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Defence
Right back: Davide Calabria (AC Milan)
The Rossoneri needed a statement performance against the capital side and the player that was up for it the most, was right back Davide Calabria. Milan changed tactics at the break and decided to use their fullbacks a lot more than usual. And that's when Calabria started to assert himself.
He was solid defensively first of all, making 5 successful tackles and 4 interceptions. The full-back then scored the all-important second goal for Milan by playing a neat one-two with Kalinic and then dinking one over Alisson.
Centre back: Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan)
Inter Milan were the second best side for close to over an hour against Benevento. The defence had to bail the home side out on numerous occasions with Skriniar impressing the most. The central defender not only defended strongly but also gave his side the all-important lead through a header.
Skriniar recycled the ball well and had 93% passing accuracy. He was strong in the air and won all of his aerial duels. Along with that, the in-demand centre-back also made three crucial clearances on the night.
Centre back: Matija Nastasic (Schalke 04)
Against a fluid Bayer Leverkusen attack consisting of Julian Brandt, Leon Bailey and Kevin Volland, Schalke needed a strong defensive performance away from home. Playing as the right-sided centre-back in a back three, Nastasic handled the threat of Leverkusen attacks strongly.
He combined well with Bastian Oczipka on the right flank to start attacks and also sprayed passes all around the field. The former Manchester City defender won 4 out of his 5 tackles on the night and never looked off the pace against the opponents' pacy forwards.
Left back: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
The Scot is slowly becoming an Anfield favourite and produced another brilliant display against West Ham United. Robertson did not have much to do defensively in this game but caught the attention with his stunning work rate and attacking output.
His crossing was top notch on the night and produced two clear-cut chances. The left-back had the second most touches (112) on the field and also attempted 3 successful dribbles. Robertson truly gave Pablo Zabaleta a nightmarish experience on the left flank and was one of Liverpool's best players on the night.
