home side.

But if there is one side in the world you do not want to be gifting chance to, that is Barcelona. Andreas Christensen, who had been brilliant all game, played a sloppy square pass that was latched onto by Iniesta. The Spaniard cutting it back to the man all of the talking had been about, Lionel Messi. Who didn't even blink before slotting into the corner to make it 1-1. Just like that.

And the game was to end like that. Chelsea will be wondering how they won't be taking a lead into the second leg. Tactically, Conte's desire to be solid may have cost them, with Barcelona there for the taking. The Spanish giants take an away goal to the Nou Camp, and Messi's Chelsea slump is over.

Bayern Munich 5-0 Besiktas

Goals - Muller 43', 66' & Kingsley Coman 52' & Robert Lewandowski 79', 88'

Both side domestic champions in their own rights, and despite this Besiktas must have known they were huge underdogs coming into this match. It's not easy for anyone to withstand the fire power of the German giants on any day. Bayern are known to step up the gears when in Europe, and the Turkish champions were nothing more then a punching bag on the night. It would have been hard enough with 11 men, but an early red card for the away side really but their backs up against the wall. Despite being down to 10 Besiktas did manage to keep the ball out of their net during the first half hour. A sublime ball in by James Rodriguez was met by Mats Hummels and well turned over the bar by the man between the sticks for the away side.

Ricardo Quaresma proved to be his usual tricky self down the flank, turning Hummels inside and out before firing in a shot from the right, but easily saved. But it was just delaying the inevitable and the home side were ahead just before half time. Kingsley Coman's pace causing nightmares down the left hand side, he played the ball across, met by Alaba and then turned in by the captain for the night Thomas Muller. Right before the break, the deadlock was broken.

The second half started and as expected, the home side came for blood. Hummels sent a header over the bar, and Robert Lewandowski rattled the cross bar both inside four minutes of the restart. And just three minutes later it was two nil. A slick Bayern Munich move lead to Lewandowski being slotted in down the right, he pulled it back expertly into the on-running Kingsley Coman to slot home. 2-0.

Bayern have looked a different side since Carlo Ancelotti departed in October last year, and they go from strength to strength. So the last thing they need is a helping hand, but Besiktas didn't come out in the second half. Robben slipped a pass into Joshua Kimmich, the young German whipped the ball into an unmarked Muller to secure his brace. Unmarked in the six yard box, 3-0, game over.

With every goal Bayern grew in confidence, and it was flowing through every player. Besiktas didn't have an answer for it. Mats Hummels charged forward from the back, striking down to the goal keeper's right, forcing a decent save. But on hand was Lewandowski to fire in the rebound and make it four. Even at 3-0 up, Bayern had three players running in for the follow up, the German's wanted this tie over before the second leg.

Bayern's fire power is one matched by few sides across Europe, with Robben, Muller and Lewandowski running at you late on, goals are a guarantee. And the three men combined to put the icing on the cake. The flying Dutchman Robben playing a pass onto Muller, in for the hat-trick. But the German unselfishly squared for Lewandowski to turn the ball into an empty new for his second and the home sides 5th. Game over, tie virtually over. 5-0.

Sevilla 0-0 Manchester United

Jose and his Man United side travelled to Spain and to Sevilla for their round of 16 first leg. The Spaniard's welcoming their second English side of the competition, after a 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the group stage. Many could see United setting up to defend and from the beginning that was obvious, sitting back as the home side attacked. Luis Muriel testing De Gea early on with a strike from range inside four minutes. From a similar range Jesus Navas fired just wide, again with United backing off.

You have to fast forward to the 25 minute mark for United's first chance, and for a £80 million striker, you'd expect Lukaku to do better. A lovely floated ball from Alexis fell perfectly onto the Belgian's left boot, but it flied way over the bar on the volley. Any Liverpool fan will tell you that Banega can not be given space in Sevilla's midfield, as he will punish you. And United got a big let off as the Argentine played a ball over the back of United'd defence and into a team mate, only for a tame shot to be easily kept out. David De Gea dedicated stoppage time to creating a save of the season completion. Firstly brilliant keeping out a glancing N'Zonzi header, tipping it over the bar. But when Jesus Navas' cross found Luis Muriel unmarked inside the six yard box, the Spaniard defied explanation to get his left hand to the ball and pull off an unbelievable save to see the half end at 0-0.

