The group stages of the Champions League are now complete, and the final round was an unpredictable one. Most surprising were the massive upsets as Young Boys toppled Juventus while CSKA handed Real Madrid their worst ever home European loss. Naturally, both of those victorious sides have placed a player in our Fantasy Team of the Week, along with all five players that scored a brace midweek.
Time will tell what the matchups will be for the Round of 16 but, for now, here are the 11 best individual performers from the week that was.
GK: Igor Akinfeev - CSKA Moscow - 1 Game, 6 Saves, 1 Clean Sheet = 10 Points
DEF: Raphael Guerreiro - Borussia Dortmund - 1 Game, 2 Goals, 1 Clean Sheet = 21 Points
Dortmund were already leading the competition in clean sheets coming into this match and picked up their fifth in six attempts on Wednesday. Pair that with the fact that Guerreiro led all defenders in goals during the group stages, and it’s little wonder that the Portuguese international leads his position in points (62). In fact, only two players in the entire game have accrued more points at this point (Lewandowski, Tadic).
DEF: Alejandro Grimaldo - Benfica - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Clean Sheet = 14 Points
DEF: Georgy Schennikov - CSKA Moscow - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Clean Sheet = 14 Points
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MID: Leroy Sane - Man City - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 14 Points
Sane’s brace against Hoffenheim helped ensure Manchester City would win both this match and, on a larger scale, Group F. Both of his goals were incredibly well taken especially considering they were his first two in the Champions League this season. Of course it’s always difficult to know which City midfielders will start each match but, in any given week, you can assume at least one of them will make this list.
MID: Dusan Tadic - Ajax - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 14 Points
MID: Carlos Soler - Valencia - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points
MID: Jan Kovarik - Viktoria Plzen - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 1 Assist = 11 Points
FWD: Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 12 Points
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FWD: Kylian Mbappe - PSG - 1 Game, 1 Goal, 2 Assists = 13 Points
PSG were dominant in attack throughout the group stages, scoring a competition best 17 goals in their six matches. Mbappe has obviously, and naturally, been a large reason for that, having individually directly contributed towards seven goals (three scored, four assisted).
In fact, only Lewandowski has taken part in more goals in the competition thus far. While just short of the elite fantasy forwards in the Goal game, Mbappe will certainly offer fair value for those that own him in the Round of 16.
FWD: Guillaume Hoarau - Young Boys - 1 Game, 2 Goals = 12 Points
What an exit for Young Boys! The Swiss side may not be advancing in the Champions League, but they certainly left their mark on it by defeating European giants Juventus. Hoarau, in particular, was fantastic notching the brace that ensured them a major scalp on the final day of the group stages.
Obviously, there’s no reason to own the Reunionese striker, or any of his teammates, with their club eliminated, but congratulations are in order nonetheless.
