Top Winners, Losers After Tuesday's Champions League Quarterfinal Leg 2 Results
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured ColumnistApril 13, 2021
Tuesday's Champions League quarterfinal action saw two teams lose 1-0 but still advance to the semifinals.
For PSG, a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich didn't matter, as PSG advanced on away goals (3-3 aggregate). For Chelsea, a 1-0 loss to Porto didn't erase their 2-1 advantage in aggregate.
And so half of the semifinal field is set. Let's take a look back at the winners and losers from Tuesday's matches.
Winner: Neymar
The only thing Neymar didn't do on Tuesday was score a goal. He was the bright man as his side advanced to the UCL semifinals, easily cutting the figure of one of the world's truly elite and ascendant talents.
With the number of opportunities he had, it was remarkable he didn't find the back of the net:
If any of those had found the back of the net, PSG would have had a much more relaxing evening against a Bayern Munich side that nearly did enough to advance. Regardless, it's a great sign for PSG that Neymar is hitting on all cylinders, even if it didn't result in a goal Tuesday.
He was truly a joy to behold.
Winner: Mehdi Taremi
Chelsea vs. Porto was a snoozefest. More on that below. But it did have one moment of brilliance, courtesy of Mehdi Taremi.
Just look at this little bit of wonder in second-half stoppage time:
It was too little, too late for Porto, but that goal is worth admiration.
Loser: Viewers of Chelsea vs. Porto
Here's what they were saying about the PSG vs. Bayern Munich game in the late stages:
And here are some of the tweets that accompanied Chelsea's loss to Porto:
Yeah, there was the late goal. It was a stunner. But was anybody even tuned in by then?
PSG vs. Bayern Munich was truly a treat, a gift from the soccer gods. Chelsea vs. Porto was that strange sweater with your name embroidered on the front that your aunt knitted for you and gave to you over the holidays.
Credit to Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea for stifling Porto and doing enough to advance to the semifinals. But it sure was dull to watch.
Winner: Mauricio Pochettino
Going into Germany and scoring three away goals against UCL giants like Bayern Munich, and then holding them to a single goal in the return tie—in a match that easily could have seen PSG score three or four times with a bit more luck—was more than a little impressive.
William Hill @WilliamHillIn March, PSG ended Barcelona's record streak of reaching 13 consecutive UCL quarter-finals. In April, PSG ended Bayern's unbeaten run in the competition & became the first team to knock them out since Hansi Flick took charge. He's magic, you know. Mauricio Pochettino. #UCL https://t.co/GyWRzR3u62
Could Pochettino be the man to finally get PSG over its Champions League hump?
Perhaps. He took Tottenham all the way to the final in the 2018-19 season, after all, and this PSG team has far more talent than those Spurs.
The Parisiens made their first final a year ago, only to lose to Bayern Munich. They had their revenge on Tuesday, though the bigger goal of winning a European title remains. Poch just might be the man for such a massive job.