Manchester United will look up to its talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo as the Red Devils welcome defending Spanish champion Atletico Madrid for the return leg of a perfectly poised Champions League last 16 tie Tuesday.
Ronaldo gave United fans a glimpse of what they thought they were getting from his second coming at Old Trafford with a trio of thumping finishes to see off Tottenham 3-2 on Saturday.
The 59th career hat trick of Ronaldo's career was just his second for United and a first in 14 years as his second spell has failed to match the hype around his signing in August.
United goes into Tuesday's tie against Atletico, after a 1-1 draw in the Spanish capital, knowing European glory is its only remaining chance of silverware this season.
Diego Simeone's side was the better team for the majority of its home leg but conceded a late equalizer – though in the absence of the away goals rule this has less weight than previously.
Both teams are scrambling to finish in the top four domestically to qualify for next season's Champions League but Ronaldo's superb show against Spurs has lifted the mood at Old Trafford.
"Everybody in this city, every Man United fan, all the players, all the staff members, we want to proceed into the last eight of the Champions League," said interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ronaldo also tends to save his best for the Champions League. This season was no different, as he has scored six goals in the group stages just to ensure United did not suffer the ignominy of a group stage exit for the second consecutive season.
Atletico know that only too well. Between 2014 and 2019, Ronaldo was on the opposite side for all five of their exits in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, twice inflicting the ultimate blow in final defeats to Real Madrid.
As United's struggles have laid bare, Ronaldo may not be the force he once was.
Nevertheless, he is still the one Simeone's men will fear most coming back to haunt them on the big occasion.
In the other game of the night, Dutch champion Ajax will welcome fellow former champion Benfica to Amsterdam after a 2-2 draw in Lisbon.
Ajax was one of the surprises of the group stage – joining Liverpool and Bayern Munich as the only teams with six victories from six matches – but it twice relinquished leads in the draw at Benfica.
Ajax is in the last 16 for the second time since 2006, though it reached the semifinals the last time it got this far three seasons ago.
The Dutch club is led by striker Sebastien Haller, the first player to score in his opening seven Champions League games and the quickest to 11 goals in the competition’s history.
The Dutch side has already equaled its most prolific Champions League campaign with 22 goals.
Two-time European champion Benfica, on the other hand, is looking to reach the quarterfinals for the fifth time.
It hopes to count on the return of Roman Yaremchuk, Nicolas Otamendi and Gilberto, who were nursing injuries and didn't play in the team's 1-1 draw against Vizela in the Portuguese league on Friday.
