Champions League team of the group stage: Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham dominated, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka too

The final group stage of the Champions League is done and dusted. What better way to say goodbye than through the deeply contentious ranking of individual performers?

But, before we go any further, a few honorable mentions. Serie A might have three representatives in the knockouts but all three largely disappointed, Lazio in particular will struggle to get much further but if they do the creativity of Luis Alberto will be paramount. The two superstar forwards primed to be the face of this tournament for the next decade have had curiously subdued tournaments so far; it says everything of their qualities that Kylian Mbappe had three goals, Erling Haaland five. Finally, my personal favorite player of the group stages; much like the rest of his Celtic team, Matt O’Riley deserved much, much more.

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GK: Nick Pope, Newcastle

We start with what might be the most difficult position to nail down in this entire team. After all, how do you assess goalkeeping excellence in 2023? Omri Glazer and Anthony Racioppi both lead the competition in saves made and fare well on more advanced metrics such as goals prevented, which assesses how many more or fewer a goalkeeper conceded than the post-shot expected goals value of the efforts they faced. Then again, if you’re in the same group as Manchester City, you’re going to have plenty of opportunities to prove your shot-stopping qualities.

Alex Remiro and David Raya were among those who conceded the fewest goals and had the most clean sheets, but at least some of the credit for that has to go to the defenders ahead of them. Ultimately selecting this position might be more art than science, making a rough estimate as to who made the most profound impact on his side’s results in the tournament.

Non-penalty shots faced by Nick Pope in the Champions League TruMedia

With those parameters, Pope looks to be the obvious choice. Put an inferior player between the posts and it is fair to assume that Newcastle would have at least two fewer points (and he really was only a contentious late penalty away from doubling that tally). His displays in Milan and Paris were as good as any in this season’s tournament so far, building his tally to 4.86 goals prevented in the games where it really mattered most.

RB: Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain

I really wanted to give this to Sacha Boey. The Galatasaray defender has been a breakout star, a talent at both ends who will surely be back in this competition with one of the favorites. Ultimately, however, it is hard to make a case against the creative output of Hakimi. Moving into a more inverted full back role, the Moroccan was a vital ball progression weapon for this deeply underwhelming PSG side, registering more carries than anyone else in the tournament. He didn’t just get his side into dangerous areas by holding onto possession, his combination play with Ousmane Dembele allowing both to register an awful lot of passes into the penalty area.

Hakimi’s attacking qualities have long been known, but this season he has restated the defensive qualities he developed at Inter, barring an error in the final game against Borussia Dortmund. Fourth in ball recoveries, top 20 in interceptions, he was a two-way threat for PSG. They will need more players on his level if they are to go far in the new year.

CB: Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund

In Monday’s preview I said it would take something remarkable for Hummels, hero of Dortmund’s brace of victories over Newcastle and their triumph in the San Siro, to throw away his spot in the team of the group stage. Credit to him, he really gave it a good go amid the chaos of the first half at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday. Still, you can’t just scrub away the brilliance he delivered to earn his side a dead rubber in their final group game.

Through the five games that really counted for him, Hummels led the Champions League in tackles, ranked in the top three for interceptions and was winning aerial duels with authority. Add into that the flowers I’m going to give him for just about catching Kylian Mbappe offside — he definitely meant it, no? — and he might just be the player of the tournament so far.

CB: Kim Min-Jae, Bayern Munich

Hummels might have been a lock for one spot, but the other was a little harder to nail down. Much like goalkeepers, defenders that rank low in defensive statistics are not necessarily doing all that much wrong. William Saliba is as good an example as any of a center back who does much of his best work before the ball is even played towards the Arsenal backline. At the other end of the spectrum, Kevin Danso has been glorious in his activity.

If anyone threads the needle between these two approaches it might be Kim, a player who has almost immediately developed that Bayern swagger after arriving from Napoli this summer. Occasionally on Tuesday night you could sense something akin to disdain in the way he handled Rasmus Hojlund, as if he resented such limited competition on what is supposed to be the big European nights. 

