Champions League team of the week: Jules Koundé erases Mbappé in Paris

PPerhaps the quarter-finals will be the moment when the Champions League can see the light. This week’s first leg saw plenty of goals, featuring a mix of experienced and young players, with each second leg bringing even more excitement.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak, Atlético Madrid

It was not a great week for goalkeeping in the Champions League, with Oblak as the only goalkeeper not to concede two or more goals. He made a spectacular save from Ian Maatsen at a crucial point in his team’s 2-1 win over Dortmund. For all their dominance, gaps began to appear in Atlético’s backline and Oblak was forced into three important saves. After a bad week for players like David Raya and Andriy Lunin, Oblak remains as solid as ever.

Defender: Ben White, Arsenal

If Arsenal expected to topple Bayern Munich, they quickly realized they were facing a team that has not lost their taste for the top level, despite the club’s domestic problems. On a night when some of his defensive colleagues lost their discipline, most notably Gabriel in picking up the ball for the penalty that never was, White kept his own and continued his excellent individual season. He might even have appeared on the scoresheet in Arsenal’s early attempt to end the tie. However, one tackle, on an escaping Leroy Sané, was almost as good as a goal.

Defender: Jules Koundé, Barcelona

Faced with the toughest task in the game, Kylian Mbappé, Koundé came through with flying colors. The headlines may point to Mbappe’s disappointing evening, but much of the credit belongs to Koundé, who almost erased the big man from the game altogether. Mbappé lost the ball thirteen times, registered zero shots on target and lost seven matches. Even more damning, Mbappe had just 2.7% possession, a fraction of his typical possession and by far the lowest of any other outfield starter. Koundé, shifted to his less favored role as full-back, executed his role almost perfectly. Barcelona ran out 3-2 winners, largely thanks to Koundé cutting off the delivery to PSG’s main man.

Defender: Pau Cubarsí, Barcelona

The fact that this Barcelona team is in the final stages of the competition remains a curiosity. Xavi, their manager, has already announced that he will leave at the end of the season. And his team plays a vertical, direct style that is anathema to his playing days when he was conductor of Pep Guardiola’s take-the-ball, pass-the-ball symphony. The big acquisitions have also often disappointed. Instead, it is the young players that La Masia continues to produce who provide light for a club in crisis. Pedri provided an assist straight from the bench, and while Lamine Yamal was quiet, 17-year-old Cubarsí, the youngest defender to start a Champions League quarter-final, was exemplary in shutting down PSG attackers. Another gem to add to the list.

Defender: Cesar Azpilicueta, Atlético Madrid

Les can be permanent, something Diego Simeone has regularly proven when refurbishing discarded veterans. Many at Chelsea still long for the calm leadership that Azpilicueta brought to their team and it will be little consolation to see him perform with his usual assurance in the latter stages of the Champions League. Dortmund’s attackers were given little space to attack in the second half, but Azpilicueta led the effort that limited the Germans to one goal.

Midfielder: Vitinha, PSG

When Barcelona were direct and powerful in Paris, their opponents tried to force their way through the midfield, but often failed. Vitinha is emblematic of the new PSG, at the club to become a star player rather than someone bought off the shelf. In the surge that took PSG from 1-0 to 2-1, it was Vitinha who scored the second, running into the Barça box to score. At times like these, when the Portuguese player drops deep and picks passes, it can seem as if the club has found a replacement for Marco Verratti – albeit one with extra strength and self-discipline.

Midfielder: Phil Foden, Manchester City

By his own admission, Foden did not play his best game for City in the 3-3 draw at the Bernabéu. That could be the case when a player sets such high standards – with multiple hat-tricks in the Premier League this season – that he was unhappy with the lack of space and opportunities given to him by Real Madrid’s players. If so, Foden still found time to score the goal of the week, in a week of plenty of great goals, a left-foot whip that thundered into the net. Foden was handed a position change, replacing a vomiting Kevin De Bruyne in a central role, and scored the type of goal that the Belgian has trademarked.

Midfielder: Federico Valverde, Real Madrid

Madrid vs Manchester City was a match with plenty of goals, if not much fluidity. Neither team was allowed to set their usual pace, and Madrid limited their tactics to winning the ball in midfield and then hitting their speedy attackers as quickly as possible. It almost paid off too, thanks in no small part to the tirelessness of Valverde, who was always ready to lead counter-attacks. He also scored the volley that drew the tie, the type of low-flying missile that Steven Gerrard once patented in this competition.

Forward: Antoine Griezmann, Atlético Madrid

Atlético’s magician was in full swing in the early stages against Dortmund, when it looked like his team would effectively end the tie in the first thirty minutes. “Underrated,” said expert Owen Hargreaves from Atléti’s striker. But who seriously underestimates a player who has been performing at this level for a decade, regardless of his bad time at Barcelona? Are improvised scoop Samuel Lino’s set-up was his seventh goal in this season’s Champions League, a competition he continues to grace.

Forward: Harry Kane, Bayern Munich

His penalty, perhaps owing something to Bayern predecessor Robert Lewandowski, and following an inquiry into Arsenal keeper Raya, was scored with studied composure. Kane picked up where he left off with Arsenal, causing the Gunners serious problems with his movement and playmaking skills and showing the little-discussed nasty side of his game – courtesy of a swinging elbow on Gabriel. That a group of Gunners fans stayed to sing uncomplimentary songs while he carried out post-match TV duties felt like a clear sign of grudging respect for a common tormentor who may have more say in the match.

Forward: Raphinha, Barcelona

If the stage was ready for Mbappé, it was stolen by Raphinha, who seems to be saving his best for the Champions League. He was crucial for Barcelona to even get that far and was their biggest threat in the round of 16 against Napoli. This time his two goals capped off a performance in which he had been dangerous from the start, continually coming forward from the left to score for the first time in this year’s competition. His first was a cool conversion after a rebound; the second one perfectly executed volley from Pedri’s glorious assist.