The first leg of the Champions League playoff round is in the books. Who puts themselves in the best position ahead for the second leg – and who will make it through to the knockout rounds?
We saw some massive wins for Newcastle United, Real Madrid and PSG – but who made it into our team of the round?
GK: Thibault Courtois
Real Madrid shot-stopper Thibault Courtois was between the sticks for a turbulent clash with Benfica. In a game mired in controversy, the Belgian international managed to keep his head and his clean sheet.
Courtois only had three saves to make and one high claim, but he was one of just three ‘keepers who maintained a clean sheet during this set of fixtures.
RB: Julian Ryerson
Borussia Dortmund have had a middling Champions League campaign, but they were well up for it when they took on Atalanta.
In particular, Julian Ryerson looked very spritely on the right side of defence. He notched up an assist early on, then put in some solid defensive work to secure a clean sheet.
CB: Malick Thiaw
Malick Thiaw may not have managed to keep Qarabag out, but he made up for it with his attacking contributions.
Newcastle completely annihilated the Azerbaijani outfit – Thiaw scored the Toon’s second goal of the game in a 6-1 win.
CB: Ramy Bensebaini
Ramy Bensebaini had a tough task ahead of him, as he was trusted to contain the dangerous Mario Pasalic, but he did so with relative ease.
Dortmund put themselves in a good position ahead of the second leg away from home, picking up a 2-0 win over Atalanta.