The Champions League Round of 16 for the 2020/2021 season has just ended. A total of eight teams have secured their place to compete in the quarter-finals.
England became the country with the most representatives in the quarter-finals. They contributed three teams.
Meanwhile, Germany was able to send two of its representatives to this phase. There are no representatives of Italy in the quarter-finals.
The teams that will compete in the last eight are Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, PSG, Porto and Real Madrid.
This season’s Champions League quarter-finals will be without two megastars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Because, the player failed to bring his team to qualify for the last 16 due to the bad results he got.
Apart from Ronaldo and Messi, there are still many star players who also have to fall in the last 16 of the Champions League. Anyone?
Here is the starting XI containing the players who were eliminated in the last 16 of this season’s Champions League using a 3-4-3 formation.
Goalkeeper – Jan Oblak
Jan Oblak is a mainstay goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid. The player from Slovenia has never missed defending Atletico in the Champions League this season.
From eight matches in the Champions League, Oblak has recorded two clean sheets and conceded 11 goals. The 28-year-old goalkeeper failed to progress to the last 16 after being beaten by Chelsea.
Defender – Jose Gimenez
Jose Gimenez has strengthened Atletico Madrid since 2013. The player from Uruguay is now a mainstay at the back line of Los Rojiblancos and appears quite solid.
Gimenez has been plagued by injuries this season, only appearing in four matches in the Champions League. He appeared for the full 90 minutes as Atletico lost 2-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Defender – Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt joined Juventus last season. However, the Dutchman has only become the first choice in the Bianconeri’s back line this season.
De Ligt appeared five times in the Champions League this season. Unfortunately, the former Dutch player was unable to deliver Juventus past Porto in the last 16.
Defender – Dayot Upamecano
Dayot Upamecano was a regular in RB Liepzig’s back line. The French defender made seven appearances in the Champions League this season.
Upamecano appeared for the full 90 minutes with RB Leipzig in two legs against Liverpool in the last 16. Unfortunately, the player was unable to prevent his team from suffering defeat.
Left Winger – Ansu Fati
Ansu Fati is predicted to be the future star of Barcelona. This Spanish national player is able to show a very impressive performance even though he is only 18 years old.
Fati was injured so badly that the player was forced to step aside for a long period of time this season. As a result, the player has only played in three matches in the Champions League this season.
Central Midfielder – Frenkie De Jong
Frenkie De Jong is now an important player in Barcelona’s midfield. The Dutch midfielder made seven appearances in the Champions League this season including two games against PSG.
De Jong is known as a versatile player. Apart from midfielder, this 23-year-old player has also often played as a center-back at Barcelona.
Central Midfielder – Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was able to show his quality as a midfielder with Lazio. The 26-year-old player has played a role as the motor of attack from Lazio.
Savic played for Lazio in seven Champions League matches including two against Bayern Munich. He made one assist from his performance.
Right Winger – Federico Chiesa
Federico Chiesa just joined Juventus this season. However, the Italian winger was able to show a charming performance in his first season in Turin.
Chiesa made eight appearances in the Champions League this season. The 23-year-old player scored four goals and one assist from his performances.
Left Forward – Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is Juventus’ main goal machine. Unfortunately, the Portuguese star was unable to get his team to advance to the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo strengthened Juventus in six matches in the Champions League this season. Of that amount, the former Sporting Lisbon player was able to score four goals and two assists.
Center Forward – Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez left Barcelona and joined Atletico Madrid. The Uruguayan bomber was able to appear very sharp with his new club in the La Liga event this season.
However, Suarez’s sharpness was not contagious in the Champions League competition. The former Liverpool player failed to score in his six appearances in European competition with Los Rojiblancos.
Right Forward – Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is still showing an impressive performance with Barcelona. Unfortunately, Barcelona was unable to overcome PSG’s resistance in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Messi has made six appearances in the Champions League with the Blaugrana this season. The 33-year-old star scored five goals and two assists from his performances.