LB: David Raum, RB Leipzig

Second in the entire competition for expected assists behind Phil Foden, Raum has been a one man left flank for RB Leipzig, creating as many big chances (five) as anyone in the competition. He is by far the leader in expected assisted goals with 2.9. The cross graphic you can see below might have plenty of red on it but within it are 15 successful deliveries, another number that puts him at the pinnacle of the Champions League. Whether successful or not, that is an awful lot of pressure to be putting on defenders from open play and dead balls.

Crosses by David Raum in the Champions League TruMedia CM: Mikel Merino, Real Sociedad

From their attack with more southpaws than the Leftorium to the vibrant culinary scene in San Sebastian, there are so many reasons to wish a deep run on Real Sociedad now that they are through as Group D winners. One could make a case for so many of their players to be in this team, from that tournament leading defense to so many of their deadly forwards. The tandem that knits it all together both deserve a spot too and there is a convincing case for Martin Zubimendi who is extremely effective at recovering the ball in the middle of the pitch.

Just shading him is Merino, who has won more aerial duels than any midfielder in the competition. When the former Newcastle man gets the ball at his feet he is extremely effective at spreading play out to the danger men Takefusa Kubo and Ander Barrenetxea.

Passes made by Mikel Merino in the Champions League TruMedia CM: Rasmus Falk, Copenhagen

Amid the derangement of Group B, Falk’s level head proved vital. A player of extreme reliability and consistency, the Dane picked up UEFA’s man of the match prize in game weeks four, five and six as Copenhagen stunned Europe by claiming second place at Galatasaray’s expense. UEFA’s technical panel hailed Falk’s organisational qualities in the win over the Turkish champions on Tuesday, before noting that he “showed what a good technical player he is, as well as his tactical intelligence and flexibility”.

There is nothing about Falk’s numbers that is particularly showy but then that is rather the point, particularly against opposition that seemed so intent on making their own lives harder. The 31 year old made the safe passes into the middle of the pitch, won it back when pressure came and positioned himself shrewdly.

RW: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal

At the start of this competition the big question facing Arsenal was how their talented but inexperienced side would adapt to life at the top tier. With three goals and four assists, the joint-most goal involvements in this competition despite having played barely more than four and a half 90s, that seems to have been emphatically answered. Admittedly Saka and Arsenal marked their return to the Champions League with a very Europa League-y group, but what you would want to see from a potential contender is that they put those ordinary opponents to the sword. That Saka did, particularly at the Emirates Stadium, where he ran riot against opposition that didn’t seem to realize the only way to defend him is doubling up.

Saka’s per 90 performance metrics in the 2022-23 Champions League TruMedia

The tests will be far greater for the 22-year-old when the knockout stages resume but all the evidence of his season so far, in Europe and at home, is that he will rise to the moment. Six games after those initial questions, there is one that demands our attention when the Champions League resumes. Why not Arsenal?

CAM: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid

That’s future multiple Ballon d’Or winner Jude Bellingham to you lot. Nuff said.

LW: Galeno, Porto

Porto’s passage to the round of 16 was decided in their head-to-head with Shakhtar Donetsk and there was one player who, above all else, was decisive in Sergio Conceicao’s side winning those games. His four goals, a brace home and away, were the crucial margin in both victories while Galeno also had three assists against the Ukrainian champions. His qualities were not limited just to games against Shakhtar — he sparkled in both meetings with Barcelona — and the 26 year old appears to have taken a pretty profound leap to a player who could excel beyond the Portuguese league.

ST: Alvaro Morata, Atletico Madrid

Who would have thought that two Atletico Madrid forwards would be sitting at the top of the Champions League’s scoring charts, Morata and Antoine Griezmann level with Hojlund and Haaland, their five each helping Diego Simeone’s side to a goal return bettered only by Manchester City. The grit and grind belligerents have become Europe’s entertainers and no one typifies their Indian summer quite like Morata.

You could make a convincing case for either Atletico forward to get this starting spot. Griezmann laid on chances in abundance for his teammates and there looks to be nothing streaky about his form. The same might not be true of Morata but after all those years of the “but he gets into the right positions, the goals will come” defense, there is something joyous about the lucky breaks finally falling the way of a man who seemed to have been broken down by the best of a decade at dysfunctional clubs.

Nearly two shooting goals added, five goals from a little over three xG and 15 shots, it probably shouldn’t last. Then again, neither should Morata’s struggles that look to be in the past. If his hot streak is as long as his icy run, Europe be warned!