| Killian Mbafe achieved a hat-trick in front of Lionel Messi on the 17th (Korean time). © AFP=News1 |
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), who have been dividing their stakes in the world’s best soccer players for over 10 years, have lowered their heads, while Killian Mbafe (Paris Saint-Germain, PSG) and Eling Holland (Borussia Dortmund) are hot. The goal feast was held.
The European Football Federation (UEFA) Champions League Round of 16 matches held in the third week of February was a stage to announce that the time to change the protagonist of the throne is not far away.
Mbafe led the PSG’s 4-1 win over Barcelona in the first leg of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Barcelona on the 17th (Korean time).
Messi scored the opening goal with a penalty kick in the 27th minute of the first half, but Mbafe’s one-man show that started five minutes later covered everything. Mbafe performed a tremendous performance in front of Messi once again following the match between France and Argentina (France 4-3 wins) in the 2018 Russia World Cup round of 16.
On the 18th schedule, the spotlight was focused on Holland, not Ronaldo. While Ronaldo was tied up in the Porto defense, Holland defeated Sevilla with two points and one assist. Dortmund defeated Seville 3-2 on the back of Holland, and Juventus lost 1-2 to Porto.
While PSG and Dortmund were victorious in a few places and stepped into the quarter-finals, Barcelona and Juventus were on the verge of being eliminated. There may be only one Champions League match left for Messi and Ronaldo this season.
After the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matches was over, the topic of change was the throne. While it wasn’t time for Messi and Ronaldo to retreat from the top of the world right now, the presence of the morning stars threatening their place was clear.
“It means there’s something to look forward to after Ronaldo and Messi,” said Gary Lineker, who won the 1986 World Cup scorer in Mexico. Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole also praised him, saying, “What’s surprising is that Mbafe and Holland are continuing to develop.”
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| Elling Holland has scored 18 goals in the UEFA Champions League. © AFP=News1 |
Ronaldo and Messi are ranked first and second in the UEFA Champions League with 134 goals and 119 goals, respectively. However, the recent scoring record on the dream stage is disappointing. From the 2019-20 season, Ronaldo and Messi scored only 8 goals and 7 goals, respectively. On the other hand, during the same period, Mbafe scored 10 goals and Holland 18 goals.
Ronaldo and Messi are tied for ninth place (four goals) in the UEFA Champions League scorer competition this season. Holland is in the lead alone with 8 goals, and Mbafe jumped to a tie for fifth place (5 goals) at once with a hat-trick in the first leg of the round of 16.
Mbappe was born in 1998 and Holland was born in 2000, and he is very young. In the UEFA Champions League, Mbafe scored 19 goals and Holland 18 goals in the range before their 21st birthday. Under the same conditions, Messi scored only 8 goals, and Ronaldo did not score a goal at all.
Spain’s Marka said, “Mbafe and Holland are the best football stars today. They both make people enthusiastic (with great skill) and they are like beasts in front of the goal. It is clear that Mbafe and Holland will dominate world football in the next few years.”
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