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After a week of nerve-wracking, heart-pounding football in Europe, we have our two finalists of the Champions League in Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom pulled off remarkable comebacks to book tickets for the Madrid showpiece.
Even though we're still three weeks away from the final, it has been an absolutely rollicking season so far, rampant with high-profile clashes, golazos, shockers and of course, preposterous turnarounds. If anything, this season will go down as arguably the best Champions League season in the recent memory.
However, even as we struggle to gauge the pandemonium that this competition has been, there are certain low-lights too that you may want to take notice: players who under-performed or disappeared without a trace.
Goalkeeper: David De Gea (Manchester United)
The bigger you are, the harder you fall. And more harder it is for us to believe their fall. And De Gea hasn't only fallen, he's fallen really hard this term.
In a season where the Red Devils have blown hot and cold, De Gea has been mostly disappointing. The Spaniard and “disappointing” aren’t normally spoken in the same breath, but so erroneous and shaky has been his display this term, that you must have got used to it by now.
He hasn’t been any better in the Champions League either, conceding an average of a goal a game and pulling off a paltry troika of saves in nine appearances.
A series of high-profile blunders have visibly knocked the stuffing out of him and even though he wasn’t as error-prone in the Champions League as he has been in the Premier League, he lacked command in the area and also conceded some soft goals.
Having conceded nine goals, this is De Gea's worst season in the Champions League.
Left-back: Aleksandar Kolarov (AS Roma)
The Giallorossi’s revelation last season, Kolarov’s attacking juices have dried up this season. Age may have been a factor - he turned 33 last November - or his form might have really just dipped - whichever way you slice it, Kolarov’s decline from 14 assists in 2017/18 to only two this season is dramatic. And he was virtually non-existent in Roma’s European outings. Just a single assist in eight appearances, and that’s all (s)he wrote.
Centre-back: Presnel Kimpembe (PSG)
As talented and highly rated as Kimpembe is, the youngster has stuck like a sore thumb in two big games which changed PSG’s fortunes. Firstly, he struck an own goal in the French Cup final which put Rennes on their way to the trophy, and just a few weeks before that, he conceded a penalty against Manchester United after a handball in the dying embers that knocked PSG out. He was often found out of position and provided little steel to the backline as the French champions conceded 12 goals in eight games, registering only one clean-sheet.
Centre-back: Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan)
Skriniar’s Champions League debut was far from impressive. The Slovakian centre-back who’s been pulling up trees in the league since joining the Nerazzurris, couldn’t replicate his heroics on the big stage. In an admittedly tough group against Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven, Skriniar’s defensive exploits were put through a wringer, but alas, it didn’t come out with flying colours this time.
Right-back: Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Young might have been just above average in the Premier League, but the European nights this season saw his worst. The Red Devils fullback’s interceptions fell from 1.9 in the league to just one in the Champions League, tackles from 1.7 to 1.6, dribbles from 0.6 to 0.3, and long balls from 3.7 to 1.6. But if there’s one thing he was better at here, then that was committing fouls - which went up from 1.2 to 1.6 in this competition. enough said...
Central midfielder: Rodrigo (Atletico Madrid)
Still only 22, Rodrigo is an emerging talent and needs more refining. He’s shown promise in La Liga, but his performances in the Champions League have left a lot to be desired. He made fewer tackles (3.2 to 1.1), fewer interceptions (2 to 1.5), fewer dribbles (1 to 0.4), took fewer shots (0.7 to 0.5) and also laid fewer key passes (0.4 to 0.1). He was also completely run over by Juventus in the 3-0 reverse fixture as the pressure was too much to handle for him.
Central midfielder: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Los Blancos have resembled less of a team, and more of a train-wreck this season. With all the big names struggling big time - barring *surprise surprise* Karim Benzema - even the re-appointment of Zinedine Zidane has done little to change their fortunes. Midfield maestro Modric too has been below-par, and was completely over-run by a vibrant and youthful Ajax in the 4-1 thrashing. His average of 2.6 key passes in the league fell to 1.2 in the Champions League and ended the campaign with just a meagre assist.
Left winger: Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich)
To say Ribery has been poor would be blasphemous, for it’s the Ol’ Father Time that’s really catching up with him. Even at 36, the fact that he started six out of Bayern’s eight European games this season shows how valuable he still is to this side. However, very little of his former precocious self remains. He’s lost his pace. He’s lost his agility. He doesn’t terrorize the defences anymore. His only direct contribution for the Bavarians this season was a strike in the 5-1 battering of Benfica.
Right winger: Matteo Politano (Inter Milan)
The Nerazzurri’s return to the Champions League after a six-year sabbatical was far from memorable as a group-stage exit cut the celebrations in the blue half of Milan short. Matteo Politano, roped in from Sassuolo for £27 million last summer, lost a big opportunity to make an immediate impact as he struggled to impose himself in the attacking half and was largely eclipsed by Mauro Icardi, who produced majority of the goods. As for Politano, the 25-year old ended the competition with just a solitary assist to show for his efforts in six outings.
Striker: Edinson Cavani (PSG)
PSG seems to have hit a glass ceiling in the Champions League which they just can't break through. Another agonizing early exit facilitated by another spectacular bottle-job. And amongst the many flops in the team, Cavani was at the forefront.
In a season marred by injuries and erratic on-field form, Cavani bowed out after scoring only twice from seven appearances, both against minnows Red Star Belgrade. He offered no great shakes against the top shouts and wasn't awarded much time in the all-too familiar collapse against Manchester United either.
Striker: Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona)
If the Barcelona hitman has been average in La Liga, then he was downright underwhelming in the Champions League. And thereby he joins his Uruguayan counterpart in this unwanted list.
Just a single goal in 10 appearances - in the semi-finals against his former side Liverpool, Suarez seems to have forgotten how to pull up trees in Europe. He was completely eclipsed by Messi, but his poor run also imposed greater burden on the latter.
Suarez's annus horribilis in the competition hit it's nadir against the Reds in the return leg, where he wasn't only kept quiet, but was admittedly horrendous in his Anfield homecoming.
