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Chelsea lifted the UEFA Champions League in an all-English final, defeating Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the latter's maiden final appearance. Chelsea's triumph in the competition was the result of a robust defensive performance under Thomas Tuchel.
The title helped the Blues become the first team in history to win all three major European club competitions twice. Kai Havertz scored the only goal in their 1-0 win but it was N'Golo Kante's masterclass in the middle of the park that won them the game.
He was deservedly named Man of the Match in the final and has been one of the best players in the competition this season. With another season of this elite continental competition coming to an end, here we take a look at:
The 10 best players in the UEFA Champions League this season
#10 Edouard Mendy | Chelsea
Edouard Mendy has had a dream debut season with Chelsea and no player has been as influential as the Senegalese star between the sticks for them since the legendary Petr Cech.
The former Chelsea keeper helped Jose Mourinho's side to a Premier League title in his debut campaign and similarly, Mendy has been phenomenal in goal, keeping nine clean sheets this season as Chelsea lifted just their second Champions League trophy.
He equalled the record for the most clean sheets in the Champions League in a debut season, matching Santiago Canizares (Valencia) in 2000-01 and Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) in the 2015-16 campaign.
#9 Karim Benzema | Real Madrid
Real Madrid are not usually a one-man club and have always had capable players to depend upon. This season, with injuries to key players like Eden Hazard and Sergio Ramos, head coach Zinedine Zidane only had Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois putting in match-winning performances at either end of the pitch.
The French striker was the top scorer for Los Blancos across all competitions and found the back of the net six times in the competition. He scored in key games this season, with goals against Atalanta and Chelsea in the round of 16 and semi-finals respectively.
#8 Lionel Messi | Barcelona
Barcelona have not been able to make it into the final of the Champions League since their treble-winning 2014-15 campaign. The club's growing dependency on Lionel Messi has been one of the reasons they have failed against sides in crucial fixtures.
Lionel Messi was again the top scorer for the Catalans in the 2020/21 campaign and scored 30 goals in La Liga. He was also responsible for seven of Barcelona's 18 goals, scoring five times and providing two assists.
He was the only Barcelona player to score in the round of 16 games against Paris Saint-Germain, scoring a goal in both legs as his side lost 5-2 on aggregate.
Also See: 10 best forwards in La Liga this season (2020-21)
#7 Joshua Kimmich | Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich were the highest-scoring side in the Champions League this season, scoring 27 goals until the quarter-finals, where they barely missed qualification into the last four, losing out to PSG on aggregate.
One of the best players for them in the Champions League this season was Joshua Kimmich, who picked up four assists and scored one goal in seven appearances.
He was a machine in the middle of the pitch and impressed with his defensive and attacking contributions. He averaged two successful tackles in every game and also delivered 8 accurate long balls per 90. With almost 4 key passes every game, he was always in the thick of things for the German giants.
#6 Neymar | Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain made it all the way to the final in 2019-20 but were unlucky to have gone up against a rampant Bayern Munich side, that won it all last year. They exacted revenge for that defeat in the quarter-finals this season, with Neymar picking up two assists in the away game.
The player had just returned from a lengthy injury spell and featured in two games before that showdown and stepped up in the key game, as the Parisiens only progressed on away goals.
He scored six goals this season, including a hat-trick in the last game of the group stage against Basaksehir. While injuries hampered him for yet another season, whenever he was on the pitch, he delivered eye-catching performances.
#5 Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City
The first Manchester City player on our list is midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who won the Man of the Match award in three of City's seven knockout stage fixtures. The Belgian playmaker has been involved in seven of City's 25 Champions League goals this campaign, scoring thrice and assisting four goals.
His departure on account of an injury in the second half proved to be the turning point in the final. City conceded a goal just before the half-time whistle and losing one of their key players soon after the restart impacted them mentally.
His distribution and vision were crucial in City's journey to their first-ever Champions League final and thus he ranks very high on our list.
#4 Riyad Mahrez | Manchester City
Riyad Mahrez emerged as one of the most important players for Manchester City this season. In the absence of regular strikers and Raheem Sterling's struggles in front of goal, the Algerian winger provided a goalscoring threat in the final third.
His quick feet and a wand of a left foot came in handy in the knockout stages of the Champions League. All of his goal involvements came after the group stage games and he either scored or assisted in every single game since the 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach until the final.
Scoring three of the four goals in the semi-finals against PSG, he almost single-handedly got his side through to their first Champions League final.
Also See: 10 best players in La Liga this season (2020-21)
#3 Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund
Erling Haaland's eye for goal and instincts in the box are surely going to take him places and his incredible goal-scoring form in the Champions League this campaign is what has earned him a spot on our list.
The 20-year-old striker was the only player to hit double-digit figures in the Champions League and was an undisputed leader in the goal-scoring charts. It took him just seven games to score 10 goals and record two assists in the competition, a tally which would've been even better if he'd not missed two group stage games on account of injury.
He scored in six games and in four of them managed to bag a brace. While his exploits in front of the goal were not enough to help Dortmund past the quarter-finals, his 27 league goals have ensured a Champions League spot for them in the 2021/22 campaign.
#2 Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappe is a household name in the world of football. The young forward has made a name for himself with lightning-quick feet, defence-splitting runs and clinical finishing. He won the Golden Boot in Ligue 1, after scoring 27 goals for PSG, as they lost out the league title to Lille by a point.
He was also prolific in the Champions League. Having scored zero goals in his first four games in the competition, he then scored eight in his next four outings. His hat-trick against Barcelona in the round of 16, first-leg fixture ensured a rematch with Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
He bagged a brace in the first-leg win and those two goals proved to be the difference as PSG moved into the last four only on away goals. Thanks to a better health record than Neymar, he is the most important player at Le Parc des Princes at the moment and will be a key player if they are to lift the elusive Champions League trophy.
#1 N'Golo Kante | Chelsea
Big games bring out the best in world-class players and this season N'Golo Kante has delivered back-to-back match-winning performances for Chelsea, proving his mettle as one of the finest defensive midfielders of all time.
The player was a key cog in the wheel at Leicester City in their 2016 dream run in the Premier League and similarly, he was crucial to Chelsea's Champions League triumph this season.
His tackling prowess was on display in the final and despite winning more duels and making more recoveries than anyone on the pitch, he did not commit a single foul. Kanté's crucial tackle on Kevin De Bruyne early in the second half was a piece of pure class and summed up his performances in the Champions League this season.
He won back-to-back Man of the Match awards since the semi-final first-leg against Real Madrid and despite just one assist in his 13 appearances, his defensive and all-round performances made him the best player in the Champions League by some margin.
Also See: 10 best goalkeepers in the world this season (2020-21)
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