Manchester United won their first match after the sacking of manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer as they defeated Villarreal to seal their place in the Champions League round of 16.
And just like every other game in this current Champions League campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the crucial goal to give United the points. But Michael Carrick also deserved credit for his fine first game as caretaker manager.
Not to be outdone, Premier League rivals Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 win over Juventus as they continue to look like the European champions that they are.
Meanwhile, Barcelona’s round-of-16 hopes hang in the balance after a goalless draw against Benfica in new coach Xavi’s Champions League bow.
Read on below as SBOTOP lists down three key talking points from this most recent round of Champions League matches.
Ronaldo continues amazing run, while Carrick impresses
Whether it’s Ole Gunner Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, or whoever else is coaching on the sideline, it doesn’t seem to matter to Cristiano Ronaldo, who just keeps producing Champions League 2021 highlights.
The Portuguese goal-poacher supreme scored in United’s 2-0 win over Villarreal, keeping up his record of scoring in each of the team’s first five Champions League games.
But Carrick, who took charge for the first time after Solskjaer’s sacking, also deserves credit for the win. The caretaker boss made several changes to the starting lineup, which included moving Ronaldo to the left wing and benching Bruno Fernandes.
Carrick then eventually brought Bruno and Marcus Rashford in as second-half substitutes, which helped change the game for United. Bruno provided the assist for Jadon Sancho’s belated first goal for United.
It remains to be seen for how long Carrick will stay in charge at United. The club have reportedly approached former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde about potentially taking over for the remainder of the season.
But this performance under Carrick provides some encouragement that United can pick up some decent results in the interim, especially with big games against Chelsea and Arsenal looming in the next few weeks.
Reigning champions Chelsea finding their best form
Speaking of Chelsea, they continued their outstanding run of form as they smashed Juventus 4-0 at Stamford Bridge to reclaim the lead in Group H.
The young English trio of Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, and Callum Hudson-Odoi all scored within the first hour to help the Blues seal the win, while the returning Timo Werner added a fourth late in stoppage time.
Chelsea , who also thumped Leicester 3-0 away over the weekend, have now won nine out of their last 10 matches in all competitions, most of which have been without star striker Romelu Lukaku.
Thomas Tuchel has unleashed wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell’s attacking potential to compensate for Lukaku’s absence. James has been in blistering form at the moment with four goals and two assists for the Blues in his last six appearances.
And aside from their newfound attacking potency, Chelsea have also rediscovered the defensive solidity which was a trademark of their incredible transformation under Tuchel. They have conceded just three goals in their last 10 games, which is an impressive mark.
With Chelsea in this sort of form, their Champions League 2021 odds to successfully defend their title certainly look much more appealing.
Xavi has work to do after disappointing Champions League bow
Xavi’s first Champions League game in charge of Barcelona did not go as planned as the Catalans could only draw 0-0 with Benfica at the Camp Nou.
The draw leaves Barcelona with just seven points in five games, and their qualification for the knockout round is still hanging very much in the balance.
If they lose to Bayern Munich and Benfica – who are only two points behind Barca – beat Dynamo Kyiv in the last round of group games, the Catalans will fail to make the Champions League knockout round for the first time since 1999.
With two draws and a win – albeit in the derby against Espanyol – in his first three games in charge, it is clear that Xavi still has much work to do to get Barcelona back to their past glory.
Granted, he is still awaiting the return of young stars Pedri and Ansu Fati from injury. Having those two back will be a huge boost to the squad, which is still stuck in seventh place in La Liga.
Until then, Xavi will have to make do with what he has to work with and prove that replacing Ronald Koeman for him was indeed the right move.
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