It has come to that time of the year where UEFA give football fans the chance to pick who they think have been the best 11 players in Europe in 2015 from a pre-selected bunch of 40. However, to provide a full scope of talent, WhoScored.com have formed the best XI from those to feature in at least 6 Champions League matches in this calendar year to reveal the statistically calculated team of 2015.
Barcelona lifted their fifth European trophy in May with a 3-1 win over Juventus and unsurprisingly have more players in the XI than any other team (4). The forward trident of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Messi has been billed as one of the best frontlines in the history of club football and they have scored 23 goals combined in European competition in 2015.
In fact, only Cristiano Ronaldo (12) can claim to have scored more goals than Barcelona’s top goalscorer in European competition in this calendar year (Suarez – 10). The Real Madrid striker has fallen victim to his own outrageous success over the last seven years and has courted criticism since the start of this current campaign for his form and attitude under the tutelage of Rafa Benitez.
However, the Madrid No.7 has already opened up a lead in the race to be the top goalscorer in this edition of the Champions League (7 goals), courtesy of the brace he scored in Wednesday’s dramatic 4-3 win away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
He is joined in the starting XI by new Madrid teammate Casemiro, although much of that is pinned on the form he showed for Porto last season where he warranted a place in the Champions League team of the season. The 23-year-old’s performances even court the attention of Madrid, who wasted no time in deciding he should remain at the Bernabéu this season rather than endure another loan spell.
In fact, since the start of the year only Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs has required fewer minutes (15.3 mins) per successful tackle than Casemiro (18 mins) in the Champions League of those to have featured in at least six games.
Bayern Munich dumped Porto out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage last season, but it wasn’t only Casemiro that impressed. The form of Alex Sandro earned him a big money move to Juventus over the summer and he supplied a glimpse of what can be expected when he takes over the reigns from Patrice Evra full-time in the Bianconeri’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday.
Dani Alves joins his fellow countrymen on the opposite side of the defence and only two players have required fewer minutes per accurate cross (excluding corners) than the Barcelona right-back over the last 11 months of Champions League football (68 mins).
Atletico Madrid duo Jan Oblak and Diego Godin complete La Liga’s domination of the XI, while there is also a spot for this season’s current highest rated player, Thiago Alcantara. The Spain international tops the charts this season with a WhoScored rating of 9.07 courtesy of four assists.
For more stats on the Champions League, click here to visit his WhoScored competition page