Truth be told, the second half wasn't worth watching. Sevilla managed nothing more then balls into the box, with United dealing with them all pretty easily. The English side showed no desire to win the game, and it finished 0-0. You have to wonder who this result favours. United now can take the tie back to Manchester for the chance to progress. But Sevilla won't have to worry about away goals, giving them an advantage should they strike at Old Trafford.

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Roma

Goals - Ferreyra 52' & Fred 71' - Cengiz Under 41'

A bitterly cold day in Ukraine saw Shakhtar welcome Roma to their temporary home. The home side known for never being easy to beat in Europe. Both sides pushing for an early goal. A ball played in from the home sides left was met by Fred, but a deflection took all of the power from the shot and fell comfortably into the arms of Alisson. Then a Kolarov corner was met by Dzeko unmarked in the Shakhtar box, but forced a brilliant save from the keeper. Dzeko again forced a save from the keeper after the 20 minute mark, firing first time as the ball was cut back by Perotti.

The Italian side were in the driving seat, and Dzeko continued to be a thorn in the Ukrainians side. Given far too much space just outside the box, the Bosnian turned and clipped a pass through the defence and into the young Turk Cengiz Under, who's shot squeezed under the goalkeeper and in. His first Champions League goal, 1-0 Roma right on half time.

The two sides came out for the second half and the home side had their wings up, and looking to equalise. Un-doing Roma's good work in just five minutes. Ferreyra running into the left channel, cut inside Manolas, and slotted it away brilliantly. The man who didn't get a sniff at Newcastle, brought his side level in the Champions League.

Shakhtar had Roma shaking, and very nearly had the lead two minutes after equalising. Brazilian Marlos bringing the ball down and curling towards goal from inside the box, forcing his countryman Alisson into a sublime save. Roma's keeper proving why Roma have slapped a £70 million price tag on him. And again less then ten minutes later, Taison struck, destined for the top right corner. Alisson showed cat like reflexes to bat the ball away.

But up steps Shakhtar's star man. Brazilian Fred has the world's biggest names lining up for his signature, and for anyone who doesn't know why, it explained it with one swing of his left foot. A truly sublime free kick, from the right hand side, in off the bar. Alisson had no chance. No keeper in the world would have any chance. The home side were ahead, 2-1.

There was time for one more exceptional save from Alisson, sprawling to deny Ferreyra his second from point blank range with what proved to be the last chance of the game. Roma take an away goal back to Italy, but the Ukrainian champions have a lead to defend.

Messi or Ronaldo? - The most common question in football

"I was the last winner of the Ballon D'or to be born on earth." - Kaka. When the Brazilian won the world player of the year award in 2007, no one could imagine what would happen next. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would take over the world of football. Lets put it into perspective for anyone who doesn't understand the Ballon D'or, the winner is officially the best player in the world, up until Kaka's win in 2007 no one had dominated the award since the days of Michel Platini, winning three Ballon D'ors back in 1983, 84 and 85. No one would imagine this award of footballing excellence would be dominated in that fashion ever again. Here is how the Ballon D'or has gone since 2008. Cristiano Ronaldo - 2008, Lionel Messi - 2009, Lionel Messi - 2010, Lionel Messi - 2011, Lionel Messi - 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo - 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo 2014. The dominance by these two men is one we have never seen before, in the last seven seasons these two players have broken every record in the history of the Ballon D'r, with Messi becoming the only player ever to win four in a row which evidently lead to him becoming the player with the most awards in history. Cristiano Ronaldo joined a very elite group when he won his third Ballon D'or, and in doing so he answered a lot of critics, many people though he would never win the famous golden trophy again after Messi retained it for four straight years but he did win it again, and he went one better the next year, and retained it! So as 2015 draws to a close the question will once again be asked. Messi or Ronaldo? Will Ronaldo draw level with Messi? or will the Argentine pull away from the pack? I will compare both players 2015, both individual and team success, before i make my judgement on who should win the 2015 Ballon D'or.

