2022 Champions League Quarter Finals Best Players
The two best remaining teams from the group stage who went undefeated, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, ended up with what most would call the easiest draw. Read on to find out more about the 2022 Champions League Quarter Finals best players.
With the end of 2021/22 UEFA Champions League quarter final round, the 4 semi – finalists are now known. The round was filled with ups and downs, just as everyone expects the tournament to be. The round was full of surprises, with several unexpected things happening through the 8 games of the round.
Real Madrid were on their way out to the Champions League after the brilliant Chelsea comeback in the second leg match before Luka Modric's glorious cross into the path of Rodrygo, after that Karim Benzema sealed the win for Ancelotti's men, as Chelsea paid the price for some missed chances and a poor first half in the first leg.
More shockingly, Villareal eliminated the German giants Bayern Munich, with only 2 shots on target over the 2 legs and 2 goals for
Unai Emery's players. Yet, no one can say the Yellow Submarine didn't deserve the win.
Liverpool won the first leg match in Portugal against Benfica 3 – 1 and secured their advance to the semi – finals with a 3 – 3 draw in the second leg. Man City achieved a 1 – 0 victory over
Atletico Madridin the first leg, and gave them a taste of their own medicine in the scoreless draw in the second leg match.
2022 Champions League Quarter Finals Best Players:
Who were the standout players during these 8 exhilarating quarter final matches? Keep reading to learn more about the players who have impressed the world of football upon their stunning performances in the
UEFA Champions League
within the last 2 weeks.
Karim Benzema
Full name: Karim Mostafa Benzema
Date of birth: 19 December 1987 (age 34)
Place of birth: Lyon, France
Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s): Striker
Current team: Real Madrid
There is absolutely no doubt that the French hitman has shown the most remarkable individual performance of the round. Having recently been in his best form ever,
Karim Benzema's marvelous hat trick in the first leg match against
Chelseagave Real Madrid a 3 – 1 victory against Chelsea in Stamford Bridge.
This was the second consecutive match in the UCL in which Benzema scored a treble after scoring 3 goals against Paris Saint German in the previous round.
However, Chelsea was on the verge of completing a marvelous comeback in the second leg match as they took the lead with 3 goals, yet the game was leveled as the Brazilian Rodrygo fired in Luka Modric's super – astonishing cross.
In the first half of the extra time, Karim Benzema came as the savior of the day one more time, and scored the round – winning goal in the 90 + 6th minute of the game, sending Real Madrid to the semi – finals of by winning the tie 5 – 4 on aggregate.
Three out of his four goals over the 2 legs were headers, two of which assisted by Vinicius Jr, who has also been showcasing astounding performances for his team.
Moreover, upon scoring these 4 goals within the 2 quarter final fixtures, Benzema took his tally of this season's Champions League goals to 12 goals within only 9 goals, including 7 in the last 3 games.
Only Robert Lewandowski (13) has scored more goals in the UCL than Karim Benzema, and as
Bayern Munichhas been knocked out of the tournament in this very round, Benzema can go on to become the top scorer of the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League
, a feat he has never achieved before and this season seems to be the right time for him to do so.
Moreover, he dreams of achieving his 5th Champions League trophy with Real Madrid, a feat which added to the fact that he is currently the tournament's 4th highest top scorer of all time (83), will see him to be named as one of the
champions league best player of all-time
.
The Whites of Madrid will be facing Manchester City in the semi – finals. Regarded as one of the deadliest attackers in the world, Benzema's outstanding form in recent months will be a huge advantage for Real Madrid in their battle against the English giants.
Luka Modric
Full name: Luka Modrić
Date of birth: 9 September 1985 (age 36)
Place of birth: Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height: 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s): Midfielder
Current team: Real Madrid
was chosen as Champions League player of the week in the voting on uefa.com. The Real Madrid midfielder was named man of the match in the clash with Chelsea at the Bernabéu and he beat Stones (Manchester City), Tsimikas (Liverpool) and Albiol (Villarreal) in the fans vote.
With Real Madrid facing Champions League elimination and a night of embarrassment at the Bernabéu, Luka Modrić delivered one of the defining moments of the club’s season.
There was nothing more beautiful than Luka Modric's outside of the foot cross for Rodrygo in the second leg match against Chelsea.
The 36 – year – old midfielder provided one of the most extraordinary football assists of all time as he crossed the ball in the most delicate way possible onto the penalty area for Rodrygo, who fired in the ball to level the tie and take the match to the extra times. Before Luka Modric's breathtaking cross, Real Madrid was down 4 – 3 on aggregate.
His magic took the game to the extra time where Karim Benzema scored the winning goal. The Croatian man had prepared another assist for one of Benzema's goals in the first leg 3 – 1 win as well.
It was Luka Modric who inspired Madrid’s second, as his scintillating run through midfield allowed Vinicius to race clear down the left.
He scooped back inside to Modric, whose exquisite reverse pass found Benzema. Modric's astounding performances over the 2 legs have drawn great praises toward him.
Raul Albiol
Full name: Raúl Albiol Tortajada
Date of birth: 4 September 1985 (age 36)
Place of birth: Vilamarxant, Spain
Height: 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s): Defender, defensive midfielder
Current team: Villarreal
Villareal knocked out Bayern Munich with an aggregate tie of 2 – 1, including a 1 – 0 home victory in the first leg, and a 1 – 1 draw on Bayern Munich's home ground in the second leg.
This magnificent achievement for the Spanish team has been reached as a result of great performances from all players. However, their 36 – year – old captain played a huge role in achieving the feat.
