It has been three months since the Champions League last graced our lives — a longer than usual mid-season break thanks to the Qatar World Cup — but the gap has only whetted the sense of anticipation.
The last 16 is studded with heavyweight games, none more so than Real Madrid’s tie against Liverpool and Bayern Munich’s against Paris Saint-Germain, but what of the individual players that could make the European stage their own?
Our experts have analysed the fixtures and identified the stars who could shine brightest in the next few weeks.
Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
There might not be a more formidable forward in world football right now than Victor Osimhen.
Napoli’s last-16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt won’t be an opportunity to learn more about him because he’s shown the rainbow of his abilities already. Stylish, skilful and dynamic, but also canny in his positioning, the range of his goals is remarkable and continues to grow so as his technical ability flowers.
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But there are two subtly interesting aspects to his game, which will be compelling in the Champions League. First, his developing habit of scoring important goals at critical moments. Roma home and away are obvious examples but so, too, was the equaliser in Atalanta back in November. See also the rapid-double to finish Spezia last weekend and the clincher against Sampdoria in January.
Got that @victorosimhen9 goal on replay 🔂#NapoliRoma pic.twitter.com/F41hXnjvyq
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 30, 2023
Another of Osimhen’s strengths, though, is the way he accelerates — it’s not just that he’s quick, but that he seems to change speeds without modifying his stride pattern. Remember how NFL wide receiver Randy Moss used to run, with that sudden yet smooth shift of gear that seemed to bewilder his opponents? Osimhen is the same and it seems to add a layer of unwitting deception to his game.
Watch out, Frankfurt. And everyone after that.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
GO DEEPER
Analysing tactics of all Champions League teams in last 16
Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)
It feels strange that a club with as much money as PSG could rely on a 16-year-old in a Champions League knockout tie. But given Kylian Mbappe’s recent injury struggles, there’s a decent chance we could see Zaire-Emery against Bayern, even if it’s not from the start.
Zaire-Emery scored his first senior goal for PSG against Montpellier recently. It was a brilliant effort that he created and finished himself, but he seemed to celebrate in a manner that suggested this was all very normal.
Which could well be true. Christophe Galtier has been easing him into the first-team setup, but the early signs indicate that the quality of the youngster’s performances, which include another goal in the 3-1 defeat to Monaco on Saturday, may demand that process be accelerated. “He is mature for his age,” said Galtier. “He’s very close to the level of our established midfielders.”
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Nick Miller
Goncalo Ramos (Benfica)
It’s hard to imagine a splashier way for a young striker to arrive than by upstaging Cristiano Ronaldo, unless it’s upstaging Cristiano Ronaldo by taking his starting spot at the World Cup and scoring a damn hat-trick (plus an assist!) in the knockout rounds. People won’t forget Goncalo Ramos anytime soon.
This guy is 21 years old. He’s been a starter at Benfica for about a year. He’s never played outside of Portugal, but it doesn’t take David Ornstein to tell you that’s going to change soon for a lot of money.
The last two forwards to put up Ramos-calibre numbers in Portugal — where he’s averaging 1.11 non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists per 90 minutes — were Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez. That’s the level of prospect we’re talking here. But he’s a different type of centre-forward from Nunez, whose dribbling and streaking runs made him more of a winger-striker hybrid.
Ramos’s strengths are in the box, where he’s got the full set of finishing tools. He’s quick: watch his goals and you’ll be startled by how many come one-on-one with the keeper after beating a high line. He’s two-footed and sneakily technical, which allows him to pick his angle or fake a shot with his stronger right foot and cut onto his left for an open look.
Most importantly, his movement and timing make him deadly at cutting across a defender to find high-value shots in the six-yard box. In his young Benfica career, he’s averaging 0.21 expected goals per non-penalty shot. You know who else shoots that close to goal? Erling Haaland.
So yeah, we should probably be paying attention when Ramos plays in the Champions League knockouts. We’re going to be watching this kid for a while.
John Muller
Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
He is only 20 but Eduardo Camavinga is no stranger to the Champions League. The France international debuted in the competition aged 17 years, 11 months and 10 days in a 1-1 draw at home to Krasnodar while at Rennes.
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Defensive midfielders aren’t usually considered players that make match-deciding impacts off the bench but Camavinga is making a name for himself as a ‘finisher’.
Many will remember his cameo when Madrid overturned a 5-3 aggregate deficit at home to Manchester City last season in the semi-finals via three goals after the 90th minute. But his influence was clear from his first appearance in the competition for Real Madrid, at San Siro in September 2021. As an 80th-minute substitute against Inter Milan, he tenaciously combined with Federico Valverde to get in behind the defence and assist Rodrygo for the winner.
