The Champions League Round of 16 is officially in the books, but the fallout from the biggest club tournament in world football has not been fully digested yet. Here are five players who were so poor in the second leg of the tournament that fans are having new doubts about them.
Chelsea CB Mamadou Sarr
To be honest, Chelsea fans were already having doubts about Mamadou Sarr. He’s only getting starts because the rest of the Chelsea center backs have been so underwhelming this season, but he was so horrendous in the latest loss to PSG that maybe Blues fans will appreciate Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile a little bit more in comparison.
Out of all the underwhelming center backs on this team, Sarr is the worst. He almost never wins possession for this team, and his passive playing style may somewhat work in the Premier League but is always going to be exposed badly by the top teams in the Champions League like reigning winners PSG. Sure, he was playing out of position at right back, which was just the latest miscalculation by manager Liam Rosenior, but that is no excuse for the goal he allowed or how badly he performed overall for a big club like Chelsea in a huge game.
Newcastle CB Malick Thiaw
Malick Thiaw was spotted by Paolo Maldini as an elite prospect for Schalke, and the AC Milan legend brought him to the Rossoneri. Although Thiaw ultiamtely got run out of Milan, a bit unfairly, for inconsistent perfomances, he began the 2025/26 Magpies season as a revelation in the Premier League with some truly stalwart performances.
The thing is, Thiaw showed that flawed side to him in a big game in the Champions League with everything on the line. Newcastle got blown up 7-2 by Barcelona, as one of the world’s most fiery attacks finally decided to wake up. These are the games when your top center backs get truly tested and show their mettle, and Thiaw proved that Milan may have been right about his inability to meet the standard of the highest level of football.
Newcastle RB Kieran Trippier
Newcastle veteran right back Kieran Trippier has been one of the best fullbacks in English football over the years, and that is mostly because he has been a creative extraordinaire and one of the best in the world at producing chances from set pieces, including more difficult deep free kicks and not just the corner kicks.
Trippier was, like Thiaw, horrendous against Barcelona, as clearly there were always going to be more than one or two negative standout perfomances in defense when a team gives up seven goals. The former Atletico Madrid man got toasted by last season’s Ballon d’Or candidate Raphinha so badly that he was barely recognizable by the end of the evening, with the Brazilian dropping two goals and two assists on his head. Honestly, Trippier is finished.
Manchester City CM Bernardo Silva
Maybe it’s unfair to put a guy who got a red card for the first time in his career with a handball on the goal line, but any time you do that early in the game against Real Madrid with a 3-0 deficit in the Champions League, you have screwed over your team permanently with no shot at a comeback.
It honestly would have been better for Silva to have let that in, rather than to try and be cheeky and lean into the ball – and no, Bernardo, it doesn’t matter that your arms were behind your back, we all know what you did. Ultimately, it was the cherry on top of a horrible Champions League tie from Silva, whose continued importance to the Man City midfield at the age of 31 is only further confirmation of their midfield issues in 2026.
Newcastle CM Jacob Ramsey
It felt harsh giving Newcastle three of the worst performers in the Champions League Round of 16, but Jacob Ramsey was horrendous. He did work hard defensively and had some bright moments, especially early, but he was dreadful in the ways that mattered most to Newcastle.
Not only did he gift Raphinha a goal with one of the worst passes of the week, but he was so inept offensively. Barcelona ran circles around him, and he was powerless to dribble or create. He could not get a hold on the game as Newcastle were overran completely by Barca, and he could scarcely progress the ball for the away side.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.