The Champions League round of 16 concludes this week. As always, you can catch coverage of all the Champions League action across Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network. Here are four players to keep an eye on as heavyweights like Barcelona, Arsenal and Inter all look to clinch a place in the quarterfinals.
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1. Jorginho, Arsenal
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." If you'll forgive me for pilfering from a series I have only watched half a dozen episodes of -- I'm sorry but over here in Britain we rarely if ever produce television seasons that run to 22 episodes, it's just too intimidating for the outsider -- coach Eric Taylor's philosophy from the much-beloved Friday Night Lights seems one that should serve Arsenal rather well as they bid to overcome their first leg deficit to Porto. If Mikel Arteta's side deliver to the excellent standard they have for most of 2024 then they should do so in an instant. Even with Gabriel Martinelli expected to be sidelined, there is enough quality in them to blow Sergio Conceicao's side away.
The issue is what happens if they lose those clear eyes, if composure ebbs away. Maybe Arsenal can't lose, but they can certainly beat themselves. That much was nearly apparent on Saturday as they were driven to distraction by Brentford until Kai Havertz came up trumps in the dying minutes. Thomas Frank might not admit it, but his side looked to have taken inspiration from Porto in that regard. At the Estadio do Dragao they excelled at drawing Arsenal into a street fight, selling every clip and nudge like it was a haymaker and continually breaking up the rhythm of the game. That was their right. Arteta was not furious about Porto's gamesmanship last month, but about how his side responded to it, how they let frustration blind them.
Perhaps that would not have transpired had Jorginho been on the pitch from the off to set the tempo for Arsenal. A consummate performer on the European stage, the 32-year-old was excelling on the Champions League stage at a time when many of his team mates were getting their continental experiences on school trips. Experience in this competition matters and Jorginho has it in abundance. In his excellent run of recent form, the Italian has functioned as something akin to an on-field coach, he is invariably the one rallying the troops while his 500-plus senior games have blessed him with an almost preternatural understanding for not only where he should be, but where his teammates belong too.
Here he is, just 75 seconds into the win over Brentford, positioning his teammates to plug gaps that he has left so that he can apply pressure, pressure that will result in a turnover when Nathan Collins seems torn between a pass up the line and the one into midfield that Jorginho is very visibly calling out as about to happen. Ultimately, all the Brentford center back does is give possession straight to Bukayo Saka.
He may not wear the armband, but Jorginho is a leader in every sense of the word. In the jubilation of Saturday's celebrations at the North Bank, he trotted across to the Clock End to celebrate with Aaron Ramsdale, with whom he has been studying for his coaching badges, after what had been an afternoon of highs and lows for the backup goalkeeper. On the field, his presence seems to have drawn out the best in Kai Havertz, the clipped balls over the backline to the German a particular party trick for the former Chelsea pair.
While drawing the best out of others, Jorginho is still delivering in his customary fashion, regularly wracking up 70-plus pass completions per 90 minutes at a general 90 percent accuracy. He sets the tempo and breaks the lines, delivering the right pass for the occasion. If Arsenal follow in his clear eyed, full hearted example, it may well be that they actually can't lose to Porto.
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2. Victor Osimhen, Napoli
If ever there were a time for Victor Osimhen to unearth the player he was last season, it is Tuesday night in Barcelona's Olympic Stadium. Napoli's season isn't over yet, but it will be if they cannot overcome Europe's other fallen champion. Were they to do so then a side that has beaten Juventus and crushed Sassuolo in the last few weeks would be no-one's idea of a plumb opponent. Indeed, if things really started to click, Napoli might be capable of the sort of deep run they threatened to make last season.
That doesn't happen without Osimhen though. Even in a year disrupted by injuries and off-field turmoil inflicted on him by his club, the Nigerian is still one of Serie A's most dangerous forwards. In league play he has 11 goals from 17 appearances and his non-penalty expected goals (npxG) per 90 minutes of 0.45 is a top five mark in Serie A. As Inigo Martinez can attest, having been sent crashing to the deck and a prime view of Marc Andre ter Stegen being beaten at his near post, Osimhen has the strength and technique to make good defenders look very ordinary.
It is just that last season's Osimhen did all that more frequently, turning in 29 percent more shots and a per 90 npxG of 0.66. Combine that version of Napoli's No.9 with Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, one of the few Italian champions whose form hasn't suffered this season, and you get an attack that can cause all sorts of problems even for an improved Barcelona defense.
3. Davide Frattesi, Inter
The summer after they reached the Champions League final, Inter lost their starting and reserve goalkeeper, a key center back, one of Serie A's most consistent deep playmakers and two forwards who had dovetailed quite excellently with Lautaro Martinez. All of which is to make the point that, given a summer of squad upheaval, it is quite remarkable that Simone Inzaghi finds himself able to call upon perhaps the most impressive bench of any team left in the competition.
That much was apparent on Friday when Martinez, Federico Dimarco and Benjamin Pavard were among those rested for a meeting with the only Serie A team who can match them in terms of 2024 form: Bologna. Still, they were able to get the job done thanks to a goal from young center back Yann Bisseck. He could be another highlighted to make this point, as could veteran strikers Alexis Sanchez and Marko Arnautovic, the latter a match winner in the first leg at home to Atletico Madrid.
It is, however, midfielder Davide Frattesi who best showcases Inter's impressive depth. A star with Sassuolo last season, he has proven to be an impressive reserve to the front-footed midfield trio that Inzaghi tends to deploy, as capable of replicating Nicolo Barella's industry as he is Henrikh Mkhitaryan's shots. Already Frattesi has three goals as a substitute in Serie A this season, most notably the added time winner that overcame Verona in January.
Inter might have the advantage at the halfway mark in the Atletico tie, but if any fixture has the feel of one that could drag into extra time it is this one. How valuable for Inzaghi then that he can turn to the likes of Frattesi when he needs fresh legs and big plays.
4. Ian Maatsen, Borussia Dortmund
The other Premier League loanee might generate more column inches, but it is Chelsea's Ian Maatsen who has outshone Jadon Sancho in their early weeks on loan at Borussia Dortmund. Indeed, even Dortmund themselves seem to be taken aback that Maatsen only arrived in January with Edin Terzic going to great lengths to praise the versatility and composure the 22-year-old has brought in what has been a problem position for some time.
Maatsen himself seems to have settled extremely quickly, saying earlier this month: "I felt at home right from the start, which means that even before the flight to Dortmund, I felt a certain tingling sensation, the anticipation of playing for this club. I immediately had a very special connection with the players, even though I'd never played with them before. I can't really explain it myself. Maybe it's because I received a very warm welcome from everyone here."
Already Maatsen has two assists and a goal in nine Bundesliga games and is averaging 0.23 expected assists per 90, an extremely effective return for a full back. Then again, the Dutch youth international is no ordinary full back, as his heat map above shows he is rather more of a one man left flank. That same heatmap does suggest that Terzic is getting more than just an old school up and down the touchline full back too with plenty of touches in inverted spots that should allow Dortmund to control midfield against PSV Eindhoven.
Maatsen's defensive chops will certainly be tested by Johan Bakayoko and Hirving Lozano but he is no mug when facing Bundesliga wingers, averaging 2.4 tackles and an interception per 90 early in his spell with Dortmund. This could be a breakout night for the youngster, the sort that will have an awful lot of top European clubs tempted by a £35 million release clause that is starting to look like quite the bargain.
