the group stage of Champions League 2021/22 ended this Thursday. During the six games of this first phase, great players had great performances. Check out seven great highlights of the opening phase of this edition of the Champions League.
1. Sébastien Haller
Sébastien Haller was Ajax’s main highlight in this first phase. The Franco-Ivorian surpassed the best strikers in world football and was the top scorer in the group stage, with 10 goals. In addition, the player scored in all matches and netted more times than 18 teams in the tournament.
2. Robert Lewandowski
Champions top scorer in 2019/20, Robert Lewandowski had an excellent group stage. The Bayern Munich forward scored nine goals and provided two assists. The Polish goals helped Bayern to make the best campaign of the group stage, 100% success, 22 goals scored and only three conceded.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo may not have been the top scorer, but he was extremely important to Manchester United’s classification into the round of 16. The Portuguese scored six goals in the group stage, three of which defined victories for the English team.
4. João Cancelo
Another Portuguese from Manchester also drew attention in this Champions League. The lateral João Cancelo, from City, was not content with just defending and shone in attack. In five matches, the athlete gave three assists and also scored two goals.
5. Mohamed Salah
Salah helped Liverpool to be one of three teams with 100% success in the first phase. In addition to performing great, the Egyptian is the third top scorer in the competition, with seven goals.
6. Thibaut Courtois
Just as Benzema and Vinicius Jr. were decisive in attacking, Thibaut Courtois was instrumental in Real Madrid’s goal. In six matches, the Belgian left the field without being leaked in four of the six matches in which he played. Despite the strong defense formed by Alaba and Militão, Courtois was well demanded, being the third goalkeeper with more defenses in the first phase.
7. Kylian Mbappé
Despite PSG passing in second place, Mbappé shone in the Champions League. Even with irregular performances by the French team, the young striker scored four goals and gave four assists.
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