I suppose it would only be right to start with the holder, Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo. The man who is currently in possession on three Ballon D'or awards is looking to equal Lionel Messi for the most wins in history, and this is something Ronaldo has been doing a lot in previous years, standing toe to toe with the Argentine. Since his first win in 2008, Cristiano has had to continue to grow his game and improve year after year to try and stay at the top, and after four years without a win, it appeared he may no longer be good enough to win the big one. However, in the wake of form he said was the 'best of his life' Cristiano ended his baron run and won the 2013 Ballon D'or, beating Lionel Messi and Frank Ribery, and for the first time in years, Ronaldo was seen in the same light as Lionel Messi. Ronaldo recently scored his 500th career goal, an incredible achievement for any player, and even more impressive when you realise he has scored the goals in a fraction of the games that any other who have reached the tally had done. The Portuguese international has came a long way since his days back in Portugal at Sporting Lisbon, where he was labled as 'too lightweight', now at Real Madrid he is seen as one of the most all round players in the game. 'The perfect blueprint' is a way Ronaldo has been described over the years, as he has continued to improve his game, and with a combination of pace, strength, technical ability, incredible dribbling, finishing of a world class striker as well as impressive endurance and cardio, Ronaldo is capable of player at full capacity, in almost any role, 100% of the time. Over the years perhaps the main criticism of the Real Madrid record goal scorer is that he is not very likable, seen as being very cocky and arrogant, as well as having a history of diving (especially at his time at Manchester United.) However since moving to the Spanish capital, Ronaldo seems to have really matured as a player and it seems to have had a positive effect on his form, finally now allowing him to be judged purely on his footballing ability.

Looking at the Portugal skipper's 2015, in terms of goal scoring Ronaldo just seems to keep improving! After a relatively slow start to the calendar year, he recovered his form very quickly and has carried it in to this season, with currently ten goals in nine games, including five goals in one game against Espanyol. Madrid's failure to compete with rivals Barcelona in terms of silverware could have a big effect on Cristiano's chance of winning his first Ballon D'or, but his incredible goal tally, hitting his 500th career goal and all round very impressive year means he is going into the ceremony with a big chance of retaining his title.

Now to look at the Ballon D'or record holder, the man with more victories then any other. Lionel Messi. The Argentine has shot to stardom over the last decade and is considered by many as the best player ever to play the game. His record with the World Player of the Year award indicates that well, with four silver awards, and of course four gold awards. Lionel Messi has spend particularly the last six years of his career breaking almost every record put in front of him. The Barcelona front man is currently the La Liga all time leading goal scorer, Barcelona's all time leading goal scorer, his tally of 91 goals in 2012 is the most by any player in history in a calendar year, Only player to score consecutively against all teams in a professional league, Only player to both score and assist in all 6 club competitions in a calendar year, most assists in La Liga history, top goal scorer in El Clasico history, the list goes on and on, with Messi holding a total of 76 FIFA recognised official records to his name, an unprecedented total which will likely never be matched. You'd think with the career he has had that Lionel's greatness was guaranteed from a young age, however, despite his talent being evident from the earliest footage of the Barcelona number 10, Messi was born with a serious medical condition, stunting his growth, an illness which if left untreated, would have made it almost impossible for Lionel to grow to a healthy height. However, the Argentine's obvious gift saved him, while representing the youth side for Neville's Old Boys, Messi was spotted by Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his treatment, as long as he moved to Spain and continued his development in the famous Barcelona youth set up of La Masia. throughout his time in the youth set up, the first teams big stars all noticed the obvious talent of Lionel, and it showed when, at the young age of 16, he made his first team debut which was quickly followed by his first team official debut at 17. Messi also became the clubs youngest all time goal scorer later in the season, scoring a sublime lob against Albacete from an assist by the then number 10, Ronaldinho. From that day on, Messi was a star in Catalonia and he has more then lived up to expectation.

2015 has been a historic year for Barcelona, which will increase and strengthen Messi's case to win back the Ballon D'or. Mainly down to perhaps the best attacking trio we have seen in world football, Neymar, Suarez and of course Messi. With 58 goals from Messi, the trio scored a total of 122 goals in all competitions that season, a record in Spanish football. Towards the end of the campaign, Messi scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Atlético Madrid on 17 May, securing the La Liga title. Among his 43 league goals that season was a hat-trick scored in 11 minutes against Rayo Vallecano on 8 March, the fastest of his senior career; it was his thirty-second hat-trick overall for Barcelona, allowing him to overtake Telmo Zarra as the player with the most hat-tricks ever in Spanish football. Additionally, as the season's top assist provider with 18 assists, he surpassed Luís Figo as the player with the most assists in La Liga,  he had made his record 106th assist in a fixture against Levante on 15 February, in which he also scored a hat-trick. Messi then scored twice as Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 3–1 in the Copa del Rey final on 30 May, achieving the sixth double in their history. His opening goal was hailed as one of the greatest in his career; he collected the ball near the halfway line and beat four opposing players, before feinting the goalkeeper to score in a tight space by the near post. Lionel and Barcelona dominated continentally as well as domestically during the 2015 Champions League season, winning their 5th title, allowing them to keep the famous trophy. On the way to their title Barcelona made light work of Bayern Munich, winning 3-0 in the first leg, with Messi scoring twice and assisted the other. His sublime performances led to him winning the best player in Europe award after winning the European super cup against Sevilla. A historic treble, with the added baggage of a super cup victory and with the World club cup in japan still to come, Messi has had one of the best calendar years in his career in terms of silverware.

