Champions League Scrapbook: Recapping the Round of 16's first legs

Halfway there.

The first legs of the Champions League's Round of 16 have all been played, leaving clubs like VfL Wolfsburg, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester City with one foot in the door, and leaving others, such as Gent, AS Roma, Arsenal, and Dynamo Kyiv hanging off a cliff.

Here's a recap of the Round of 16's first legs:

Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Chelsea

For the third year running, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Chelsea in the first leg of a tie in the Champions League's knockout phase. Unlike what happened in last year's Round of 16, however, PSG escaped the Parc des Princes with a 2-1 victory that bodes well for its chances of progression.

Related - 3 takeaways from PSG's victory over Chelsea: Cavani haunts Blues again

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani each found the back of the net, but John Obi Mikel, whose deflection resulted in the fixture's opening goal, scored a vital away goal just before the interval to give Chelsea a glimmer of hope.

Benfica 1-0 Zenit St. Petersburg

On paper, the tie involving Benfica and Zenit St. Petersburg isn't the most attractive matchup of the Round of 16, but an injury-time winner at the Estadio da Luz means there is everything to play for in the second leg.

Just when it looked like the first leg would end without a goal, Jonas produced the heroics, heading the ball past Yuri Lodygin in the 91st minute.

Jonas' goal was a just reward for Benfica's superior performance.

Gent 2-3 VfL Wolfsburg

Widely regarded as the weakest club remaining in the Champions League, Gent, Belgian football's great hope, will need at least two away goals in the second leg after falling 3-2 to Wolfsburg at the Ghelamco Arena.

Related: Buffaloes face extinction after Draxler inspires Wolfsburg to away victory

Not only will Gent need to score on the road, but the club will also need to ensure Wolfsburg doesn't add to its aggregate, which could be problematic given Julian Draxler's recent run of form.

AS Roma 0-2 Real Madrid

Roma conceded more goals in the Champions League's group stage than any club remaining in the competition, and Real Madrid showed why, defeating the Giallorossi 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico to essentially punch its ticket to the quarterfinals.

Most notably, Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a phenomenal goal that came one day after he walked out of a press conference, drawing the line following criticism over his away form.

It's all but over for Roma.

Arsenal 0-2 Barcelona

Arsenal was left heartbroken at the Emirates Stadium. A first half in which the Gunners showed a defensive concentration that gave its supporters reason to believe it was all for nothing, as Barcelona - Lionel Messi, more specifically - eventually found a way to expose Arsene Wenger's side and will take a 2-0 lead on aggregate into the second leg.

Related - A tale of 2 halves: Arsenal's defensive efforts eventually undone by Messi, Barcelona

Entering the match, Messi had failed to score in six games against Petr Cech, who didn't face a single shot on target in the first half. However, the Czech 'keeper finally succumbed to the Argentinian phenom, perhaps because he's no longer at Chelsea.

There's a seat for Arsenal right next to Roma on the train home.

Juventus 2-2 Bayern Munich

The first leg of the tie between Juventus and Bayern Munich did not disappoint. A phenomenal fightback from the Old Lady resulted in a 2-2 draw in Italy, giving last year's finalist a slim chance of advancing after Pep Guardiola's side took a two-goal lead.

Related - Anatomy of a Goal: How Bayern's counter-pressing blew up Juventus' defensive shape

Remembering that its supporters asked them to be heroes, Juventus' heroes then answered the Bat-Signal.

Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro ensured a draw for Juve, combining to do something that only two clubs had done against Bayern this season.

PSV Eindhoven 0-0 Atletico Madrid

A red card to Gaston Pereiro was the defining moment of a scoreless draw between PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid at Amsterdam Arena. The clash, which was expected to be defensive-minded, marked Atleti's 17th clean sheet in 25 matches across all competitions, and sets up a second leg at the Vicente Calderon that should be far more nail-biting.

Dynamo Kyiv 1-3 Manchester City

City finally played with discipline in the Champions League's knockout phase, defeating Kyiv 3-1 at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex to become the first English club to win the first leg of a Champions League tie since 2012. It was as convincing as City has ever looked in Europe's most prestigious club competition, and Yaya Toure manufactured the knockout blow in emphatic fashion.

It's fair to say that City is the envy of European football's other English clubs.