Cristiano Ronaldo continued his Champions League fantasy dominance while leading Real Madrid to another victory. Meanwhile, Edison Cavani capitalized on the opportunity he was given for PSG and Julian Draxler shone for Wolfsburg as they moved one step closer to reaching the quarterfinals. It’s no surprise that all three players were among the top fantasy performers at their position as the Round of 16 got underway last week. Here is a look at the top fantasy performances from last week’s Champions League Round of 16 action.
GK: Keylor Navas, Real Madrid
Real Madrid’s offense scored twice to carry them to the victory, but Roma certainly had its chances in the opening leg of their Round of 16 clash. Navas stood tall to deny them, stoppinb both shots on goal to preserve the clean sheet victory and narrowly edge out Benfica’s Julio Cesar as the top fantasy goalkeeper in the Champions League last week. Real Madrid has now won five of their six Champions League games this season (with one draw). They have allowed just three goals in those contests, which would be the best in their group had it not been for PSG’s stellar defensive play (one goal allowed).
Honorable Mention: Julio Cesar, Benfica; Kevin Trapp, PSG
D: Marcelo, Real Madrid
Marcelo also benefited from Real Madrid’s clean sheet victory, but it was his assist that pushed him to the top of the list as the lone defender to register a point in last week’s Champions League action. Anytime defenders can contribute in offensive categories, that’s a big boon to your production.
Honorable Mention: Daniel Carvajal, Real Madrid; Eliseu, Benfica
M: Julian Draxler, Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg moved one step closer to reaching the Champions League quarterfinals thanks to another excellent performance by their star midfielder Draxler, who scored twice with four shots on target in their 3-2 win over Gent. Draxler has been outstanding both in the tournament and at home in the Bundesliga this season. His stat line was enough to make him the top fantasy performer last week regardless of position. Wolfsburg has now scored nine goals in their six Champions League games this season.
M: Edison Cavani, PSG
Cavani didn’t have much time to make an impact for PSG, but he took advantage of the opportunity and delivered the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Chelsea by breaking through in the 78th minute. Chelsea had drawn level with a goal from John Obi Mikel in first half injury time and looked poised to hold on for the tie in the opening leg before Cavani broke through with the eventual winner. Even as a substitute, that goal was enough to make him the second-best fantasy midfielder from last week’s Champions League action. PSG has been phenomenal in Champions League play so far as they’ve scored 12 goals this season while allowing just one.
Honorable Mention: Jonas, Benfica; Sven Kums, Gent; John Obi Mikel, Chelsea
F: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Ronaldo needed just a single touch to open up a tremendous among of space and deliver an outstanding strike from distance to put Real Madrid in front on their way to a 2-0 victory over Roma. Ronaldos’ goal stood as the game-winner and he finished the match with a total of six shots in order to secure top fantasy honors among Champions League strikers last week. He’s been one of the best real and fantasy performers in Champions League play so far as he has collected 12 goals and three assists so far. No other player has more than seven goals so far throughout the international tournament.
F: Max Kruse, Wolfsburg
Draxler wasn’t the only star to shine bright for Wolfsburg in their opening leg with Gent as Kruse had a goal and four shots in the 3-2 win. A tidier performance at the defensive end of the pitch would have probably been preferred by the winning side, but the fact that Gent scored twice meant that Kruse’s marker in the 60th minute stood as the game-winning goal in that match.
Honorable Mention: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG; Jese, Real Madrid
