The group stage of the current edition of the UEFA Champions League has ended. Which stars did she shine in? Who was number one alone? Here are the 11 best group struggles.
The defeat of Barcelona, the Atlético disaster, and on the other hand great Bayern, the rebirth of Chelsea, a very crazy end in the fourth group or Benfica with a throw-in against Paris Saint-Germain. It was a really crazy team match in the Champions League. They had many heroes – these are the best.
In our top eleven, centered in a system of three defenders, asymmetric pendulums and two attacking strikers, Napoli have the most representatives. The choice was not easy, but we tried to appreciate at least one player from most of the teams who is worthy of praise.
Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge)
Fans who remembered the Belgian player from a somewhat uncertain match with Liverpool could rub their eyes in amazement. Except for the slightly odd match against Porto (0:4), where Mignolet didn’t have much to say by the way, the club Brugge goalkeeper was unbeatable. He kept five clean sheets, and carried Atletico and Bayer Leverkusen twice. He saved the most shots among all goalkeepers with an efficiency of over 88%. In total, he received 4.8 goals less than he should. great shape. Without him, the Belgian team might not have been able to reach the knockout stage. mascot.
Dayot Opicano (Bayern Munich)
In six group stage matches, Bayern’s defense allowed its rivals to score only two goals. Victoria Pelzno found a way to defend the people of Munich. Inter? Barcelona? of course not. Every ‘Die Roten’ linebacker deserves credit, and we’re highlighting Dayota Upamecano. He played in every match, and proved against “Blaugran” that he could stop Robert Lewandowski. It finally looks like the French have grown up to be an essential part of the German champions’ defence.
Kim Min Jae (Naples)
Fantastic entry to Football Blvd. The Koreans soon made Napoli fans enjoy Kalidou Koulibaly’s replacement. Smaller, cheaper, but really great for a defensive game. Kim Min-jae successfully passed the game test at the highest international level. In recent weeks, he has combined successful appearances in Serie A with an equally strong form on the Champions League circuit. Being at the forefront of statistics on, inter alia, thefts and the knockout only confirms this. The whole of Napoli deserves a standing ovation for winning the group, especially with 20 goals scored, but apart from attacking, the rear is also worthy of recognition. headed by Kim.
Thiago Silva (Chelsea)
Without him, Chelsea lost to the opening group game against Dinamo Zagreb. With him in the team – she already went through the rest of the competition by storm, showing Milan in the squad. The confrontation with the Italian champion, Thiago Silva, was a showcase of his match. Two wins with a score of 5: 0 would have been better if it had not been for the action of Chelsea’s defensive captain. Especially at San Siro, the veteran played superbly. The revival of the Blues in the Champions League has many faces. The main one is the 38-year-old representative of Brazil. Birth record does not prevent him from competing at the highest level.
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
Cancelo does not swing on paper, in theory he plays at right or left back, but Pep Guardiola has made him a world class and excellent player who must find himself in every position. Hence, we place it on the right pendulum. The Portuguese was one of City’s best players in the group stage. He emphasized on a fantastic level, especially in the front match. He scored four assists, including a superb, amazing and effective pass for Erling Haaland’s goal in the first leg against Borussia Dortmund. The entirety of Joao Cancelo, unlike many of his teammates, avoided Guardiola’s rotation and appeared in every group meeting.
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
Jude Bellingham brought Borussia Dortmund to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Of course, there is a slight hint of awkwardness in this statement, as the Englishman was bravely loaned by other BVB players. But Bellingham was the absolute best in the German team. This is evidenced not only by four goals and an assist, but above all by observing the midfielder’s match. How he perfectly combines defense and attack, how he shines in reception, play and the penalty area for his opponent, practically makes him a complete player. He is still only 19 years old. In Dortmund, they can already calculate millions of dollars in future sales for the England representative. 100 million euros? This seems way too low. It is not difficult to assume that the sum will be broken in half. Bellingham Talent Generation.
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
In the mid-elevens of our squad, Toni Kroos may be in good shape again and on the “wheel” of Real Madrid in every game he did a lot of good for the team. But in the end, we focus on Valverde to underline the progress this player has made in the past several months. The group stage matches were a perfect confirmation of the current form of Fede, one of the best players in the world at the moment. Uruguay contributed little to no brick, but rather a brick, promoting “Królewski” in the first place. It’s the same as in Bellingham’s case – the numbers don’t just testify to his higher personality, it’s just the natural course of things. Speaking of numbers, it is worth noting that the Real Madrid midfielder scored the most passes among all players (15, along with Neymar and Leo Messi). In short: Fede Valverde is world class today.
Choiza Carraccilia (Naples)
It’s hard to believe that Napoli only paid €10m for the Georgian star. Today, the media in the British Isles writes about the interest in Kwaracchelia on the part of local giants, collecting up to ten times this amount. This is not surprising. Chwicza, as she is wearing the team’s Neapolitan dress, looks great. The main arena of his performances is the First Division, but in the Champions League, Georgian has already shown his best. After Napoli thrashed Liverpool 4-1 at home, Trent Alexander-Arnold is sure to remember the winger’s difficult name for a long time. In the end, Kwaracchelia finished the group stage with two goals and three assists. However, the pleasure of watching his performance cannot be measured in numbers. Lots of hits and stunts, infernal speed and a mix of slack with dribbling skills. You just watched it!
Reef Silva (Benfica)
A group victory with PSG and Juventus, and two draws with the star-studded team from Paris on the road. Show with Maccabi Haifa, thrown to the tape, which took him first place on the table. The entire Benfica team and coach Roger Schmidt deserve a handful of applause. And for the first champion, we chose Rafa Silva. Four goals, assists and a huge impact on the effective attacking machine of the Lisbon team. Rafa can also be found among the top four players who make the most moves that lead to a goal and lead to a shot (Valverde even crossed him here).
Mehdi Tarimi (Porto)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
The second place in the group should be considered a failure for PSG. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with the triple attack of Neymar-Messi-Mbappe. Every star did something about themselves. However, the crowd at eleven is large, so it would be difficult to accommodate all three players from Paris. We choose Mbappe, who has scored the most goals in the Champions League so far (seven, like Mohamed Salah) and added three assists. He scored with every opponent, starting and ending at Juventus. We were able to see her best release, the one that makes her a favorite to collect golden balls in the next decade.