PSG's Mbappe the star in Champions League Team of the Round
With the Champions League round of 16 now complete, we’ve taken a look back at the standout performers across both legs, with players from Real Madrid, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Bayern Munich, Inter and Barcelona all making the cut.
Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid) - 7.53
Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin turned in the highest rated goalkeeping display in the Champions League this season in the first leg against RB Leipzig last month. On that night, the Ukrainian stopper made a total of nine saves, to ensure Los Blancos left Germany with a clean sheet and what turned out to be a crucial one-goal advantage.
Willi Orban (RB Leipzig) - 7.23
Hungarian defender Willi Orban earns a place in this XI having scored for RB Leipzig in their second leg at the Bernabeu. Though his goal may not have been enough to send the German side through, Orban did also make some important defensive contributions across both matches. Indeed, the 31-year-old made four tackles, eight clearances and six blocks over both legs, while he also won a total of five aerial duels in the return fixture.
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) - 7.31
35-year-old Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels takes his place in our Team of the Round, having impressed in both legs against PSV. The former Bayern Munich man made a total of nine tackles, five interceptions and 13 clearances across both games, with his performance in the home leg particularly strong.
Brazilian defender Beraldo, who only arrived at PSG in January, completes the backline having played every minute across both legs against Real Sociedad. Over both matches, the 20-year-old won a total of seven aerial duels, made six tackles, four interceptions and six clearances to return an overall WhoScored rating of 7.34.
Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich) - 7.69
Bayern Munich overturned a one-goal deficit in their return leg against Lazio last week, and though he may not have scored, Leroy Sane played a crucial part in his side’s progression to the quarter-finals. Across both legs, the 28-year-old winger made four key passes, completed 11 successful dribbles and fired off seven shots.
Serie A leaders Inter took a one-goal lead to Madrid on Wednesday evening, but were ultimately made to pay for their mistakes in regular time when the hosts knocked them out on penalties. One player who did impress for the visitors, though, was midfielder Nicolo Barella, who provided the assist for Inter’s only goal of the night, while across both matches he won four aerial duels, made four tackles, two interceptions and seven key passes.
Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona) - 7.50
Former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan continued to demonstrate his class on Europe’s biggest stage with two solid performances against Napoli as Barcelona advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in four years. Gundogan may not have been involved in any of Barca’s four goals throughout the tie, though he did make six key passes, three successful dribbles, two interceptions and two blocks to land a WhoScored rating of 7.50.
Joao Cancelo (Barcelona) - 7.73
Joining Gundogan in the XI is former Manchester City teammate Joao Cancelo, who also made the switch to Catalonia last summer. Cancelo, who has impressed this season, netted his second Champions League goal of the campaign against Napoli on Tuesday night, to give the hosts a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes. Over both legs, Cancelo also made five tackles, six interceptions, two key passes and eight successful dribbles.
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) - 7.56
England captain Harry Kane continued his remarkable scoring season for Bayern Munich when he netted a brace in the return leg against Lazio last week. Kane levelled the tie for Bayern in the first half, before adding a third of the evening after 66 minutes. His six goals so far see him tied as the competition’s joint-top scorer.
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) - 7.80
Joining Bayern’s current marksman in the XI is their former star Robert Lewandowski, who continues to excel at Barcelona having scored home and away against Napoli to help his side through to the quarter-finals. Lewandowski found the net with two of seven shots across both legs, while he also made a key pass in each game. The Poland international has now scored six goals in his last eight matches.
With an overall WhoScored rating of 8.57, PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe is our Champions League Player of the Round. The France captain put his side in front in the first leg, before finding the net twice in San Sebastián last week as the French champions ran out 4-1 winners on aggregate. Across the tie, Mbappe had a total of 11 shots on goal, while he also made two key passes and completed six successful dribbles.
