The Champions League returns on Valentine’s Day after a little over a three month break even as the Doha hangover refuses to ebb. Lionel Messi finally got what he had cherished most since he started playing football and Argentina had their third star on the team shirt after a wait of 36 years.

When the Champions League took the break after the group stage on November 2 last year, little did we know some unknowns will be widely popular by the time the knockout round begins.

So here we are with Enzo Fernandez and Julian Alvarez who will grab a lot of eyeballs over the next four months. Both were revelations with the Argentina team and now they switch to club mode to help their clubs shine in Europe.

Fernandez was the most sought-after player post-World Cup and Chelsea managed to rope in the talented midfielder, who turned 22 on January 17 from Benfica.

Fernandez had helped Benfica top the group which also had his national team captain’s club Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. Now he is the man Chelsea are banking on to revive their sagging fortunes this season.

Fernandez is building up an understanding with another new signing, the highly-talented yet inconsistent Portuguese Joao Felix. The world got a glimpse of what’s in store during the English Premier League match against West Ham on Saturday when Fernandez’s breathtaking pass from the left had a smart Felix finish at the near post.

That Chelsea failed to win the match was another story.

Graham Potter’s men play Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. The Bundesliga team has its own story. Sebastien Haller returns from a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy treatment.

Focus on Messi

Paris Saint-Germain may not be struggling in the league like Chelsea but their form in 2023 has been patchy. Undefeated in all competitions from August to December, PSG lost to Lens and Rennes in the league last month and were knocked out by Marseille in the last-16 of the French Cup on February. As Bayern come calling on Tuesday, there are a lot of creased foreheads in Paris.

After the Qatari takeover, Champions League is one trophy PSG have been chasing. Now Christophe Galtier is at the helm and it remains to be seen if he can do the impossible. Much will depend on the trio of Messi Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Messi has done his job for the country but can the 35-year-old do it for his club? PSG are fretting over his hamstring injury picked up last week but Mbappe joined practise on Sunday for the first-leg action.

Off-the-field battle

Like PSG, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola want a Champions League desperately. Guardiola has done away with his ‘False nine’ idea after consistently failing to win the trophy with Bayern as well as City and got Erling Haaland last summer to spearhead the attack.

Haaland scores goals at will and City will hope he continues with his rich vein of form in the knock-out round. Add to that the threat of Julian Alvarez who was one of the shining stars for Argentina in Doha. City, however, are dealing with off-the-field distraction as they face Premier League charges over financial wrongdoing.

Big-ticket game

One of the most intriguing matches of the knock-out round will be last season’s final rematch. Liverpool are finding the going tough in the Premier League and Madrid, the defending champions, are the last team they would have wanted to meet at this point in time.

Madrid had an amazing 2021-22 season, winning a double with the La Liga and the Champions League. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior were brilliant and the former rightly won the Ballon d’Or. This season, however, Madrid are not in good form at the domestic front. They also would have wanted a relatively easier draw because Liverpool are always a difficult team to deal with.

Darwin Nunez, who came in the off-season and January-signing Cody Gakpo are yet to find their feet in the highly-competitive Premier League and Mohamed Salah seems to be cut a forlorn figure without the versatile Sadio Mane upfront.

Dark horses

Like Enzo Fernandez and Julian Alvarez, another player who made his name during the World Cup will be keenly followed. Frenchman Randal Kolo Muani, whose shot was brilliantly saved by Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the final, is in great form for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt. They have their tough task cut out as in-form Serie A leaders Napoli wait to make life miserable.