The quarter-finals of the 2025/26 Champions League have now concluded. Arsenal, Bayern Munich, PSG and Atletico Madrid all progressed – but who made it into our team of the round?
We’ll only be looking at games that took place in the second leg of the quarter-finals for this XI – we previously made a team of the round for the first leg.
GK: Matvéi Safónov
PSG knew what awaited them when they travelled to Anfield – the Kop End produced a fearsome wall of noise for much of the game. Nevertheless, Matvei Safonov was able to tune it out and deliver an excellent performance between the sticks.
Making no less than five saves against Liverpool, Safonov maintained his clean sheet and ensured that PSG would progress through to the next round of the competition.
RB: Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi is a polarising character, but his ability on the football pitch cannot be denied – he was utterly immense down the right flank against Liverpool.
Tasked with containing Mohamed Salah and Jeremie Frimpong (and Hugo Ekitike before his unfortunate injury), he did not allow either of them to pick up a head of steam, making numerous tackles to stifle their effectiveness.
CB: Marquinhos
Previously, audiences had written Marquinhos off as a bit of a soft touch. While he has always been a great player technically, his physicality had been called into question – those questions were emphatically answered against Liverpool.
Making some crucial defensive actions, including a goal-saving block on the line, Marquinhos led by example from the back on Tuesday evening.
CB: Gabriel
Arsenal’s performance against Sporting CP in the second leg wasn’t pretty, but the Gunners did exactly what they needed to do to progress.
The Portuguese giants couldn’t find a way past Gabriel – he stood sentinel throughout the game, ensuring David Raya didn’t have much to do in the Arsenal net.