Manchester City and Liverpool, with one more march

When the draw for European competitions that resume in mid-February is regularly held in December, the question always arises as to how the teams will return to competition after two long months of hiatus.

Played the first day of the round of 16, it has become clear that the winter break has not affected Manchester City or Liverpool in the least.

Its fullness is maintained over time.

Guardiola's men sentenced the tie at the José Alvalade in Lisbon with a choral game in which several of their personalities (Mahrez, Bernardo Silva (2), Foden and Sterling) shared the leading role in the goal and the game (0-5 against Sporting From Portugal).

Those of Klopp, 0-2 against Inter, a more competitive rival, did not close the tie book,

That the top two finishers in the Premier have maintained their form since the Champions League was dismissed in December is confirmed in their statistics.

City have only lost one game and that was against West Ham in the League Cup and on penalties.

They have won nine of their 10 Premier League appearances and drawn one (Southampton) and have won two FA Cup qualifiers. Liverpool match their data.

In the Premier he has played nine games - Leeds has been postponed - with six wins, two draws and one defeat (Leicester, 1-0).

In addition, they have won both rounds of the Cup and have qualified for the League Cup final.

Van Dijk, a leader in both areas

Liverpool's victory at San Siro left two protagonists above the good general performance.

The first, Jürgen Klopp who, with three changes in the same stroke, changed the course of a match that had been difficult for his team at the beginning of the second half.

It was at the key moment.

Neither before nor after.

And right in the areas where Liverpool needed to correct behavior and positioning.

The coach seems determined to show that when he says he has a better squad than ever, it is not a compliment, but a reality.

Being a starter at Anfield is getting more expensive every day.

The other interpreter of the night, Virgil Van Dijk, was chosen as the man of the match.

Imperial throughout the width and length of the field.

Impassable in his area and indomitable in the opposite, with a header that enabled Salah to score the second goal.

His long injury that kept him away from the team for 255 days, 45 games, is now a bad memory.

The Dutch center-back is once again the leader of a team that speeds up with his interventions and wakes up with his shouts.

He hasn't lost his sense of anticipation, nor his compass to put himself in the right spot at the right time.

Also his speed seems intact.

The 85 million euros invested in January 2018 can still be considered a great investment, moreover, largely already amortized.

Pep's little ones

Possibly, the great virtue of this City that plays one game from memory and another too, regardless of whether it is from the Premier or the Champions League, is that individualities have room to shine within the group.

In his choral game of passes up, passes down, there is also room for personal action, one-on-one or unexpected dribbling.

With the false nine already absolutely settled, the figure of Foden (nine goals in all competitions) is outlined as that of the most outstanding student to enter and leave that central lane in attack.

With the age of 21, the one who was the jewel of the Etihad Stadium has understood that a good handful of teammates must also appear in that area now hers.

Not just Kevin de Bruyne (8 goals) or Gundogan (6), who were the most common.

Now Bernardo Silva, immeasurable in his unmarking movements (10 goals), is also asking for a step;

a Mahrez (17) who has adopted the Champions League as his favorite competition with 10 goals in the last 11 games;

and a Sterling (13) who has already assimilated that he does more damage starting from the band and arriving by surprise at finishing zones.

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