As the dust now settles on Barcelona’s magnificent 3-1 triumph on Saturday evening, it’s time to look back on the tournament’s best XI for the season. Pep Guardiola’s side provide four of our eleven (double of any other team) but there’s no place for any players from beaten finalists Man United. Real Madrid supply two players, as do last season’s finalists Inter and Bayern, despite neither making it past the last eight:
FC Twente’s Nikolay Mihaylov was the top-rated keeper, despite appearing in just 5 games in the group stages as his team were eliminated before the last sixteen. Mihaylov prevented his side from some substantial defeats, with a series of superb performances including 9 saves in a 2-0 away win at Bremen followed by another 9 saves as his side held Inter at the San Siro. He also saved a penalty in the Dutch side’s 4-1 at Tottenham, averaging 7.74 per match.
Dani Alves was as important going forward as he was at the back for Barcelona. He made 12 appearances, scoring 2 Goals and Assisting 3 of his side’s 30 Goals. Alves’ goal threat is shown in his 1.6 Shots per game and his trickery troubled defences time and again, with an average of 1.3 Successful Dribbles. Alves achieved an 88% Pass Accuracy and he also made a fantastic 2.17 Key Passes every game, equal to Xavi. Defensively, his work is shown in the average of 2.3 Tackles and 2.1 Interceptions, with Alves rated 7.39 per match.
Marcelo had a fantastic campaign at left-back for Real Madrid, making 12 appearances as his team reached the semi-finals. Marcelo’s importance at the back is illustrated in his 2.4 Tackles and 3 Interceptions per game but it was going forward where he made the biggest impact. 2.3 Successful Dribbles, 1.56 Key Passes and an average 1.2 Shots per game indicate his attacking menace. Marcelo scored 2 Goals, had 2 Assists and picked up 1 Man of the Match award, for a match rating of 7.42.
Lucio was a rock at the back for Inter; 4.3 Tackles, 3 Interceptions, 4 Clearances and 0.9 Blocked Shots per game illustrate his defensive worth to Leonardo’s side. He also won 63% of Aerial Duels in his 8 Appearances and his ease on the ball is shown by 1.9 Successful Dribbles and a 86% Pass Accuracy. Lucio also picked up 1 Assist on his way to an average of 7.32.
Holger Badstuber made only 5 Appearances for Bayern Munich but impressed sufficiently to earn a place in our Best XI. The centre-half earned 2 Man of the Match awards for his displays in vital wins against CFR Cluj and Inter Milan before his side bowed out in the last 16. Badstuber won 83% of Aerial Duels and his impressive defensive stats read 3.2 Tackles, 1.4 Interceptions and 3.4 Clearances per game. He also grabbed 2 Assists and with a 93% Pass Accuracy, was awarded an average of 7.48.
Thomas Muller played in every one of Bayern’s 8 games this campaign. The attacking midfielder was just as dangerous creatively as he was a goal threat, scoring 3 Goals and picking up 2 Assists. Further analysis shows his eye for a pass, with an average of 2.5 Key Passes, in addition to 1.5 Successful Dribbles and 1.1 Shots per game. His work rate is demonstrated with an impressive average of 2.1 Tackles, and Muller also picked up 1 Man of the Match award, averaging 7.41 per match.
Andres Iniesta made 10 Appearances for Barca, averaging an incredible 93% Pass Accuracy and 2.1 Key Passes per match. Iniesta’s 2.9 Dribbles is second only to Lionel Messi for the champions, though his 1 Shot per game is a relatively low figure for a player of such attacking intent. He grabbed 1 Goal and 6 Assists on his way to a match rating of 7.92.
Xavi has 11 starts and 1 substitute appearance during the campaign and there’s no surprise his Passing is the stand-out stat; a 95% Passing Accuracy sums up his brilliance in distribution. Xavi made 2.17 Key Passes and 1 Shot per game, though his Successful Dribbles (0.9) are way down on Iniesta. Xavi picked up 1 Man of the Match award, the only player to do so other than Messi. The playmaker’s 2 Goals and 3 Assists helped him to an average of 7.79.
Cristiano Ronaldo was, unsurprisingly, Real Madrid’s most potent attacking threat. He scored 6 Goals and made 4 Assists in his 12 Appearances, and was instrumental in Madrid’s run to the last four. Ronaldo had a fantastic 4.4 Shots per game, and tormented opponents with an average 2.7 Successful Dribbles. His prowess in the air was shown with a success rate of 63% Aerial Duels and Ronaldo’s distribution impressed, too; a 84% Passing Accuracy and 1.75 Key Passes per game saw him pick up 3 Man of the Match awards for a rating of 7.74.
Samuel Eto’o had an outstanding campaign up front for Inter, scoring 8 Goals and picking up 5 Assists in his 10 Appearances. Eto’o’s threat to opponents is backed up by an average 2.35 Shots and 2.6 Key Passes per game, in addition to 2.8 Successful Dribbles. He picked up 3 Man of the Match awards and with a match average of 7.83 was the second-highest in our ratings.
Lionel Messi finished top scorer and our top-rated player in this season’s Champions League campaign, as he grabbed 12 Goals from 11 Starts. Messi was his side’s main goal threat, with 4.1 Shots and 1.85 Key Passes per game also helping him to 3 Assists. Messi’s fantastic 6.1 Successful Dribbles per match meant he was, subsequently, the most fouled Barca player, averaging 2.8 fouls against. A Passing Accuracy of 89%, 7 Man of the Match awards and an average rating of 8.83 shows just how magnificent a tournament it was for Messi.
