The Champions League returned in spectacular fashion this week, as the first legs of the four quarter-final ties produced 14 goals and some impressive individual performances.
Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all put themselves in the driving seat to progress to the last four of the competition, but who stood out individually?
Here we pick out our Champions League Team of the Week…
GK: Keylor Navas – Real Madrid
While Cristiano Ronaldo rightly grabbed all of the headlines in Turin, Real Madrid fans will be extremely grateful for the heroics of Navas with the score at 1-0. The Costa Rican produced a stunning save to deny Gonzalo Higuain from close range, which preserved Madrid’s clean sheet.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool
A real coming-of-age performance from the 19-year-old, as he kept Leroy Sane, arguably the Premier League’s most in-form youngster, quiet on the biggest stage. Alexander-Arnold made a game-high seven interceptions and 10 clearances as Liverpool hammered Manchester City and kept a vital shut out.
CB: Dejan Lovren – Liverpool
With Joel Matip ruled out for the rest of the season, Lovren – much maligned for his performances in big games – started alongside Virgil van Dijk and produced a defiant defensive display. The Croatian made four clearances and won two aerial duels as the Merseysiders prevented Pep Guardiola’s men from recording a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Gerard Pique – Barcelona
Pique’s impressive display was capped with Barcelona’s third goal of the night. Defensively, the Spanish international did superbly well, winning four aerial duels, making five clearances and blocking two shots, as Ernesto Valverde’s men recorded a convincing 4-1 win against AS Roma.
LB: Marcelo – Real Madrid
Marcelo rounded off a great night for Real Madrid with their third goal.
Another fine European display from the Brazilian. The left-back’s clever pass allowed Isco to tee up Ronaldo for his opening goal of the night, before getting in on the act with a goal himself. The 29-year-old showed great composure to lift the ball over Gianluigi Buffon and tap home from close range for Madrid’s final goal in Turin.
CM: James Milner – Liverpool
Up against his former club, Milner had an important part to play in all three of Liverpool’s goals. After setting Mohamed Salah away in the build-up to the first, Milner then grabbed his record-equalling eighth assist of this season’s Champions League campaign for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal. For the third, Milner won the ball off Nicolas Otamendi to start the counter. A real combative midfield performance.
CM: Thiago – Bayern Munich
With a 92 per cent pass success rate, Thiago was in control of the first leg, dictating play from midfield. With two tackles and two interceptions, the Spaniard contributed defensively while also scoring the winning goal to give Bayern Munich the advantage ahead of the second leg next week.
CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Liverpool
The former Arsenal man enjoys playing City at Anfield. After a fine goal in the Premier League battle between the two, Oxlade-Chamberlain rifled home a stunning strike to double Liverpool’s lead on the night in this clash. His tireless workrate denied the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva time on the ball as the Etihad Stadium club had no answer to Liverpool’s intensity.
RW: Mohamed Salah – Liverpool
Mohamed Salah grabbed one goal and an assist against Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola opted to play Aymeric Laporte up against Salah at Anfield, but just like so many before him, he was unable to stop the Egyptian. After grabbing his 38th goal of the season with a close-range finish, Salah then teed up Sadio Mane with a teasing cross to make it 3-0 just after the 30-minute mark. Simply unstoppable, it seems.
LW: Sadio Mane – Liverpool
With a game-high six dribbles, the Senegalese international gave the visitors’ defenders a torrid time. Deserving of a goal for his workrate alone, Mane showed his commitment to the cause in the second-half, working tirelessly as City tried to find a way back into the game.
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid
Madrid’s man main loves the Champions League. After becoming the first player to score in ten consecutive games in the competition with his first of the night, the Portuguese international then scored arguably his greatest ever goal with an overhead kick that made it 2-0. 14 goals in nine Champions League games so far this season tells you all you need to know about Ronaldo.
With six players included, Liverpool dominate our Team of the Week.
