Tuesday night in the Champions League was exceptional, and witnessed the remarkable brilliance of the duo, Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, who stood out with a performance that reflects their great influence in the tournament.
Real Madrid achieved a difficult victory (1-0) over Benfica in the first leg of the Round of 16 at the “Al Noor” Stadium, in a match characterized by tactical superiority more than offensive, while Juventus lost to Galatasaray with a score of (5-2), and Paris Saint-Germain won over Monaco (3-2) at the “Louis II” Stadium.
Vinicius enters the adult club
Vinicius Junior continued his distinguished career in Europe, after he reached 31 goals in the Champions League by scoring a goal against Benfica, becoming the second highest-scoring Brazilian player in the history of the competition, after Neymar (43), surpassing Ricardo Kaka (30).
Vinicius’ achievement did not stop there, as he became Real Madrid’s sixth top scorer in the tournament’s history, after Cristiano Ronaldo (105), Karim Benzema (78), Raul Gonzalez (66), Alfredo Di Stefano (49), and Ferenc Puskas (35).
Hakimi continues to write the history of Moroccans
In turn, Achraf Hakimi continued to write his own history in Moroccan football, after he equaled Adel Youssef En-Nesyri and Hakim Ziyech as the top Moroccan scorers in the Champions League with 10 goals.
Hakimi confirms his importance in Paris Saint-Germain, where since last season he has contributed 31 goals in 73 matches, proving that he is not just an attacking full-back, but rather an essential element in the Parisian team.
Hakimi’s influence is not limited to goals only, but also includes a direct influence on the rhythm of play and offensive transitions, which has made him one of the most prominent Arab names on the European scene currently.
A night of European contradictory numbers
The tour saw impressive numbers; No Italian team that has conceded 5 or more goals in the first leg in a European match has ever reversed the score in the second leg, which puts Juventus in front of a very difficult task in the second leg, after its heavy loss to Galatasaray.
Folarin Balogun also scored the fastest goal in Monaco’s European history, after 55 seconds against the Parisian club, and it is also the fastest goal received by Paris Saint-Germain in continental championships, before the French team returned and settled the confrontation with an exciting hat-trick. (winwin)
