By admin 
It was an absorbing round of 16 in the Champions League with goals and controversy aplenty.
The final tie to finish saw defending champions Real Madrid squeeze past Atletico Madrid thanks largely to the VAR’s decision to deem Julian Alvarez had kicked the ball twice when taking his penalty in the shoot-out.
Arsenal also progressed after hitting PSV Eindhoven for seven in the first leg while Barcelona, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are also through to the quarter-finals.
PSG take on Aston Villa, Barca meet Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid play Arsenal and the tie of the round sees Bayern Munich face Italian champions Inter.
Here, we look back at the standout performers in this round and select our best XI.
Goalkeeper
Alisson (Liverpool)
Can feel unfortunate to have exited the competition, particularly after his first-leg heroics at the Parc des Princes. The Brazil international made nine saves as Arne Slot’s men won 1-0 in Paris – the most by a Liverpool goalkeeper in a Champions League game since Opta started recording the data in 2003-04. He was also impressive in the return but could do little as PSG advanced on a penalty shoot-out.
Defence
Benjamin Pavard (Inter)
Pavard is a consistent performer for Inter and he played an important role as Simone Inzaghi’s side edged out Feyenoord 4-1 on aggregate. Playing on the right side of a back three for Inter, he slots into our team in a more accustomed right-back role.
Raul Asencio (Real Madrid)
The 22-year-old started the season in Madrid’s reserve side but has developed quickly into one of their key players. Given his chance by a string of injuries, Asencio would now command a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice XI. Superb over the two legs against Atletico Madrid.
Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)
His team may have gone out but Uruguay defender Jimenez was a colossus against Madrid. Faced with an array of attacking talent – Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo et al – the 30-year-old stood up manfully, marshalling the Atleti backline.
Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)
Much of the talk prior to PSG’s tie with Liverpool focused on the battle between Ousmane Dembele and Mohamed Salah and who would have the greater impact. As it was, Salah was a peripheral figure across the two games, marked superbly by Portugal left back Mendes.
Midfield
Marco Asensio (Aston Villa)
The Spain midfielder has made a huge impact since arriving at Villa Park on loan from PSG. He scored a penalty in the first leg against Club Brugge, extending Villa’s advantage to 3-1, and then netted twice in the return as Unai Emery’s men eased through.
No Premier League player has scored more goals across all competitions than Marco Asensio (7) since his debut for Aston Villa in February.
Settling in nicely 🏡 pic.twitter.com/n07DwgAgnb
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 12, 2025
Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)
The diminutive Portugal midfielder ran both legs against Liverpool. He was the hub for PSG to dominate the first game and then gradually imposed himself at Anfield, defending when he had to but also helping launch a series of counter attacks.
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Odegaard was a late substitute against PSV Eindhoven in the second leg at the Emirates last night but his work had already been done. The Denmark midfielder was key to a wonderful Arsenal display at the Philips Stadion last week, scoring twice as the Gunners won 7-1 in the Netherlands.
Forwards
Raphinha (Barcelona)
Enhanced his Ballon d’Or claims with two superb displays as Barcelona beat Benfica. The Brazil playmaker scored the only goal as Barca won in Lisbon last week and then combined superbly with Lamine Yamal as the Catalans won the second leg 3-1. He scored twice and was again Barca’s best player.
🤝 From: Lamine Yamal
🤝 To: Raphinha pic.twitter.com/tRezZxMdaH— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 13, 2025
Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain)
The France star appears back to his brilliant best. Tortured the Liverpool backline in the first leg and it remains a mystery how he and his team-mates drew a blank. Made up for it though with the only goal as PSG won the return at Anfield and backed it up with a coolly taken penalty in the shoot-out.
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Kane was the scourge of Bayer Leverkusen with three goals across the two legs as Bayern won 5-0 on aggregate. He also set up Alphonso Davies for his side’s second at the BayArena on Tuesday night with a superb pass. Kane has 10 goals in this season’s Champions League – the most ever by an Englishman.