If they score against you, buy them - Alex Ferguson has applied that theory to Carlos Tevez, will he now splash out on Karim Benzema?

WINNERS

Karim Benzema

Let's just add another nought to that price tag after his stunning left-foot strike gave Lyon the lead against Manchester United. Alex Ferguson purred about his goal like a man who is more than prepared to spend £20 million to dress him in a red shirt.

Frank Rijkaard

The natural law of Spanish football dictates that every year either Real Madrid or Barcelona change their manager. With Real well clear in La Liga, Barça's 3-2 win at Celtic was a perfect tonic. The quarter-finals surely await.

Frank Lampard and John Terry

Just when it looked like Chelsea didn't really need their England stars, they put in an abject performance in the goalless draw at Olympiacos. Expect Captain Courageous and his trusty sidekick to return to kick some backsides at the Carling Cup final.

Rafa Benitez

Liverpool rose to the occasion when it mattered, handing Internazionale their first defeat in five months. Never mind why Rafa can't get his players to play like this every week - he will just be relieved to have bought himself a bit of time.

LOSERS

English clubs

Not literally - the Premier League sides managed three draws and a win in their first-leg matches. But their performances were poor - apart from Liverpool (who still took 85 minutes to break down 10 men) - hardly the most entertaining league in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo

If you want to be the best player in the world, you have to produce the good every time to step on the pitch. Those are the rules, and Ronaldo's recent mini-slump shows he still has some way to go. At least he didn't blame the laser pen.

Gary Caldwell

'Don't give the ball away to Ronaldinho' might not be rule one of football, but it's somewhere on the first page. The Celtic skipper ignored this basic instruction against Barcelona last night and was duly punished; his slip leading to a Thierry Henry goal.

Marco Materazzi

He might have been the unlikely hero of Italy's World Cup win, but France's favourite panto villain just doesn't like playing in England. Was sent off three times in one season playing for Everton and saw red on Merseyside yet again on Tuesday night.

Eurosport