We have had another thrilling season of Champions League football. With one match remaining, the focus now shifts to Porto to see who will be crowned Champions of Europe. Manchester City will do battle against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side in an all-English final.
We have selected our best XI for this season which was not an easy task with so many outstanding individual performances in this season’s competition.
Edouard Mendy
The Senegalese has had a fantastic first season in West London and has proved to be quite an upgrade from Kepa Arrizabalaga. Chelsea have looked solid at the back all season with Mendy having a huge part to play. He has kept eight clean sheets in the Champions League this season, conceding just four goals which is the best defensive record in the competition along with Man City.
There were a few other strong candidates for this position, like Ederson of Man City and PSG’s Keylor Navas. The impact that Mendy has had on the Blues’ defence makes him the number one choice for this team.
Juan Cuadrado
He is a surprise inclusion in this team but his performances for Juventus in the early stages of the competition make him hard to leave out. He registered six assists in six matches along with two MOTM awards. The Colombian was the standout performer in a dismal Juventus side.
Ruben Dias
Dias is arguably the signing of the season across all the leagues in Europe. He’s been an ever-present in City’s defence, forming a solid partnership with John Stones. The 23-year-old has played 10 matches in the competition and has been an integral part of the joint meanest defence in the competition. His MOTM performance against PSG in the second leg typified his form for Man City this season. He’ll hope to produce the same level of performance in the final
Marquinhos
The PSG captain has been a great player in the Champions League over the past few years so it is no surprise that he makes this team. The Brazilian has led from the front after the departure of his countryman, Thiago Silva. He’s formed a decent partnership with Kimpembe this season.
Marquinhos is not the tallest player in the world but always chips in with big goals for his team like the one he scored in the first leg of their semi-final against Man City. He’s scored three goals in ten games in the competition this season which is a great return for a centre-back.
Joao Cancelo
Cancelo’s versatility has been invaluable for Man City this season. He has played both right-back and left-back due to Pep Guardiola’s lack of trust in Benjamin Mendy and Zinchenko. Even when playing out of position, Cancelo has put in wonderful performances in the Champions League this season which gets him into this team as a left-back
N’Golo Kante
The Frenchman did not play many matches in the group stages due to injuries and Frank Lampard managing his workload. He has certainly stepped up for Chelsea in the latter stages of the competition, with three MOTM performances in four matches against both clubs from Madrid in the round of 16 and the semi-final.
Kante has been producing the same level of performances which won him the PFA Player of the Year award in the 2016/17 Premier League campaign. Tuchel has certainly had an influence on these performances, playing him in his preferred position in a double-pivot, giving him the freedom to do what he does best.
Phil Foden
This has definitely been Foden’s breakout season. Most people knew about his talent but this season, he has certainly backed it up with his performances in the Champions League. The 20-year-old has played twelve games in the competition this season, scoring three goals and providing four assists. He is one of the best young talents in the world and this is probably not the last time you’ll see him in our team of the season.
Kevin De Bruyne
The Belgian has had a slightly quiet season with Man City not being too reliant on him but he still makes it into this team. He has scored three goals in the Champions League this season and has also provided four assists. His performance against PSG in the first leg was one of his best performances of the season. He’s been Man City’s on-field captain for the majority of the season with Fenandinho having to do with a place on the bench and will certainly hope that he can lead his team to their first-ever Champions League trophy.
Neymar
Neymar had an outstanding campaign for PSG. The Brazilian scored six goals in nine matches and inspired his team to victory with a MOTM performance against Bayern in the quarter-finals. He also played a huge role as the side from the French capital beat Manchester United in a must-win game earlier in the competition.
Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe has arguably been the best player in this season’s competition. His individual performances were one of the reasons why PSG reached the semi-finals. He scored eight goals and provided three assists in ten matches. His performance against Barcelona in the first leg of their quarter-final at the Camp Nou will go down as one of the best individual performances in the competition’s history. The Frenchman is now starting to deliver world-class performances on a regular basis which will make PSG one of the teams to watch in next year’s competition.
Erling Haaland
The 20-year-old is the leading goalscorer in this year’s competition with ten goals in eight matches. He has also scored 53% of his team’s goals, which is the highest in the competition this season.
He was pivotal to his side finishing top in a tough group and also edging past Sevilla in the round of 16. Haaland is the most coveted striker in Europe at the moment, meaning there’s no doubt that the top sides will be queuing up for his signature in the summer.
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