Champions League: the typical team of the second quarter-final

This Wednesday night, the quarterfinal second leg of the Champions League ended. Here is our team type of the second leg.

Goalkeeper:

After not being called upon once in the first leg, Ederson had his work cut out for him in the second leg against Atlético de Madrid. The Brazilian goalkeeper was quiet until half-time, but he was there when Madrid started to push and he was the main architect of the 0-0 draw for the Citizens. The 28-year-old goalkeeper made four decisive saves, especially at the end of the game, when he brilliantly saved Carrasco and Correa’s shots that could have turned this quarter-final second leg around. A performance that confirms that the former Benfica is one of the best in his position.

Defense:

At Chelsea, this season looks like one of confirmation for Reece James. An essential part of Thomas Tuchel’s system, the English international fullback (10 caps) stands out for his high volume of play and his incessant running on the right flank. Again against Real Madrid, despite the elimination, he answered present and left only crumbs to the Madrid strikers. Offensively, he pushed several times Ferland Mendy to the fault. Not for nothing if his performance was praised by Benzema at the end of the game. In central defense, he is accompanied by Raul Albiol. The experienced Villarreal defender, voted man of the match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, was one of the key elements of his team’s qualification. The 36-year-old never looked out of place against the Munich attacking armada. And his experience has done Unai Emery’s team a lot of good.

Alongside him, another Chelsea player: Antonio Rudiger. Before his slide that allowed Benzema to give his team the goal of qualification, the German international realized again an XXL performance in central defense. Always well placed, he showed a great tactical discipline in this game and was once again imperial in the duels, leaving no chance to his opponents. And he even concluded his performance with a nice header that gave his team a two-goal lead at the hour mark. Not bad. Finally, to complete the defensive line, the position of left back is occupied by the Reds Kóstas Tsimíkas. The Greek fullback was the starter on Wednesday to give Robertson a break, and he made a lot of runs on his flank and was decisive. He offered two of the three goals of his team in this match.

Midfield:

If some still doubted it, Luka Modric once again proved that he is still one of the best players in the world in his position. At 37 years of age, the Croatian midfielder is doing what he does best: dazzling the Santiago Bernabeu with his talent. He has improved every ball he has had to play and has long been the only player to stand out when his team was being swept aside by Chelsea. And his luminous pass with an outside foot that he has the secret to allow Real Madrid to snatch the extra time and to qualify afterwards. In this typical eleven, he is accompanied by Geoffrey Kondogbia. Against Manchester City, the former AS Monaco was formidable in his offensive projection and physical impact. His large volume of play has totally asphyxiated Rodri and therefore Manchester City. Even with the ball, he was very useful because he often directed the game in a fair way.

Finally, to complete the midfield trio, we find Mason Mount. For 80 minutes, the English international literally walked around the Bernabeu. Scorer at the beginning of the game and decisive pass afterwards, he caused countless problems to the Madrid defense, especially thanks to his placement and his numerous runs between the lines. He was the player of the match who created the most chances this Tuesday night.

The forwards:

This is what we call taking chances. Roberto Firmino, who has been a substitute this season, started his match against Benfica as a starter because Jurgen Klopp decided to leave Salah and Mané on the bench. And the Brazilian answered present. He scored twice and allowed his team to secure the qualification for the semi-finals of C1. He is also the Reds player who tried the most shots in this game. He deserves his place in our team. He will be accompanied by the inevitable Karim Benzema on the front of the attack.

The Frenchman struck again against Chelsea and offered the qualification to his team, scoring his 4th goal in this double confrontation. The Frenchman scored his 4th goal in the double-header. He was badly treated by the Blues’ defense in the beginning, but he got stronger as the game went on and was able to be dangerous on the only chances he had to face. Finally, the offensive revelation this season is Darwin Nunez. With Benfica, the young Uruguayan striker was once again decisive. Already very good against Ajax in the previous round, he caused many problems to the Liverpool defense on the double confrontation. Scorer in the first leg, he was again this Wednesday night and delivered a very successful performance.