Champions League 2022: Results, Top Scorers After Tuesday’s Round-of-16 Games | Bleacher Report
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David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images
The Champions League round of 16 continued Tuesday with a pair of first-leg fixtures.
Chelsea is in the driver’s seat in its matchup with Lille thanks to a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. Juventus and Villarreal are deadlocked at 1-1 after the Spanish side canceled out an early goal for Juve.
Neither outcome did much in the race for the title of top scorer in this year’s competition.
Champions League Top Scorers
1. Sebastien Haller (Ajax), 10
2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), 9
3. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), 8
4. Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), 7
T5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), 6
T5. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City), 6
T7. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), 5
T7. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), 5
T7. Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), 5
T7. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), 5
Full leaderboard available at UEFA.com
Juventus made a major statement when they signed Dusan Vlahovic for €70 million from Fiorentina in January. In 58 Serie A matches over the past two seasons, the 22-year-old had 38 goals. His arrival addressed one of the biggest issues in the squad as Juve lacked a true goal poacher following the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Vlahovic remained untested on the biggest stage in club soccer, though, having never appeared in a Champions League fixture. He needed less than a minute to open his UCL scoring account.
Juventus was unable to press its advantage further, though. The inconsistent attacking it displayed in back-to-back 1-1 draws with Atalanta and Torino was on display at Estadio de la Ceramica.
Dani Parejo delivered a well-deserved equalizer for Villarreal in the 66th minute. Nobody on Juventus accounted for the midfielder as he had a free shot on goal.
While Inter Milan knocked Juve off its domestic perch by winning Serie A last season, supporters would probably trade losing out on another league title if it meant finally attaining the continental success that was so elusive during a recent run of dominance.
But a third straight exit in the round of 16 could beckon for Massimiliano Allegri’s squad after Tuesday’s result. A draw might have been a fortunate outcome on the balance of play, underlining the need for improvement in the return match.
Squawka News @SquawkaNews
Villarreal 1-1 Juventus FT:<br><br>xG: 1.10-0.36<br>Shots: 9-7<br>Shots on target: 3-2<br>Big Chances: 1-0<br>Touches in opp. box: 19-11<br>Possession: 54%-46%<br>Pass accuracy: 87%-83%<br>Corners: 4-0<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#UCL</a> <a href=”https://t.co/FcqhkrpoD4″>pic.twitter.com/FcqhkrpoD4</a>
Chelsea, on the other hand, are sitting pretty heading into the second leg.
Like Juventus, the Blues didn’t waste any time as Kai Havertz’s eighth-minute opener came amid an offensive flurry for the reigning UCL champions.
Lille actually finished with nearly twice as many total shots (15) as its opponent (eight) but struggled to create any clear goalscoring opportunities. Only two of Lille’s shots were on target compared to four for Chelsea.
In the 63rd minute, Christian Pulisic delivered what could be a fatal blow in the two-legged affair when he displayed the kind of clinical finishing that was lacking from the French side.
N’Golo Kante’s sprint through midfield and pass to Pulisic were instrumental in the goal. Lille’s inability to muster much in the final third was partly down to how much Kante disrupted play.
#ChampionsLeague @alimo_philip
N’Golo Kante vs Lille: <br><br>91% pass accuracy<br>68 total touches<br>10 ball recoveries <br>6 ground duels won<br>5 attempted long passes<br>4 successful long passes<br>4 tackles won<br>2 chances created<br>2 dribbles completed<br>1 big chance created<br>1 assist<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CHELOSC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CHELOSC</a>|<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chelsea?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Chelsea</a>|<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#UCL</a> <a href=”https://t.co/aKQ3zbyfxl”>pic.twitter.com/aKQ3zbyfxl</a>
Chelsea came into Tuesday’s match after an uninspiring victory over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup and a similarly hard-fought win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The Blues are 13 points back of PL leader Manchester City, summing up a domestic campaign in which they’ve been somewhat inconsistent for a team with their talent level.
But there’s no question manager Thomas Tuchel knows how to get the best out of his players in a continental setting. Another deep Champions League run could be in store.
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