Four Liverpool players made it into UEFA’s official Champions League Team of the Season. It’s the defence that earns the accolades.
Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League campaign ended in heartbreak this weekend as they fell 1-0 to Real Madrid in Paris. It’s a particularly frustrating one as the Reds controlled large portions of the game and created far more opportunities than Real.
Thibaut Courtois kept out everything Liverpool threw at his goal, however. Real’s goal, in contrast, took Alisson completely out of the equation as Vinicius Jr. tapped home from a couple of yards. And that was the difference, in the end.
Still, Liverpool did enjoy a fantastic Champions League campaign and UEFA recognised that this week. They named four Reds in their Team of the Season – though, there was no room for forwards.
Liverpool players make Champions League Team of the Season
Liverpool have three of the back four and we wholeheartedly agree with that. Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold each picked up three assists across the campaign – joint-10th highest for the competition. They were as important as ever en route to the final.
Virgil van Dijk remains the world’s best defender, as far as we’re concerned. We do think there’s an argument for Ibrahima Konaté, though. He was magnificent in the final and scored in both legs of the quarter-final against Benfica.
It’s great to see Fabinho’s recognition, too. He’s an outstanding defensive midfielder and one of the very best in the world. He doesn’t typically make ‘best teams’, though, given his relatively unflashy role.
As for those Liverpool players who miss out, we don’t really have any arguments. Mohamed Salah managed eight goals and two assists but all three of Vinicius, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé had fantastic campaigns.