It’s a busy week in Europe with the final round of matches in the Champions League taking center stage This week, the Champions League round of 16 matches will be concluded with four interesting matches lined up across Europe.
Of the four matches left, only Chelsea looks comfortable going into the second leg, with the three other matches still delicately poised.
But which players can make all the difference for their teams as they look to book a place in the quarterfinal?
Here are the three players who could be the difference makers for their respective teams on Tuesday and Wednesday;
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Manchester United will be looking to Cristiano Ronaldo for inspiration when they host Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford in the second leg of their round of 16 on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old made the right headlines at the weekend after scoring a superb hat-trick to lead the Red Devils to an entertaining 3-2 win over Tottenham in the Premier League top four rate race.
Tonight, the former Real Madrid star could prove to be the key player for United once again when he faces a familiar foe in Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
It’s exactly a year since Ronaldo inspired Juventus to an excellent victory over Atletico and will be hoping to replicate that performance when he takes to the pitch later today.
Ronaldo, who is United’s top scorer this season in Europe, has faced Atleti 11 times in the Champions League and scored seven goals.
READ ALSO: Ghanaian men still chase us when we’re visibly pregnant – Women share experiences
Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid)
While all eyes will be on former Liverpool forward, Luis Suarez, who is set for an expected hostile reception at Old Trafford, an in-form Joao Felix could be the player to fire the La Liga Champions into the last eight.
The 22-year-old has scored four goals in his last four matches in all competitions for Atleti, one of the goals was the opener against Manchester United in the first leg two weeks ago.
Sebastien Haller (Ajax Amsterdam)
Cameroon’s Sebastien Haller has had a record-breaking campaign for Dutch giants, Ajax Amsterdam, in his Champions League debut season.
Ajax is looking to book a ticket to the last eight and host Benfica in another entertaining second leg match slated for Tuesday night at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
In the first leg in Portugal, Haller scored Ajax’s second goal to earn his club a share of the spoils in the explosive 2-2 draw.
That goal was his 11th of the season, making him the first player to score in his first seven matches and the quickest to net 11 goals in the competition’s history.
Ajax will be looking to the giant Cameroonian for more goals, having helped the club to equal their most prolific season in the Champions League already with 22 goals, 11 of which were scored by the 27-year-old.
Which other players do you think can make the difference for their teams in the Champions League this week?
