Champions League Team of the Week from the midweek action, as Bayern Munich, PSG, Real Madrid and Manchester City booked their places in the quarter-finals.
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma – Paris Saint-Germain
Not overly worked, but dealt with what he needed to as PSG beat Real Sociedad to advance to the last eight. The Italian’s distribution with his feet was poor in truth, though he made five saves – including a fantastic late stop from Beñat Turrientes – to ensure Sociedad had no route back into the tie.
Centre-back: Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid
A dominant presence as Real Madrid weathered another RB Leipzig storm to reach the quarter-finals. The Spanish side were far from convincing as Carlo Ancelotti’s side snuck through with a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, a contest which saw Rudiger called into regular action.
The Germany international won all of his defensive duels (3/3) and made a crucial double block as Leipzig pushed forward in a bid to turn the tie.
Antonio Rudiger tonight:
3 blocks
3 clearances
100% ground duels won
100% aerial duels wonMonster performance ???? pic.twitter.com/AjXSktyRgZ
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 6, 2024
Centre-back: Manuel Akanji – Manchester City
Manchester City’s best defender on the night against Copenhagen, operating both centrally and on the right. The Switzerland centre-back has been a consistent performer for Pep Guardiola this season and opened the scoring with an instinctive volley from Julian Alvarez’s corner inside five minutes.
In possession, he was excellent, completing 103 passes at an accuracy of 95.4%. He’s been brilliant business for the Blues at just £15m.
A finish that a striker would be proud of ????
It’s taken just four minutes for Manuel Akanji to fire Man City ahead! ????#UCL pic.twitter.com/Hmelal6kba
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 6, 2024
Centre-back: Willi Orban – RB Leipzig
Willi Orban earned the man-of-the-match honours despite RB Leipzig’s exit at Real Madrid, with the centre-back instrumental to a spirited showing from the Bundesliga side.
Orban made six clearances, blocked three shots, and won 100% of his aerial duels (5/5), while scoring the goal that gave Leipzig a lifeline after turning in from David Raum’s cross. A solid showing from the captain on his 300th appearance for the German outfit.
Midfield: Vitinha – Paris Saint-Germain
Vitinha impressed against a Real Sociedad engine room that had shone in the Champions League this season, controlling the occasion in a performance full of technical comfort in midfield.
The Portugal international has evolved into a top talent since arriving at PSG, following an underwhelming loan spell at Wolves earlier in his career. He’s been one of the most consistent performers in Luis Enrique’s team this season.
Midfield: Amadou Haidara – RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig will wonder how they have not progressed after impressive performances in both legs against Real Madrid, with some wasteful finishing behind the German side’s exit in the last 16.
Amadou Haidara was the standout of another strong showing from Leipzig this week, as the Mali midfielder went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid’s star-studded engine room and came out on top. Full of dynamism and impressive distribution, Haidara won five duels, completed 5/6 long passes and recorded a pass accuracy of 91.3%.
Right-wing: Thomas Muller – Bayern Munich
Has there been a more textbook Thomas Muller goal than this one?
The German was in the right place at the right time to nod in Matthijs de Ligt’s cross-shot, in a goal it feels as if we’ve seen time and time again from Muller on this stage. He might be 34 and less involved than he once was for Bayern, but Muller retains that knack for delivering in big games. Central to almost everything in a much-improved performance from the Bavarians against Lazio.
Left-wing: Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid
Real Madrid survived a scare to reach the quarter-finals and were reliant on a moment of quality from Vinicius Junior to secure progress.
The Brazilian had a frustrating night up against Benjamin Henrichs but scored a wonderful goal after a neat move involving Jude Bellingham to fire Carlos Ancelotti’s side ahead. As ever, impossible to shut down entirely, with Vinicius’ explosivity in the final third a game-changing weapon for Los Blancos.
Vinicius Junior’s game by numbers vs. Leipzig:
57 touches
8 dribbles
4 crosses
1 key pass
1 shot
1 goalAnother important goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League. pic.twitter.com/Zhhp9Om2Qo
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 6, 2024
Forward: Julian Alvarez – Manchester City
An under-appreciated member of Manchester City’s winning machine, Julian Alvarez ended what was left of a contest against Copenhagen with a goal and assist inside nine minutes at the Etihad.
The Argentine now has five goals and two assists in five appearances in this season’s Champions League, continuing his fine record in European competition. Alvarez has averaged a goal or assist every 57 minutes in the Champions League during his career to date.
Forward: Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain
The difference over two legs against Real Sociedad to extend his remarkable record in this competition to 45 goals and 26 assists in 69 Champions League goals.
He opened the scoring in San Sebastián as he cut inside and whipped a fierce finish into the far corner, before showcasing his explosive pace in behind to tuck a second inside Alex Remiro’s near post.
Signature near post finish from Kylian Mbappe ????????????????#UCL pic.twitter.com/QzZXVjl1os
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 5, 2024
Mbappe, in this mood, can be near impossible to stop and he now leads the Champions League for goals (6), big chances created (7) and completed dribbles (28). PSG might not be favourites for this tournament but with Mbappe in the side, the Ligue 1 champions can challenge.
Forward: Harry Kane – Bayern Munich
Not as involved as he would have liked against Lazio, but two goals booked Bayern Munich a place in the quarter-finals. This was a performance which perhaps demonstrated why the German giants broke their transfer record to sign Kane last summer, with two well-taken goals turning the tie around after a first-leg defeat.
Kane is now the joint-leading scorer in the Champions League (6) this season and has a joint-leading 41 goal involvements in all competitions, level with Kylian Mbappe on each metric. He has also become the first British footballer to score 50+ goals in UEFA club competition.
And Harry Kane has been directly involved in more Champions League goals than any other player this season (9). ???? https://t.co/nZcmIxvwoz pic.twitter.com/Ci88IvyIom
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 6, 2024
Read – Champions League Awards: Bayern bounce back, Akanjiiiiiii!
See more – Five of the best chips in Champions League history
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