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These past two weeks produced some riveting footballing action courtesy of the Champions League. With many blockbuster fixtures on display, the round of 16 first leg ties produced some of the best games of the season, be it the humdinger in Turin or the thriller at Stamford Bridge.
Along with some classics, there were routs of the highest order as well with Liverpool and Bayern Munich thumping five past their opponents. In all the eight fixtures, some of the usual suspects shone whereas the others failed on the biggest of stages.
In this segment, let's take a look at the best XI of players that dominated the proceedings in the round of 16 first leg of the UEFA Champions League:
Goalkeeper: David De Gea (Manchester United)
Where would Manchester United be without this man? For starters, probably out of contention against Sevilla in the Champions League by now. De Gea was absolutely colossal last night and kept United in the tie.
He made 8 saves against Sevilla and has stopped 18 of the 19 shots that have come in his way in Europe this season. De Gea's save against a Luis Muriel header from just five yards out was just stunning and may go down as the save of the campaign.
Defence
Right back: Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
In City's 4-0 humbling of FC Basle, the majority of their good work came from the right flank. Kyle Walker was brilliant on the night and forged a useful partnership with Bernardo Silva.
Walker had a 91% passing percentage with his cross field balls also being utilized well. He had 8 successful dribbles on the night and also won a staggering 13 duels against his Swiss counterparts.
Centre-back: Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich)
The German centre-back is known to bring his A-game to the table in the biggest of games. The European knockout clash against Besiktas brought out the best of Mats Hummels who was one of Munich's best players on the night.
Solid when called upon, Hummels also attempted 6 shots on goal; such was the Bavarians' domination against Besiktas. He delivered an assist to Robert Lewandowski late in the game and was quick with his passing as well.
Centre back: Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)
Liverpool's Achilles heel - their defence have upped the ante since the arrival of Van Dijk from Southampton. He has been one of Liverpool's best performers since coming to the Merseyside and is slowly growing in stature within the team.
His first European appearance for the Reds against FC Porto saw him boss the game from the back. He completed 72 passes on the night and won 100% of his tackles. The Dutchman was head above shoulders of any defender present on the field and looked quite confident in his first tryst with the Champions League knockouts.
Left-back: Marcelo (Real Madrid)
The Brazilian fullback continued playing even after taking a big hit to his shoulder in the first few minutes against Paris Saint Germain. Marcelo was influential for Real Madrid in the second half and was rewarded with a goal late in the game.
The goal arrived because of his darting run into the opposition box as he slotted home Madrid's third from a Marco Asensio cross. Marcelo was also up against Kylian Mbappe on the flank and never gave the talented youngster any sniff of a chance to cause any real trouble.
Midfield
Defensive midfielder: Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona)
There are very few sights in world football that gives more joy to a trained eye than seeing Sergio Busquets dominating the game by the scruff of its neck (albeit without the theatrics). Against Chelsea, the Spaniard was on song and set the tempo for the Catalans.
Astonishingly, Busquets had 152 touches of the ball and completed 129 out of his 139 passes. He also won all of his 6 tackles on the night and was Barcelona's most influential player in London.
Centre midfield: Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur)
Playing against Juventus is one hell of a task when the Italian giants are on song. Add to that playing in Turin and Juventus become even more dangerous. To dominate against this Juventus side which had not conceded a goal since the start of the year takes something special. Spurs' Dembele managed exactly that and grabbed all the headlines during the 2-2 draw.
Against Juventus' press, Dembele was cool as a cucumber and never looked in a hurry to complete his passes. His ability to find the right pass or to run with the ball helped Spurs mount a stunning comeback in Turin. The Belgian created two chances, had a 95% passing accuracy and won 4 (100%) tackles.
Left wing: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Scoring a hattrick in a Champions League encounter is a dream for any footballer and managing that in a knockout game away from home is extra special. Mane managed that at the Dragao stadium, silencing the Porto faithful with a treble of goals.
His first two of the night were regular goals for a forward but his third was a total thunderbolt. The Senegalese roadrunner let it fly from 25 yards and completed his hattrick in style. His antics also led Liverpool to the biggest away victory ever for any English side in the competition.
Right wing: Willian (Chelsea)
If he had some luck by his side on Tuesday then Willian would have registered a hattrick against FC Barcelona. But it was not to be as two of his shots hit the posts while he did find the back of the net on the third attempt. The winger calmly slotted the ball home from outside the box to give Chelsea the much-deserved lead.
Every meaningful Chelsea attack went through him and in a sense, Willian embodied Chelsea's never say die attitude against the Catalans. He was the best player on the field that day and its a compliment of the highest order when you also have Lionel Messi on the same darn turf.
Strikers
Centre forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Even when he is not having the best of games, Ronaldo still manages to grab the headlines. Against PSG, the great man was subdued for a greater part of the game but still managed to score a brace and has now put Real Madrid on the pedestal of a memorable and against the odds win over the on-paper favourites.
Ronaldo's first was a neatly timed penalty. His second gave Madrid the all-important lead and with that brace, Ronaldo also completed 100 Champions League goals for Real Madrid.
Centre forward: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Higuain scored two against Spurs. Lewandowski notched up a brace against Besiktas but Harry Kane gets the nod in this elite lineup because of the importance of that goal and the opponents on hand.
Juventus had not conceded a goal since November 2017 before Harry Kane came to town. The Englishman missed a simple header earlier in the game but made amends when he was through on goal soon after. He rounded off Gianluigi Buffon and scored with the entire Juventus defence behind him.
He was up against Chiellini on the night and it is safe to say that Kane passed his test with distinction. Also, it was his goal which started the impressive comeback that the Lilywhites achieved against the Old Lady.
Bench: Alisson, Varane, Alaba, Fred, Gundogan, Higuain, Asensio.