– alongside other Villareal defenders – didn't let the Bavarians make more than 1 big scoring chance in each of the fixtures of the round.
Moreover, he was named the Player of the match after the second leg match, in which he had made 13 clearances, won 5 out of his 7 duels, and played the key role in eliminating Bayern Munich, which was the biggest surprise of the round.
Speaking after picking up his Man of the Match award in Villarreal’s 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich, veteran defender, Raúl Albiol, discussed the game that saw his team advance to the Champions League semi-finals, “Finally, at 36 years of age, I’ve won my first Champions League Man of the Match award. It’s all about hard work and passion.”
“To be in the semi-finals of the Champions League is great and we want more.”
Konstantinos Tsimikas
Full name: Konstantinos Tsimikas
Date of birth: 12 May 1996 (age 25)
Place of birth: Thessaloniki, Greece
Height: 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s): Left-back
Current team: Liverpool
Liverpool's 25 – year – old left back is among the
2022 Champions League quarter finals best players
despite having played only in the second leg match.
Liverpoolbeat Benfica 3 – 1 in the first leg, and Jurgen Klopp put a number of his key players on the bench for the second leg in Anfield, including Andrew Robertson.
showed a brilliant individual performance in the match with ended with a 3 - 3 draw. He provided 2 assists for Ibrahima Konate and Roberto Firmino, and also sent the most key passes in the match (4).
Moreover, no other player managed to win more duels than the Greek player (10). Tsimikas recovered 11 balls and also completed 2 tackles. He was undoubtedly on of the most luminous presences of the round.
The Liverpool left back reflected on a “happy” draw against Benfica that sees the Reds through to the semi-finals.
“We didn’t win, we drew, but we’re happy,” was left back Kostas Tsimikas’ reaction to the 3-3 draw that sees Liverpool through 6-4 on aggregate. “We got through and we have to continue to work hard if we want to achieve our goals.
“I’m very happy for the two assists. My hard work pays off. This gives me extra motivation to keep working hard and do exactly that, play for this team, for this family. We had some bad moments in the defence but, at the end, we got through.”
Luis Diaz
Full name: Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda
Date of birth: 13 January 1997 (age 25)
Place of birth: Barrancas, Colombia
Height: 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s): Winger
Current team: Liverpool
The Colombian skillful player has become a solid presence for
Jurgen Kloppever since his arrival at Anfeld in the winter from Porto.
was the most shining player of the first leg game against Benfica where his 1 goal and 1 assist gave Liverpool a 3 – 1 away victory, in addition to a peace of mind for the second leg match. He also won 7 duels, completed 3 dribbles, and sent 1 further key pass.
The Colombia international played for Benfica's big rival, Porto, until he was signed by Liverpool in January.
Diaz set up one goal and scored in the 87th minute on his emphatic return to Portugal to lead Liverpool to a 3-1 win over Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Running onto Naby Keita's deflected through ball, Diaz rounded the goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the unguarded net before wheeling away in joy in front of the whistling Benfica supporters at the Estadio da Luz.
Diaz played a big part in Liverpool's second goal, nodding down a pinpoint long pass by Trent Alexander-Arnold to allow Sadio Mane to tap home from close range in the 34th minute.
That built on Liverpool's opener scored by Ibrahima Konate, the center back's first goal for the club, at a corner in the 17th minute.
Rodri
Full name: Rodrigo Hernández Cascante
Date of birth: 22 June 1996 (age 25)
Place of birth: Madrid, Spain
Height: 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s): Defensive midfielder
Current team: Manchester City
Man City's Spanish defensive midfielder,
Rodri, faced his former club Atletico Madrid in the quarter finals. As the aggregate score over the two legs is 1 – 0 in favor of the Citizens, it would be quite natural to introduce a defensive midfielder as one of the best players of the round.
During the first leg 1 – 0 victory, Rodri's astonishing performance can be deduced from the 70% ball possession Man City recorded at the end of the game. He had the amazing number of 118 touches throughout the game, won 5 duels, recovered 12 balls, and completed 95 out of his 109 passes (87% accuracy).
Moreover, 10 out of his 12 long balls reached his teammates. During the second leg match, and as
Pep Guardiola's men were using more defensive tactics, Rodri's role became even more vital.
He had the most tackles (4) and managed to win the most duels (10) among all players in the match, including winning all of the 5 aerial duels he had with Atletico Madrid players. He recorded the great number of 82 accurate passes with an accuracy rate of 92%.
The Citizens will be meeting Real Madrid in the semi – finals. The battle between Man City and Madrid's world class midfielders in the midfield will be one of the most exciting elements of the match.
Darwin Nunez
Full name: Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro
Date of birth: 24 June 1999 (age 22)
Place of birth: Artigas, Uruguay
Height: 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s): Forward
Current team: Benfica
Benfica's 22 – year – old striker has showcased a natural flair for the game not only as one of the
2022 Champions League Quarter Finals best players
, but also as one of the best players of European football throughout the whole season.
Although Benfica was eliminated by the Reds with an aggregate score of 6 – 4,
Darwin Nunezextraordinary performances over the 2 legs cannot be neglected.
He managed to score in both legs, during the 3 – 1 home loss and the 3 – 3 draw at Anfield. These 2 goals took his tally to 6 goals in his first season in the Champions League.
Having shown to be a fatal striker, Nunez's 24 goals within 24 appearances in the Portuguese league has sparked the interest of several prominent clubs who are circling around the prodigy of signing with the promising striker. We are going to hear a lot more about Benfica's prolific hitman.
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