Another brilliant round of UEFA Champions League football has passed us by and we now know four of the eight quarter-finalist already. Real Madrid defeated Manchester United at OId Trafford in a match that ended in controversy as Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning goal, Dortmund brushed aside Shakhtar with a 3-0 victory in the second leg, Juventus had it easy against Celtic at Turin, while PSG knocked out Valencia in a close game.
As usual we have had some great goals in this round of 2nd leg fixtures. We pick the top five among the 10 goals scored in this round.
5. Fabio Quagliarella ai??i?? Juventus v Celtic
This goal scored by the Italian international was fairly inconsequential when you consider that Juventus were already winning the tie 4-0 on aggregate, but it was lovely team goal none the less.
Pirlo, as expected, started the move from center of the midfield and launched a wonderful diagonal ball in-behind Celtic left back Izaguirre. The ball was wonderful chest controlled by Vidal who timed his run brilliantly and as Celtic goalkeeper Forster came forward to close him down, he passed the ball to Quagliarella and the Italian international buried it into an empty net. It was a brilliantly executed team goal, made primarily thanks to the vision of Pirlo and the wonderfully timed run and control of Vidal.
4. Felipe Santana ai??i?? Borussia Dortmund v Shakhtar Donetsk
Few things are more regal in football than a wonderful header and thatai??i??s exactly what Felipe Santana provided in the 31st minute of the match against Shakhtar.
The tie was delicately poised after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, but Santanaai??i??s goal settled the nerves and put Dortmund on their way to a convincing victory in the end. As MarioAi??GAi??tze floated in his corner from the left, Santana rose above his marker Yaroslav Rakitskiy with a magnificent leap. He hung in the air for quite a while and then thumped in his header in the left hand top corner of Pyatovai??i??s net. The fact that Razvan Rat, who was guarding the post on the left hand side, didnai??i??t even have a chance to react, says it all.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo ai??i?? Manchester United v Real Madrid
It had to be him. The script was written and the Portuguese superstar delivered. But the goal was not only about Ronaldo, it was a wonderfully worked goal, and one that killed off the tie in favour of Real Madrid.
The move started with Modric, who passed the ball towards Higuain in the box. The Argentine international held the ball with his back towards goals and passed it to Ozil. The German midfielder made a wonderful back-heel return for Higuain who lost his marker and made a run towards the goal line. The striker then rapped his foot around the ball, drilled a low cross towards the far post where Ronaldo slid in and finished it off with the outside of his right foot.
2. Jonas ai??i?? PSG v Valencia
The Brazilian striker entertained the crowd in Paris with samba magic in the 55th minute of the match. With Valencia trailing 2-1 in the tie, this goal gave them hope of making an unlikely comeback, although Lavezzi had other plans.
Tino Costa won the ball just outside the box and passed it to Jonas. The 28-year-old striker made space for himself with Alex closing him down. The former Gremio striker then let fly from outside the box and the ball flew past Sirigu into the right hand corner of his net. That goal brought the game to life, but unfortunately this wonderful striker wasnai??i??t enough to inspire a win for Valencia in the tie.
1. Luka Modric ai??i?? Manchester United v Real Madrid
Although Ronaldoai??i??s goal won the match, this was the clincher in the true sense of the word. An inspired substitution by Jose Mourinho saw Modric replace Arbeloa as the Portuguese manager looked to take advantage of Naniai??i??s dismissal, and boy, the Croatian delivered!
Just seven minutes after coming on to the pitch, the Croatian international received the ball outside the box on the left. He moved inside shifting the ball onto his right and although Carrick tried to close him down, Modric found space and let fly from outside the box. The ball bended in and hit the left hand post of De Gea and disturbed the net. It was an amazing strike and the fact that it came at such a crucial point in the match increases its importance. Jose Mourinho said after the match that Modric changed the game.
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