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The group stage of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League is now in the books, with 16 awesome teams qualifying for what should be a hugely entertaining knockout tournament. Over the past four months, we’ve seen some outstanding matches, some shocking scorelines and some truly amazing goals on Europe’s biggest stage.
Some players have been more impressive than others, though – and often the most outstanding performers haven’t necessarily been ones that fans might’ve expected.
Here is an XI of the best performing players from the group stage of the 2019-20 edition of the Champions League, playing in a 4-3-3 formation.
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas (Paris Saint-Germain)
Paris Saint-Germain’s Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas might not get as many plaudits as some of Europe’s other top keepers like Alisson or Manuel Neuer, but he’s enjoyed a brilliant Champions League group stage this season. PSG have established themselves as the tightest defence in the competition – conceding just two goals across their six games, and Navas has certainly played a part in that.
The former Real Madrid man has kept 4 clean sheets in his 5 Champions League appearances, with the two goals that he conceded both coming against his old club. Interestingly though, that game saw Navas put in a Man of the Match-level performance, as he was able to prevent Los Blancos from finding a winner despite facing a total of 27 shots. Another Man of the Match award was given to him by WhoScored.com for his showing against Club Brugge.
Full-Backs: Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain) and Marcelo (Real Madrid)
The Champions League has been packed with quality full-backs this season, from Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson to Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard and Alphonso Davies, but the picks for this team come from the top two sides in Group A in the form of PSG’s Thomas Meunier and Real Madrid’s Marcelo.
Meunier made 4 appearances for the French champions during the group stage, scoring a goal against Real Madrid in PSG’s 3-0 victory over them, and it was notable that the Belgian was one of their better performers in the lone match that saw them concede. As part of the tournament’s tightest defence, he earns a spot here.
Brazil’s Marcelo meanwhile was a key performer for Los Blancos, and while their defence wasn’t watertight – they conceded 8 goals in their 6 games – the left-back’s performances were consistently excellent. He made 4 appearances, most notably providing two assists for Rodrygo in a 6-0 win over Galatasaray before being withdrawn due to injury after 42 minutes.
Also check out: Champions League Schedule Champions League table Champions league top scorers
Centre Backs: Clement Lenglet (Barcelona) and Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Usually consistent performers such as Virgil van Dijk and Raphael Varane haven’t been that great in this season’s Champions League group stage, so two somewhat lesser-regarded central defenders make this team; Clement Lenglet of Barcelona and Presnel Kimpembe of Paris St. Germain.
France’s Kimpembe was a key component of PSG’s rock-solid defence – the tightest in the competition with just two goals conceded – and his statistics were hugely impressive, with a pass success rate of 90.7% and an average of 2.6 successful tackles, 1.4 successful interceptions and 1.8 clearances per game.
Fellow Frenchman Lenglet was an ever-present across the 6 group games for Barcelona, helping them to concede just 4 goals along the way, and he was equally as impressive as his countryman, creating formidable partnerships with veterans Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti that will make La Blaugrana hard to break down in the knockout stages.
Midfield: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Jorginho (Chelsea), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax)
Our trio of midfielders is comprised of an outstanding holding man from Bayern Munich, Chelsea’s Italian metronome, and Ajax’s Moroccan magician.
Kimmich was part of the Bayern side that put together an impressive run of 6 wins from 6 matches in the group stage, despite facing last season’s finalists Tottenham Hotspur. His performances as a holding midfielder were fantastic throughout, as he registered a 90% pass success rate, averaged 70 passes per game, and was able to complete an average of 1.2 successful tackles per game to help to screen his defence.
Jorginho meanwhile acted as Chelsea’s deep-lying heartbeat throughout their 6 group matches, registering 2 goals along the way – both against Ajax from the penalty spot. That match alone saw him complete 56 accurate passes at a 92% success rate, and across all of his appearances he was able to provide 4 key passes for his teammates. His performances have remained at a high level throughout the competition despite Chelsea’s general inconsistency.
Finally, his Ajax side might’ve made an early exit from the competition, but it’d be hard to leave Hakim Ziyech out of this team. In his 6 Champions League appearances, he was arguably the competition’s most creative player, as he delivered 2 goals and 4 assists and was named Man of the Match by WhoScored.com in Ajax’s games against Valencia and Lille. The Moroccan averaged 2.5 key passes per game, and will definitely be missed in the knockout stages.
Wide Forwards: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) and Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Raheem Sterling of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe are amongst the most well-renowned wide forwards in world football, so it should come as no surprise that their form in the group stage of the 2019-20 Champions League earns them a spot in this team.
PSG were the third-highest scorers in the group stage with 17 goals, and France’s Mbappe had a hand in 8 of them, scoring 5 and providing 3 assists. The 20-year old’s blistering pace and finishing ability makes him a horrendous opponent for defenders to face, and it seems likely that he’ll score more goals in the competition this season before all is said and done.
Manchester City meanwhile scored 16 goals in their group, and 5 of them were scored by Sterling, who also provided 2 assists. The England man has become one of City’s most dangerous goal threats, and his hat-trick against Atalanta – with all three of his goals scored in a period of just 11 minutes – was particularly outstanding.
Centre Forward: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
With respect to RB Salzburg’s 19-year old Norwegian hitman Erling Braut Haaland – who scored a tremendous 8 goals in his 6 Champions League appearances, including a hat-trick against Genk and one against holders Liverpool – it’d be simply impossible to leave out Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
The Polish striker has been in simply irresistible form throughout 2019-20, already scoring a total of 28 goals, and 10 of them have come in the Champions League. When you consider that he was rested for Bayern’s final group game against Tottenham, that goal return becomes even more mind-boggling.
Lewandowski’s goals included a four-goal haul against Crvena Zvedza and braces against Tottenham and Olympiacos, and it comes as no surprise that with him leading the line, the German champions were able to register 24 goals in their 6 games – the most of any side in this season’s group stage.
