There have been some real ups and downs in this year’s UEFA Champions League. Many of the sides turned around the results in their favour and many of them were the unexpected one.
Talking shortly, Real Madrid’s defeat in Germany; many spectators around the globe thought that, this is it! Madrid are out of the competition but, the team turned the result in their favour in the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu and all the credit goes to their magician Cristiano Ronaldo who scored the hattrick for the team. (3-2 aggregate)
The most entertaining game was between the two Arab’s money where Manchester City was scheduled to face the wrath (as everyone said) of PSG. The first leg was quite interesting where Ibrahimovic dropped many chances in the game to give his side the lead. But, eventually, it was City who took the lead at Paris through Kevin De Bruyne. Paris responded quickly and the game finished 2-2. The second leg was the decisive one and majority of the crowd were sure that PSG would clinch the lead but surprisingly, it was City again who score the opener and the game finished 1-0. City through to the Semi-Finals (3-2 aggregate)
Benfica Vs Bayern Munich; every one of us thought that Bayern would win the game in the first leg but, Benfica conceded just one goal at Allianz Arena. The second half was the dramatic one, Benfica scored the opener and brought a ray of hope but Munich’s side was tough against them. The game finished 2-2 that night and Bayern Munich gets through to the Semi-Finals (3-2 on aggregate).
The most controversial game of all; Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona. The first leg was at Camp Nou where Torres opened the scoring for the Red and Whites and was sent off in the first half. Barcelona took the advantage of it and won the game by 2 goals to one. Manager Diego Simeone and Fernando Torres accused referees for their poor decisions. The second leg was something like a do or die situation for Madrid but they kept their composure and won the game by 2 goals to nil. Atletico through to the next round. (3-2 on aggregate).
According to the results and player’s form, we will be listing a combined XI of the Champions League’s final four teams.
Formation- 4-2-3-1
Joe Hart-
Not a surprising candidate for this position. Manuel Neuer was poor in the second leg against Benfica and was nowhere near his best. Hart, on the other hand, saved his side in the competition by making some crucial saves including Ibrahimovic’s penalty that could have changed the course of the game. He may not have many clean sheets in the competitions but his saves were the crucial one.
Juanfran-
No one can argue over him in this position. As we all know, most of the Barcelona’s attacks comes from Neymar and Juanfran was assigned to keep him quiet on the flanks and my god what a wonderful defending he did. He was solid in defence and left no space for Barcelona’s Winger. He has won 13 tackles this season with a success rate of 57% in the competition.
Diego Godin-
One of the best defender the world has witnessed this season. The Uruguayan was as tough as a rock and didn’t let anyone to get past through him. Had some controversies with his fellow countrymen Luis Suarez but he kept his composure and played a very important role in his team’s qualification and won 20 tackles this season with a success rate of 63% in this season’s Champions League.
Sergio Ramos-
A top quality defender is what he is. Ramos is a leader of the defence and he has kept eight clean sheets in 10 games so far. Didn’t had a great season but even in his average season, he can make it into the top XI. He has won 13 tackles this season with a success rate of 52%. He has made 18 interceptions, 34 clearances and eight blocks too. After a poor performance in the first half against Wolfsburg, he did a great job to stabilize Real’s defence in the second leg.
Filipe Luis-
Well, it was a tough call because David Alaba is also a contender for the position. Talking defensively, Luis won 15 tackles this season with a success rate of 52%. He has made 16 interceptions, 15 clearances and two blocks whereas, Alba won three tackles this season with a success rate of 33%. He has made 12 interceptions, 16 clearances and two blocks. But if we looked offensively then, Alaba had the passing accuracy of 93% in the competition and Luis had 81%.
We all witnessed the amount of pressure Atletico Madrid had to cope with while defending against Barcelona and looking at that, Philipe Luis is on our list.
Arturo Vidal-
Arturo is one of the best midfielders in the world. This Chilean can play anywhere in the midfield. Scored in the first leg against Benfica and most importantly, he gave his side a breather through that crucial away goal in the second leg. He has an average passing accuracy of 92% in the competition and also has 2 assists to his name. He drives the team forward and also has an ability to tackle with precision.
Luka Modric-
The midfield maestro for the Los Blancos. The Croatian magician has scored 1 goal in the competition and has created 10 chances for the club. With Barcelona out of the competition, he takes the position to command the midfield.
Cristiano Ronaldo-
Best in the world for a reason. He has scored 16 goals in just 10 appearances for the club in the competition. Not to forget, he was the one who scored the hat trick against Wolfsburg and helped his team to qualified for the Semi-Finals. A six-time man of the match in the competition, he also has 4 assists to his name. At 31, he is now the top scorer in the competition and is showing no signs of slowing things down.
Kevin De Bruyne-
Undoubtedly, the best player for Manchester City this season, We have witnessed how the team’s form declined when he was injured. He made it to the quarter-finals of the competition and just because of him, his team will be playing their first ever Semi-Final in the competition. Till now, he has scored 3 goals in the competition and has created 20 chances for the team.
Antoine Griezmann-
Naturally a winger or an attacking midfielder but, played up front under Simeone and showed what he is capable of. Griezmann has an eye for goal and has the talent to score few screamers. Played very well in the first leg against Barcelona but after the red card, he was to forced to track back and help the defence.. Scored 2 goals in the second leg and showed his talent and his work-rate. He has scored 6 goals in the competition so far and has 1 assist to his name.
Thomas Muller-
It was also a tough call as Lewandowski is an another contender for the position. But, we chose Muller due to his recent performances. Undoubtedly, he is one of the best strikers in the world. He has scored 8 goals in 10 games in the competition and also has 2 assists to his name.
The 26-year-old-German has all the required abilities of a striker that makes him one of the best. He can find spaces between the opponent’s defence easily and can exploit their weaknesses.
That completes our list of the best Combine XI of the Champions League’s final four teams