Which players are one yellow card away from missing Champions League round of 16?
From Madrid to Milan, a single yellow card could reshape the round of 16 as tension builds across Europe.
The second legs of the Champions League playoffs have placed 49 players at risk of suspension – one booking away from missing the first leg of the round of 16, should their teams advance. Among them, one name stands out above the rest: Vinicius Junior, under scrutiny after the incident involving Prestianni in Lisbon and aware that another yellow card in what promises to be a tense return game would rule him out of the next stage.
He is not alone at Real Madrid. The threat of suspension also hangs over Jude Bellingham, currently sidelined through injury, as well as Aurélien Tchouameni, Álvaro Carreras and Dean Huijsen.
Atlético Madrid face an even more delicate situation. Six players are walking the disciplinary line. Several regular starters – Marc Pubill, Pablo Barrios, who is injured, and Giuliano Simeone – are at risk, along with Thiago Almada, Clément Lenglet and Robin Le Normand. Diego Simeone’s side already face a daunting showdown with Club Brugge, and the possibility of losing key figures for the next round only adds to the pressure.
Every team involved in the playoff round has at least one player in danger of suspension. High-profile cases include Nuno Mendes of Paris Saint-Germain, Lautaro Martínez of Inter, who is injured, and Aleix García of Bayer Leverkusen. Important pieces whose coaches could be forced to reshuffle their plans for the round of 16 if another yellow card arrives at the wrong moment.
Walking the Champions League tightrope
These are the 49 players one caution away from suspension:
Monaco: Lamine Camara, Thilo Kehrer, Denis Zakaria
Paris Saint-Germain: Nuno Mendes
Galatasaray: Abdülkerim Bardakci, Ismail Jakobs, Kerem Aktürkoğlu Lang, Roland Sallai
Juventus: Francisco Conceição, Emil Holm, Lloyd Kelly
Benfica: Samuel Dahl, Dodi Lukebakio, Nicolás Otamendi
Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Aurélien Tchouameni, Álvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen
Borussia Dortmund: Karim Adeyemi, Waldemar Anton, Ramy Bensebaini
Atalanta: Marten de Roon, Berat Djimsiti, Odilon Kossounou, Yunus Musah, Gianluca Scamacca
Qarabag: Matheus Silva, Marko Jankovic, Kevin Medina
Newcastle United: Joelinton, Dan BurnClub Brugge: Hans Vanaken
Atlético Madrid: Thiago Almada, Pablo Barrios, Robin Le Normand, Clément Lenglet, Marc Pubill, Giuliano Simeone
Bodo/Glimt: Sondre Auklend, Patrick Berg
Inter: Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Lautaro Martínez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Olympiacos: Dani García, Santiago Hezze, Mehdi Taremi
Bayer Leverkusen: Aleix García, Kofane
One mistimed challenge, one flash of dissent, one unnecesarily exuberant celebration... and the path to the Champions League round of 16 could suddenly look very different.
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