Europa League Team of the Round: Manchester United midfielder outshines Fernandes

The Europa League round of 32 threw up some huge surprises as the likes of Arsenal, Benfica, Sporting, FC Porto and Ajax all crashed out. For Ajax, in particular, it caps a remarkable fall from grace after making the last four of the Champions League last season.

Here we run through the best WhoScored rated XI from the round of 32 games. In order to qualify for the team players must have featured in both legs.

Goalkeeper: Pau Lopez (Roma) - 7.90 rating

Roma endured two tight games with Belgian outfit Gent, eventually going through 2-1 on aggregate. Pau Lopez made five saves in each game to help see Roma over the line and was the WhoScored Man of the Match in the first leg when Roma won 1-0 at home.

Right-back: Matt Doherty (Wolves) - 8.29 rating

Matt Doherty is the WhoScored Player of the Round from the last-32 action after playing an integral part in Wolves' 6-3 aggregate victory over Spanish side Espanyol. Doherty registered one assist in Wolves' 3-0 win at home before scoring in their 3-2 defeat in Spain on Thursday. He made nine tackles and interceptions combined over the two legs.

Centre-back: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) - 7.70 rating

Arsenal crashed out to Olympiacos despite winning 1-0 away to the Greek side in the first leg. The Gunners slipped to a 2-1 defeat on home soil after extra-time and were knocked out on the away goals ruling. Shkhodran Mustafi won 12 aerial duels in normal time over the two legs and eight tackles and interceptions combined. He even registered three key passes in that time.

Centre-back: Christopher Jullien (Celtic) - 7.67 rating

Celtic appeared to be in the driving seat in their tie with FC Copenhagen after drawing the first leg 1-1 away from home, in which Christopher Jullien was the WhoScored Man of the Match. They ultimately lost 3-1 at home on Thursday to exit the competition. Jullien impressively reached double figures for aerial duels won in each leg, completing 21 in total - more than any other player in the round of 32. He also ranked top for most clearances made (20).

Left-back: Marcos Acuna (Sporting) - 7.66 rating

Sporting were one of all four Portuguese sides knocked out of the Europa League in the round of 32 but it wasn't for a lack of effort on Marcos Acuna's behalf. The Argentina international assisted in both legs of Sporting's clash with Istanbul Basaksehir. Not only that, but Acuna made eight clearances and completed seven tackles and interceptions combined from left-back.

Central midfield: Fred (Manchester United) - 7.98 rating

Fred tripled his tally for career goals at Manchester United in the final 10 minutes of their second leg tie with Club Brugge on Thursday. The Brazilian netted a brace late on to seal a 5-0 win and 6-1 aggregate victory over the Belgian oufit. Fred played a direct hand in three goals in total, assisting Scott McTominay in the rout.

Central midfield: Christian Eriksen (Inter) - 7.91 rating

The Europa League has been a welcomed competition for Inter manager Antonio Conte to get January signing Christian Eriksen up to speed. The Dane scored or assisted in both legs against Ludogorets Razgrad, netting in the first game before assisting in the return fixture. Eriksen registered six key passes in total over the two matches and made nine tackles and interceptions combined.

Central midfield: Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen) - 8.13 rating

Kai Havertz's stock has risen even further in the last week after two sublime performances in Bayer Leverkusen's impressive 5-2 aggregate victory over FC Porto. The sought after midfielder played a direct hand in four of the five goals Leverkusen scored against Porto (two goals, two assists). He had five shots and registered six key passes in total over the two matches.

Right wing: Pizzi (Benfica) - 8.08 rating

Despite holding all the cards in the return leg, Benfica failed to shake off Shakhtar Donetsk and went out 6-5 on aggregate to the Ukranian side. Pizzi played a direct hand in three of the five goals Benfica scored (two goals, one assist) and was the WhoScored Man of the Match on Thursday following his goal and assist display.

Striker: Lucas Alario (Bayer Leverkusen) - 8.14 rating

Lucas Alario has struggled for regular playing time in the league this season and will hope to be Bayer Leverkusen's first-choice striker in the Europa League following his displays in both legs against Porto. Alario scored in both matches and had seven attempts in total. The 27-year-old also won nine aerial duels and completed five dribbles.

Left wing: Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg) - 8.14 rating

Josip Brekalo scored in each leg of Wolfsburg's 5-1 aggregate win over Malmoe and now has as many goals in the Europa League (3 in 7 games) as he does in the Bundesliga (3 in 19 games) this season. The 21-year-old also completed six dribbles over the two matches with Malmoe; had six shots and registered three key passes.