While Cristiano Ronaldo's real Madrid will end 2015 trophy less, Lionel Messi's Barcelona will end the calendar year with  four, maybe five trophies, which is going to go a big way to deciding the winner of the 2015 Ballon D'or. So far in 2015, Lionel Messi has scored three more goals and provided thirteen more assists then Cristiano Ronaldo for club and country, with the added bonus of the amount of silverware he has won in this calendar year, I personally this the Argentine deserves to win his fifth Ballon D'or this year. However with Ronaldo having a better start to the new season, and with Messi set to spend a period out injured, the race is certainly not over yet.

Battle for bronze - Who is the third best in the world?

Football is very much an opinion based sport. Who is the best manager? The best team? The best League? The best national side? These questions and many more in the world of football are up for debate, but one thing is without any doubt, and that is who are the two best players in the world. In the last seven years these two players have won a clean sweep of Ballon D'ors, Lionel Messi (4) and Cristiano Ronaldo (3), these men are by far the two outstanding players on the planet right now, and perhaps two of the greatest of all time. Every year, these two players split opinions on who is the best in the world, both breaking incredible amount of records, and both producing stats that in any other era would be seen as unheard of, yet these two men produce them on a yearly basis.

With Messi and Ronaldo being so far ahead of the rest of the field, the right to be called the third best player in the world has become shrouded in mystery, as no one man has made a claim for that title to be 100% theirs. That is the question I will try to answer today.

 There are many players who can stake a claim to be the third best in the world, players such as Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, James Rodriguez and Andres Iniesta are all players who are right up there, however I will be focusing on the three players I believe are the top contenders for the third place crown. Luis Suarez, Neymar and Manuel Neuer. I will be looking at both team and individual success for these three world stars and try to decide who deserves to be standing next to Messi and Ronaldo at this year’s Ballon D'or ceremony.

 Lets start with the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner, Manuel Neuer. In the 2014 Ballon D'or (won by Cristiano Ronaldo) Neuer placed third, which officially makes him the third best player of 2014, but with those awards being nine months ago, you have to wonder if the Bayern Munich goalkeeper can still claim to be the world’s third best player. When voting for the Ballon D'or, the voters and judges take a few things into consideration, club & country success as well as personal performances. During 2014 Manuel Neuer was a big part of the Bayern Munich side which walked to the Bundesliga title, winning it in record time. His side also reached the Champions League semi-finals (falling out the Real Madrid, the eventual winners) and they finished runners up in the DFB - Pokal (German domestic cup), so on a club level the goalkeeper had a relatively high level of success. But the main contributing factors towards Neuer’s third place finish in the 2014 Ballon D'or was his international success. He was named in the team of the tournament in the 2014, and was also one of the stars of the show in Germany's winning campaign; he also won the golden glove for the tournament. During 2014, and in the couple of seasons before, Manual Neuer has been revolutionizing what it means to be a goalkeeper at the very highest level, playing very much a 'sweeper keeper' role. The unwritten rule over the years is that a goal keeper can never be the best player in the world, but after Neuer's 2014 he was very much within a shout of winning the Ballon D'or thanks to a combination of club & country success and the way he revolutionized his role.

