UEFA Champions League team of the week: Round of 16 - 1st leg

CM – Marco Verratti (PSG)

Marco Verratti stats

Marco Verratti could be the most underrated midfielder in world football currently, as his understated arrival in the French capital compared to some of his peers has left him slightly hidden away in Ligue 1.

The Champions League however gives him the perfect opportunity to display his talents to the masses and he was once again excellent as PSG brushed aside Bayer Leverkusen.

Verratti completed 99 passes and misplaced just five all game, while completed three take-ons and won three tackles in the centre of the pitch for a Performance Score of 80.

CM – Thiago Motta (PSG)

Thiago Motta stats

Alongside Verratti in the centre of the pitch was Thiago Motta, who was also in imperious form in the comfortable 4-0 thrashing of Leverkusen.

Motta has a lot of history in the is competition having won it with both Barcelona and Inter Milan and would like to emulate the great Clarence Seedorf’s achievement of winning it with three different clubs.

Motta’s score of 58 came from a 93% passing success after completing 118 passes, while he won three tackles on completed three take-ons in an impressive display.

CM – Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich)

Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos scored a wonderful goal against Arsenal the other night, not to forget his contribution in the outfield with a flurry of passes. His pass ratio was almost equivalent to what full Arsenal squad could muster in the 90 minutes.

RF – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Lionel Messi

People had altered the stat of never having scored on English soil after his heroics at Wembley three years ago, and he tore apart the ‘never scored at a Premier League ground’ stat by converting a penalty after winning it from Martin Demichelis.

While we await a ‘never scored from open play…’ stat, there’s no denying that Messi was the catalyst behind everything good Barcelona did on Tuesday.

Messi’s Performance Score of 83 came from four successful take-ons, a 91% passing accuracy and three shots on goal, of which of course one set them on their way to victory.

LF – Lucas Moura (PSG)

Lucas Moura stats

There’s a certain dominance from PSG to this team and Lucas Moura earns his place alongside the top performers of the week’s actions after collecting a Squawka Performance Score of 59.

Moura was fouled four times as Leverkusen never got to grips with the talented Brazilian attacker, proving key to the 4-0 victory that practically sees PSG through already into the quarter-finals.

Moura may not have got on the scoresheet himself, but he does have an assist to show for his efforts, while he completed four take-ons to further the momentum of the French giants.

CF – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG)

A man that needs no introduction, though whether Zlatan would give you one anyway is a fair certainty.

But one could saying it’s not arrogance if you back it up with performances and that’s exactly what he did against Leverkusen, scoring twice and recording a performance score of 114.

He hit the target with his only other shot as well and created another three chances for his less-prolific colleagues, as part of his 93% passing success.