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The Champions League has reached the quarter-final stage and the reigning champions of the continent’s five major leagues – England, Italy, Spain, France and Germany – have all reached the round of 16.
Some of the world’s best players will take part in the home-and-away matches, starting with Arsenal v Bayern Munich and Real Madrid v Manchester City on April 9 before Paris Saint-Germain host Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund travel to Atletico Madrid on April 10.
To celebrate this wealth of talent, we asked some of our editors to share their best XIs based on available players across the four quarter-finals.
See if you agree and comment below who you would include and leave out and why.
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Who’s in, who’s out – and why?
For no other reason than the fact that I like to complicate my life, I limited myself to a maximum of three players from each club. Apologies to Dortmund and Atletico Madrid fans, I couldn’t find a place for any of your players.
The top three come from a draw between Kane and Erling Haaland. I opted for the Englishman because he already has a good playing relationship with Saka and you can see Mbappé enjoying his long passes. Behind Mbappe is Alphonso Davies at left-back, largely because I wanted to see what the world’s fastest counter-attack could look like. Jules Koundé can evolve to form a central defender trio when the Canadian advances.
I recently had a fascinating conversation with someone who claimed that Luka Modric was the greatest player in the Champions League. There’s an old quote about Johan Cruyff that describes him as “four-footed”, such was the quality of his passing with the outside of the boot – it seems appropriate to use it for the Croatian as well. In the tensest moments of knockout football, his presence of mind sees him outpace Declan Rice in the role of ‘dangerous midfield partner’ alongside Rodri. If I were entitled to a replacement bench, Modric would give way to İlkay Gundogan on the hour mark.
There is an embarrassment of riches for the most advanced midfield role, but I opted for De Bruyne over Martin Odegaard, Antoine Griezmann and Jude Bellingham. I’m sure the comments section will inform me of the many reasons why I’m wrong.
Carl Duck
Who’s in, who’s out – and why?
I had three unavoidable choices: Rodri, Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe, three players who are, in my opinion, the best in world football at what they do.
I’m aware that choosing John Stones, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane – as opposed to, say, Kim Min-jae, Jamal Musiala and Erling Haaland – might invite accusations of English bias, but all three were difficult decisions which, I think, can be justified by their level of performance over the last 12 months. Haaland is the top scorer, but I think Kane is a more complete player.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Achraf Hakimi, David Alaba… it’s all quite simple and not very controversial, isn’t it? The third midfield position was probably the most difficult; there were four or five suitors from Real Madrid alone. But I chose Bernardo Silva because he is an extraordinary footballer, so intelligent and so skillful in everything he does.
As for the formation, it could easily be a 4-2-3-1, with Bellingham pushed into a more advanced role behind Kane, but, with Bernardo in there, they would sort that out for themselves.
Oli Kay
Who’s in, who’s out – and why?
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is the in-form goalkeeper among those remaining in the competition. That won’t stop him from being overlooked by Germany this summer – what a fun controversy that promises to be – but we’re running a meritocracy here.
Ahead of him, Mats Hummels’ best days are probably behind him, sure, but he had a sensational Champions League and Dortmund wouldn’t have made it out of the group stage without him.
Alphonso Davies will bring some aggression from left back, so on the other side, Benjamin White will be our counterweight. He’s pretty good going forward, but those defensive instincts will come in handy and allow him to move to a back three as well.
Midfielder ? Easy. Rodri is Rodri, simple enough, and Fede Valverde will play as the number 8, making the midfielder sturdy but flexible and equipping him with the ability to change shape if and when he needs to.
On offense, this team is determined to entertain. Antoine Griezmann is still a very classy player and he is precisely the ideal center forward around whom we can build an orbit of pleasure. We want skill and movement, craftsmanship and adventure. Jude Bellingham is #10. Freed from his defensive responsibility further out, he will revel in the fractures this team will inevitably create.
And Vinicius Jr and Bukayo Saka will play alongside him. No defender in the world can contain either of them one-on-one, but with so many threats elsewhere, someone will have to try.
Seb Stafford Bloor
Who’s in, who’s out – and why?
I have decided to act like Florentino Perez around 2004. I am also convinced that Carlo Ancelotti will have the same problems as this team when it comes to balancing Real Madrid next season.