 The next candidate I'm going to take a look at is Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker has massively improved his game in the last few years, leading to masses of individual success, and success at a club & international level. At the end of the 2015 Champions League, Suarez was placed second in the UEFA best player awards (losing to Lionel Messi), beating Cristiano Ronaldo who came in at third. Over the past few seasons individual awards have been plentiful for the Barcelona striker, in the 2013/2014 season, while at Liverpool, Suarez picked up the PFA Player of the year award, football writers player of the year award,  as well as finishing joint first in the UEFA Golden boot, with 31 goals. Suarez's Premier league tally of 31 is a joint record, and he did it without taking a single penalty all season, and missing a few games at the start of the season with suspension. But that brings me on to Suarez's weakness, his reputation. Over the years Luis Suarez has been involved in a lot of controversial situations many believe has hindered his individual success in the Ballon D'or, where despite his success in 2014, he wasn't even nominated for the title of the worlds best player. Suarez has been caught biting an opposition player three times, once while at Ajax which lead to an 8 game ban, once while at Liverpool which lead to a 10 game ban, and most controversially in the World Cup game between Italy and Uruguay, which lead to a ban from all domestic football until October, as well as a 9 game international ban. Originally Suarez was not able to attend training due to his ban, as well as being unable to attend charity events, clue projects; he also received a stadium ban, meaning... he wasn't even aloud to be in the club photo! While those extreme simulations where overturned, it remains one of the most extreme bans in football history. Not long after receiving the ban, Suarez was signed by Barcelona for a reported £75,000,000, although the number tends to vary. The season following his transfer saw Suarez play a key role in a historic treble for the Catalan giants Barcelona, and at the start of the 2015/16 season, he has already helped Barcelona secure the UEFA super cup title, taking his tally at Barcelona to four trophies in under a year! At an international level Suarez has also had levels of success, guiding Uruguay to the Copa America title in 2011, in which he won the player of the tournament.  Despite his controversial career, Suarez's levels of success individually and at a club & international level over the past few years, gives him a very strong case for the title of third best player in the world.

 And finally, the third world star I will be looking at today with a claim to the title of the world’s third best player is a player who many believe is one of the most gifted players of his generation, the Brazilian star Neymar. A player who has been hyped for greatness since a very early age, Neymar is very much in with a claim for the title of the worlds third best footballer. Now while Neymar is considerably younger then the two candidates I have looked at so far, he has used his time well and is one of the fastest growing stars in football. Neymar moved from Brazilian side Santos to Barcelona at the start of the 2013/2014 season, for a transfer fee that to this day is still debated, the fee released by Barcelona was 51,100,000 euros, however reports claim that the deal was in fact a world record transfer fee of 130,200,000 euros, however whether this will be proven is a completely different question. At a club level since Barcelona, Neymar has scored 54 goals in 92 games, a very impressive strike rate for a player who spends most of his time on the wings. Like the previous candidate Luis Suarez, Neymar played a very large part in Barcelona's largely successful 2014/2015 season, scoring in the Champions League final and the Copa Del Rey (Spanish domestic cup) final, proving that he has the quality to perform in the big games, a question commonly asked to young players at the biggest stage. As well as success at a club level, Neymar's international success is perhaps the reason he is seen as one of the world’s stars. At just the age of 23, Neymar has played 65 games for his country, scoring 44 goals, placing him fifth on the all-time record of Brazilian goal scorers. Neymar has provided goals for his country at every level, as has proven he can live up to the hype on the biggest stage of them all, the FIFA world cup. In the 2014 World Cup, Neymar won the bronze boot after finishing third top goal scorer with four goals, however Neymar was injured in the quarter final victory vs Columbia, meaning he was unable to complete the competition. Neymar collected four assists in the competition as well and was named in the team of the tournament. Neymar also lead Brazil to the 2013 Confederations Cup title, winning the golden ball as player of the tournament, and winning the bronze boot. Neymar's success at both club and international level shows he is without any shadow of doubt, a world star and at such a young age, he looks set to just get better and better!

 All three of these players have a very strong argument for being the third best in the world. Manuel Neuer's incredible 2014, and the way he has revolutionized the way we look at goalkeepers means it’s impossible to leave him out of this list. Luis Suarez's genius on the ball has lead his club and country to incredible amounts of success, as well as his goal scoring and all round play leading him to the most individual success on this least. And finally the Brazilian wonder kid Neymar, a player without a doubt who was born with a gift, his international record at such a young age is unheard of and he is almost certain to just keep getting better.

 After going over all of the arguments I personally believe that Luis Suarez has the biggest claim to the third best player in the world title, I believe his incredible success at every level over the last few seasons is just too hard to ignore.