Teenage star Eduardo Camavinga provided his first Champions League assist for Real Madrid to earn a late win over Inter 🌟
The weight of pass 😍#UCL pic.twitter.com/weJChZ029w
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 15, 2021
Camavinga is Carlo Ancelotti’s most-used substitute (11) in La Liga this season but he has also fielded him at left-back in a 4-3-3, which may not maximise the Frenchman’s all-round game and press-resistance. Given the age of Luka Modric (37) and Toni Kroos (33), Real’s midfield will soon need a revamp and Camavinga looks set to take the reins.
Liam Tharme
Joao Felix (Chelsea)
Atletico Madrid fans’ remaining connection to this season’s Champions League is Joao Felix, and the Portugal forward’s continuing popularity at the Estadio Metropolitano means many ‘rojiblanco’ fans will be cheering on Chelsea in their last-16 tie with Borussia Dortmund.
It will be particularly interesting to see how Joao Felix does away from Diego Simeone’s tactical restrictions. Most of his best performances for Atletico came on big European nights, but also ended in ultimate disappointment as his team crashed out.
Adding to the intrigue, Joao Felix suggested in a Spanish media interview this week that he could be back at Atletico next season, and that Simeone might no longer then be Atletico’s coach (something The Athletic has also discussed recently).
If Graham Potter gives him the playmaking responsibility in an attack-minded Chelsea setup, the 23-year-old can respond with a superstar performance that drives the team into the quarter-finals. We might just see what Joao Felix is capable of.
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Dermot Corrigan
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
OK, I know it’s a roll-your-eyes, how-very-original choice. And yes, we have all read a million and one eulogies about his dawdling genius. But he still excites me. He’s still the player I want to see, more than any other.
He intrigues me, too. The whole deal. Even now, 18 months in, it still feels slightly strange to see him in a different club shirt to Barcelona. And there are still glories to be had, even for a man who has won absolutely everything and became the story of the 2022 World Cup. Messi was signed by PSG for more than just vanity.
The biggest team in France (these days) have never won the Champions League and, to put it another way, it would feel slightly absurd if a side with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in its front line continued to come up short. Over to you, Leo.
Daniel Taylor
Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt)
It seems as if the only thing that has been able to stop Kolo Muani this season has been Emiliano Martinez’s outstretched leg. Unfortunately for the France forward, it couldn’t have appeared at a more critical time.
Like all good strikers, though, Kolo Muani hasn’t been knocked off course. He admitted that his 124th-minute calf-stinger in the World Cup final will remain forever stuck in his throat, but six goals in the six domestic games since for Frankfurt suggest that, while he is on the pitch at least, a potentially career-altering miss is firmly pushed to the back of his mind.
A prolific start to 2023 has showcased his clinical decision-making in the penalty area, only taking aim when the moment of maximum opportunity arrives. From a looping header in the cup against local rivals Darmstadt and a powerful, low drive at Freiburg to a smooth drop of the shoulder and weaker-foot finish to peg back Bayern, the striker heads into a Champions League showdown with Napoli in the form of his life.
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Much like his opposite No 9 (see Osimhen’s section above).
Thomas Harris
Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig)
Marco Rose gives Szoboszlai wings.
He gave him his debut at Red Bull Salzburg as a teenager and now the forward is flourishing under Rose’s guidance at Leipzig. He’s started all 15 Bundesliga games since Rose was appointed, having been in and out of favour under Domenico Tedesco. This season, he’s scored three and provided eight assists in the Bundesliga — only Kolo Muani has more assists.
A superb creator with an eye for goal (particularly from long range), Szoboszlai is a threat from set pieces, as you can see from the chance-creation map below. Two of his eight assists have been from corners.
But it’s the variation in his game that his team-mates love. Here’s midfielder Xaver Schlager after Szoboszlai scored twice against Stuttgart last month: “We pay more attention to how hard he works off the ball, how he positions himself and how he presses. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an attacking midfielder who is so good defensively.”
With Dani Olmo and the Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku troubled by injuries, Leipzig may need Szoboszlai at his best to trouble Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Charlie Scott
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
You will have to excuse me if I have spelt his name wrong. I’ve spent the last 15 minutes watching Khvicha Kvaratskhelia clips on YouTube and I’m feeling disoriented.
For a 22-year-old playing his first season in the Champions League, his numbers in the group stage were highly impressive: five appearances, two goals, three assists. But even those numbers don’t begin to do justice to the sight of the Georgian in full flight; beguiling and breathtaking in how he drifts past defenders, devastating in his rapid changes of direction.
If modern coaching breeds a particular orthodoxy, Kvaratskhelia flies in the face of it. All flicks, tricks, twists and turns, he is mesmerising, beguiling and frequently devastating. Interest from bigger, richer clubs is a certainty, but Luciano Spalletti’s thrilling Napoli team seems perfect for him.
Frankfurt have been warned. Whether they can stop him is a different matter.
Oliver Kay
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Samuel Richardson)