Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller have all been nominated for the latest Nissan-sponsored UEFA Champions League Goal of the Week.
All five players scored sensational goals over the course of two absorbing semi-final ties involving four giants of the European game: Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Madrid, of course, ultimately bowed out at the hands of Juventus, beaten 3-2 on aggregate by the Bianconeri, but it had all looked so good for Carlo Ancelotti’s men when Ronaldo finished off a wonderful team move to give the Spaniards a precious away goal in the first leg in Turin.
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Barcelona, meanwhile, progressed to the final courtesy of a 5-3 aggregate win over Bayern, with Messi doing all the damage in their opening encounter. The Argentine broke the deadlock with a low strike from outside the box but then outdid himself with a sublime dinked finish over Manuel Neuer, after he had left Jerome Boateng on his backside.
Neymar also played a crucial role in the Catalans’ triumph, scoring three goals in total against Pep Guardiola’s men. His second contribution was the easiest finish but definitely the pick of the bunch, with Messi having opened up the Bayern defence before Luis Suarez unselfishly squared for Neymar to tap home a goal that beautifully underlined the brilliance of Barca’s front three.
Credit to Bayern, though, they never stopped fighting and Lewandowski dragged them level on the night at the Allianz Arena by demonstrating fantastic footwork to bamboozle Javier Mascherano on the edge of the area before expertly placing the ball past the excellent Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Lewandowski’s team-mate Thomas Muller produced just as precise a finish to give Bayern a 3-2 win, which, although it did not prove sufficient to turn the tie around, at least restored some of the German champions’ pride after their first-leg loss.
Click here to watch the UEFA Champions League Goal of the Week, presented by Nissan!
