We are now very much down to the business end of the Champions League, with the semi-finals’ second legs taking place this week.
Germany’s Borussia Dortmund are in France to face Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow (Tuesday), bringing a 1-0 lead with them. Then on Wednesday, Spain’s Real Madrid host Bayern Munich following their exciting 2-2 draw in Germany last week.
Here, a group of The Athletic’s writers pick their best combined XI from the four clubs left in the competition. See if you agree and comment below with who you would include, who you would leave out, and why.
Who’s in, who’s out — and why?
The biggest problem here is working out the best blend of the rich attacking talent on offer. It looks like from next season Real Madrid will have the quandary of cramming Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe into one starting XI, but here Mbappe starts on the left wing over the Brazilian, with Harry Kane in the middle.
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It is tempting to place Ousmane Dembele on the right, but let’s go for Kane’s Bayern team-mate Leroy Sane, who is enjoying one of the most productive seasons of his career. Kane whipping first-time passes around the corner for Mbappe and Sane to chase would be a truly lethal combination.
Anybody who doesn’t pick Jude Bellingham should be approached with extreme caution. Throw Jamal Musiala into the mix (he played with Bellingham at youth level for England, so they should complement each other nicely) and the combative Aurelien Tchouameni completes the midfield.
Paris Saint-Germain duo Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos hold down the right side of defence and… this is where things become tricky.
There has been no representation for Dortmund yet, so I’m going to be clever to find space for their classy centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck. He moves to left-back, and will be more reserved, to compensate for Hakimi’s darting runs on the other side, while Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger partners Marquinhos. The experienced Manuel Neuer of Bayern holds it down in goal.
Jay Harris
Who’s in, who’s out — and why?
Harry Kane is the obvious choice to lead the line, but I found it difficult selecting the two to play either side of him.
Kylian Mbappe has typically played his best football for club and country as a left-sided attacker, where he often carries the dual burden of being the primary final-third creator and goalscorer.
However, owing to Kane’s world-class ability to act as a No 10 in transition by threading passes beyond the opposition defence, the main qualities I want from Mbappe are his blistering speed and finishing ability.
For that reason, I have him listed as a right-winger, with Vinicius Junior playing from the left. In actuality, I see Kane fitting in between the lines, with Vinicius Jr and Mbappe pushed more centrally on the final line of defence, sprinting onto his through balls.
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In midfield, I rely on Aurelien Tchouameni and Joshua Kimmich, who I have listed at right-back, to provide most of the screening for the defence. Ahead of them, I have Jamal Musiala, whose creative guile would be needed against lower blocks, and Jude Bellingham, whose box-crashing quality may prove helpful against settled defences.
As Kimmich is instructed to play more centrally, I need two lightning-fast defenders on either side of a ball player to cover the wide spaces. Alphonso Davies is an obvious pick on the left side, and he will be joined by Marquinhos (left central) and Antonio Rudiger (right central). Manuel Neuer — the greatest ‘keeper I have ever seen — is between the sticks.
My apologies to Edin Terzic and his Borussia Dortmund boys.
Elias Burke
GO DEEPER
My game in my words. By Manuel Neuer
Who’s in, who’s out — and why?
About half of these players picked themselves. I thank them for that as it left me with less work to do.
I’m not crazy about any of the goalkeepers still in the competition, but at least Manuel Neuer doesn’t make many silly mistakes. Aurelien Tchouameni is the ballast in what is otherwise a very attacking midfield three; he’ll be under strict instructions not to get anywhere near the opposition penalty area.
Raphael Guerreiro gets the nod over Alphonso Davies because we need his craft — and ability to help out in midfield — more than we do the Canadian’s pace.
Marquinhos is an obvious selection at centre-back but I struggled with his partner. I don’t really like Antonio Rudiger but he’s probably the most sensible option, given how flaky Bayern Munich have been at the back all season.
It was a coin toss between Rodrygo and the resurgent Leroy Sane on the right of the front three, with the Brazilian just winning out.
I could not mount a decent argument for the inclusion of a Borussia Dortmund player.
Jack Lang
Who’s in, who’s out — and why?
Here in Madrid, after Real’s quarter-finals win over Manchester City, many would be tempted to field most of Carlo Ancelotti’s XI when presented with this task. But for some balance, there is representation from all four clubs here.
There are few really elite defenders among the remaining teams, but Antonio Rudiger stands out for his tremendous efforts against Erling Haaland in both legs of the tie with City. Marquinhos provides more leadership and a cooler head alongside the German. The two full-back slots were the most difficult to fill, but Madrid’s pair have had very decent seasons.
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Vitinha has been super-impressive as a creative holding midfielder since the knockout phase started, even scoring in both legs against Barcelona. Marcel Sabitzer gets in as Borussia Dortmund’s only representative, mainly due to his goal and two assists in the quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.
Given the season Jude Bellingham is having, he’s already odds-on (or should be) to score the winner in the final at Wembley.
Harry Kane is the competition’s leading pure No 9, while Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior can get used to working out how to play together ahead of the Frenchman’s supposed/assumed move to the Bernabeu in the summer.
Dermot Corrigan
Who’s in, who’s out — and why?
Welcome back to my continuing quest to insert myself into Champions League conversations despite Manchester United’s early elimination from the competition.
You may remember my combined XI from the quarter-final stage, so in the name of brevity I’ll remove the players knocked out then (Gabriel Magalhaes, John Stones, Jules Kounde, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Bukayo Saka) and retool from there.
GO DEEPER
Champions League best XIs: No Bellingham?! Mbappe or Haaland? Our writers decide
Joshua Kimmich has been much improved in recent weeks since his restoration at right-back. He gets the nod there ahead of Achraf Hakimi.
I need legs and dribbling in the middle with Luka Modric — who has featured in so many crucial Champions League moments I still want to build around him, despite the fact he doesn’t start regularly for Real Madrid anymore and many of you are now yelling at me to include Toni Kroos instead.
In come Aurelien Tchouameni and Jamal Musiala — two exceptionally intelligent midfielders who will help carry this competition into its new era. Apologies to Mister Bellingham.
GO DEEPER
How the new Champions League format works
Centre-back is the trickiest area, with an abundance of right-sided players all with differing skills, but no outstanding candidate who prefers operating on the left. Let’s try matching Marquinhos with Antonio Rudiger and see what happens next.
Carl Anka
(Top photos: Getty Images)