Let’s start by talking about my goalie. People are sleeping on Gianluigi Donnarumma and the season he is having at Paris Saint-Germain. He gets the nod ahead of Madrid third goal Andriy Lunin, who deserves a lot of credit for the way he replaced Thibaut Courtois at the expense of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Pau Cubarsi is the fashionable choice. I had the opportunity to see him in the flesh in the final round and the kid not only can slash him, but he’s not afraid to put himself in front of some of the scariest attackers in this competition. Cubarsi’s youth encouraged me to favor the experience of Ruben Dias rather than that of William Saliba.
I want John Stones to come into midfield knowing that Kyle Walker can stay back and cover if necessary. As for left back, I thought about Joao Cancelo and thought: well, if you’re going to be that keen, why not double down, play Vinicius Jr and have Walker on the other side of stepping back and moving. . Whether he steps on Mbappe’s toes or not, I guess we’ll find out next season. Carlo Ancelotti will have to make them coexist.
A rational mind might have put Declan Rice or Rodri next to Toni Kroos, but kids don’t watch 90-minute matches anymore. They want reels. They want goals. They want madness and I’m there for that, so Bellingham can do a bit of everything and De Bruyne is there to feed my attackers. I don’t want Mbappé or Haaland to be short of play like Kane or Griezmann would do. So I opted for guys determined to run behind.
James Horncastle
Who’s in, who’s out – and why?
Playing this game, you feel like it’s as much about who you don’t choose as it is about who you do. So with apologies to Ederson, Toni Kroos, Declan Rice, Vinicius Jr, Antoine Griezmann, Erling Haaland et al, here we go.
There are better goalkeepers in the competition, but Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel deserves recognition for his performances this season. Facing PSG, AC Milan and Newcastle in the group stage and a goal-hungry PSV in the round of 16 and coming out with four clean sheets and just four goals conceded is creditworthy. No goalkeeper has prevented more than 4.9 goals in this year’s competition.
You can’t have William Saliba without Gabriel. The pair have formed the most formidable partnership in Europe this season, helping to ensure Arsenal have the best defensive record among the top five leagues in terms of expected goals conceded per 90 minutes. Alongside them will be PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and Barcelona’s Joao Cancelo. It’s true, we’re going to attack, but Saliba and Gabriel are capable of blocking.
Rodri needs to be there, which makes me feel less guilty about leaving out Declan Rice and Toni Kroos – both of whom are having fantastic seasons. Bernardo Silva has the footballing intelligence to sit alongside Rodri in the build-up phase, but runs wild in pockets of space when the team attacks.
The non-negotiable this season is obviously Jude Bellingham. We don’t have to justify this choice, but he too can drop into deeper areas or crash whenever he wants, creating a perfect mix in the three midfields.
Ahead of them we have pace in wide areas and a clinical striker who can also be the passer. Europe’s most powerful goalscorer, Harry Kane, will spearhead this team and he will shut down attacks in crucial moments, but will also know when to remove opposing central defenders to make room for Kylian’s piercing runs Mbappe and Bukayo Saka.
It’s a 4-3-3 that would stifle any team that had the temerity to think they had a chance of beating this all-star team.
Marc Carey
Who’s in, who’s out – and why?
First of all, I would like to apologize to the fans of Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Arsenal for not including players from their teams in my ideal XI.
That being said, I think although it may be a bit controversial due to the number of goals Barcelona have conceded this season, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is still at a superlative level and is preventing the team from conceding even more . For me he is the fittest goalkeeper of the remaining teams. The same with Ronald Araujo. Even if he is not having his best season, he remains one of the best central defenders in Europe. Accompanied by Ruben Dias, he is a tall and strong central defender, capable of covering everything. They would make a good defensive wall.
Joao Cancelo didn’t find his place as a right-back but he did on the left. Kyle Walker would make up for the defensive end on the other side.
In midfield, Rodri and Bellingham, and with the return of De Bruyne, the debate for third position was settled.
The forward line is probably the one that raises the least doubts. Haaland faces what could be the tie that catapults his career against Real Madrid. Vinicius Jr is the best one-on-one dribbler, provides pace and thrives in big games.
There is little to say about Mbappe, perhaps the best player in the world today – again courtesy of Leo Messi – he is the fastest, the one who can decide the most matches and the 39 goals that his goals this season are a testament to that. so that.
He is Barcelona’s biggest nightmare in the quarter-finals of this Champions League and looks set for many more seasons to come.
Laia Cervello Herrero
(Top photos: Getty Images)