This Tuesday, 16 teams in the UEFA Champions League played their final games of the group stage. Four Colombians played in three different Champions League matches this Tuesday, here is a look at how The Cafeteros faired in their respective games.
James Rodriguez
Bayern Munich achieved a very surprising 3-1 win against PSG at the Allianz Arena and James Rodriguez played a pivotal role in his team’s dominant victory. The Colombia captain played in 83 minutes of the match before being subbed out for Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal. Rodriguez had 52 total passes, a 91-percent pass accuracy, four key passes, four of eight accurate crosses and win eight of 13 duels. The 26-year-old played a part in Bayern’s first two goals, first with a cross that found Kingsley Coman, who headed it to Robert Lewandowski.
The Polish striker put the opportunity away easily in front of the net, then James had a more direct impact in Bayern’s second goal with a cross that found Corentin Tolisso’s head and then the back of the net. Bayern Munich still finished second in Group B with 15 points, the same as PSG but the goal differential is what proved to make the difference in the final standings.
Eder Alvarez Balanta
FC Basel defeated Benfica 2-0 at the Estadio da Luz and secured its place in the round of 16 in the Champions League with a second-place finish in Group A with 12 points. Eder Alvarez Balanta played the entire 90 minutes of the match against Benfica and had a solid performance. The 24-year-old centre-back had two clearances, three blocked shots, a key pass, six of 11 accurate long balls, a key pass and even a big chance created.
Felipe Pardo
Olympiacos had a lackluster display in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, finishing bottom of Group D with only a point. The Greek side had a 2-0 defeat against Juventus to finish off its participation in this edition of the Champions League and Colombian winger Felipe Pardo had a very poor performance. “Pipe” played the entire game but only had 13 total passes in the game with a shocking 61-percent pass accuracy and was inclusively dispossessed twice in the game while only winning six of 11 duels.
Juan Cuadrado
Another Colombian player was present at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Juventus’ winger Juan Cuadrado. The 29-year-old had a much better time than Pardo as La Juve took home the 2-0 win with a goal from the Colombian in the 15th minute of the game. Cuadrado played 84 minutes in the game and inclusively had two shots on target, two interceptions, two of three accurate long balls and two of three successful dribble attempts. Juventus finished second in Group D with 11 points, just behind first-place Barcelona and will be back in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.
