UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Best XI (first-leg)

Midfield

What a performance!

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)

Mane terrorized FC Porto

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.