THE Champions League resumes this evening with the first knockout fixtures of the season in the form of Milan v Tottenham and PSG v Bayern Munich.
To celebrate the return of Europe’s premier continental competition, we’ve taken a detailed look at which players earned the most Dream Team points during the group stage.
Obviously only player from the four English clubs – Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City – are eligible.
The joint-top scorer in the Champions League this season
TOP TEN DREAM TEAM PLAYERS IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2022/23
Mohamed Salah (£7.7m) – 62 pointsErling Haaland (£8.8m) – 39 pointsRuben Dias (£5.9m) – 33 pointsTrent Alexander-Arnold (£4.8m) – 29 pointsKostas Tsimikas (£4.2m) – 28 pointsThiago Silva (£6.1m) – 26 pointsPierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£3.8m) – 26 pointsDarwin Nunez (£4.8m) – 26 pointsReece James (£5.9m) – 24 pointsAlisson (£3.7m) – 24 points
Salah is in a league of his own in the Champions League among Dream Team assets right now.
The prolific Egyptian plundered seven goals in the group stages which is enough to make him the competition’s joint-top scorer at this stage alongside Kylian Mbappe.
Haaland has five goals to his name but, rather ominously, Man City’s No9 was rested completely in two of the group games – he’s averaging a goal every 50.4 minutes in Europe this term.
Pep Guardiola’s side have kept the most clean sheets (four) among the English teams and Dias has been the main beneficiary.
The Portuguese centre-back’s tally is also boosted by a goal against Sevilla which helped him snatch a 13-point haul in his first European outing of the season.
It’s worth noting here that Joao Cancelo would have been next in the list having banked 31 points in the Champions League before his unceremonious January departure.
Only Lionel Messi and Diogo Jota (£4.7m) have provided more assists than the Portugal international at this juncture but we’ve removed him simply because he’s no longer a relevant option having joined Bayern Munich on loan.
GETTYIt;s five goals in four Champions League games for Haaland in City colours[/caption]
Alexander-Arnold owes his appearance in this list to a 17-point haul at Rangers’ expense in Game Week 8.
The creative right-back curled in a picture-perfect free-kick from 25 yards early on and also combined a clean sheet with a Star Man gong.
Liverpool scored 17 goals in their six group games so it’s no surprise to see them well represented but many Dream Team gaffers would have forgotten that Tsimikas smartly avoided the pummelling away to Napoli before chipping in with a couple of assists elsewhere.
42.4% of the Greek defender’s points have come in Europe this season.
Dream Team bosses should set their watches to Thiago Silva he’s so reliable.
With a wealth of experience and strong leadership qualities, the Brazil international has provided plentiful points even when those around him have offered very little.
Chelsea haven’t even bothered registering Aubameyang for the Champions League knockout stages!
It’s clear the ex-Arsenal forward isn’t in Graham Potter’s plans but he did contribute two goals and two assists to help the Blues out of their group – yikes.
GETTYLiverpool have underwhelmed domestically but looked strong in Europe so far[/caption]
Nunez hasn’t scored as many goals as he should have in the Premier League but three in 280 minutes of European action represents a good return.
James would have perhaps been higher on the list had injuries not limited him to four Champions League outings so far in 2022/23.
Like Alexander-Arnold, he produced a masterclass in Game Week 8 to take 20 points off Milan with a performance that highlighted his attacking threat from full-back.
Finally, Alisson was ever-present for the Reds in the group stage and earned regular 7+ ratings as he was made to save his fair share of shots.
Whether Liverpool will continue to be Dream Team’s Champions League outfit of choice remains to be seen – they face the competition’s holders and ultra specialists Real Madrid next week.
While Chelsea face a difficult trip tomorrow to a free-scoring Borussia Dortmund with an excellent home record of late.
Man City will be less intimidated by the prospect of a two-legged meeting with RB Leipzig but the Bundesliga side have occasionally made life tricky for English opponents in recent times.
Results over the next two weeks are likely to shape the rest of the Dream Team campaign… so pay attention!