Champions League Team of the Week – Rice, Guirassy, Pavard | OneFootball

Our Champions League Team of the Week following the second legs of the quarter-final ties, featuring stars from Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma – Paris Saint-Germain

A towering presence as Paris Saint-Germain weathered a storm from Aston Villa to progress. Donnarumma conceded three times on the night but was the reason PSG did not surrender their first-leg lead. An outstanding full-length save denied Marcus Rashford, before an even better stop to claw away a Youri Tielemans header destined for the top corner.

Right-back: Jurrien Timber – Arsenal

Came out on top in one of the toughest tasks in football. The Dutchman is a superb all-round defender and locked down the threat of Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid. Timber is tenacious as they come and did not give the Spanish side’s superstar an inch.

Centre-back: Benjamin Pavard – Inter Milan

A huge time to score his first goal of the season against his former team. Pavard made eight clearances and blocked two shots in a determined defensive performance against Bayern Munich, before popping up at the other end to head home a crucial goal. Pavard’s goal irreversibly swung the tie back into Inter’s favour.

Centre-back: Ezri Konsa – Aston Villa

Saw a good chance go begging but slammed home Aston Villa’s third of the night to spark hopes of a comeback. Konsa’s quality was apparent on a big night for Villa, as the 27-year-old won 5/6 defensive duels against a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain attack. Villa’s best defender, in current form a regular England role is not beyond him.

Left-back: Myles Lewis-Skelly – Arsenal

Just the third player aged 18 or under to start a Champions League knockout game at Real Madrid – but you wouldn’t have known it. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s stock continues to rise with the teenager at home at one of football’s grandest venues. He made five clearances and four recoveries. while winning 9/11 duels and completing 100% of his dribbles (2/2).

Midfield: Declan Rice – Arsenal

A monstrous performance from Rice, who was the standout figure in both legs of Arsenal’s quarter-final win against Real Madrid. After two fantastic goals in the first leg, Rice covered every blade of grass to shut down the Spanish side’s hopes of a Remontada.

Powerful, commanding and in control, Rice was everywhere in arguably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt.

Midfield: John McGinn – Aston Villa

Did all he could to bring Aston Villa back into the tie in a real captain’s performance. McGinn failed to give up even when Villa trailed 5-1 on aggregate, neatly laying off Youri Tielemans to pull one back before firing in a deflected long-ranger after a surging run forward. The Scot never stops trying and this display was evidence of that.

Midfield: Daniel Svensson – Borussia Dortmund

Just three months ago, Daniel Svensson was playing his football for FC Nordsjælland in the Danish league. On Tuesday night, the 23-year-old proved he can cut it on the big stage. On the left side of Dortmund’s midfield, Svensson was excellent in nullifying the threat of Lamine Yamal against Barcelona. An excellent outing from the January recruit.

Forward: Marcus Rashford – Aston Villa

Marcus Rashford has found his form in an Aston Villa shirt. While a sloppy touch kickstarted the move that allowed PSG to open the scoring this week, Rashford regrouped and responded. So threatening whenever he picked up possession, he assisted Konsa’s goal with an adventurous dribble and cutback. Only a stunning save from Gianluigi Donnarumma denied him a goal of his own.

Forward: Serhou Guirassy – Borussia Dortmund

A perfect hat-trick for Serhou Guirassy, who has certainly enjoyed himself in the Champions League this season. No Dortmund player or African footballer has ever scored more goals in a single Champions League campaign than the 29-year-old, who made it 13 goals in 14 games this week. An audacious penalty opened his account against Barcelona before two predatory finishes sealed a 3-1 win on the night.

Forward: Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan

Il Capitano delivered again for Inter who are into the semi-finals for just the second time since last winning the Champions League in 2010.

After a sensational first-leg goal, Martinez issued a perfect response to Harry Kane’s opener in the return. The striker smashed in a low effort through traffic to put Inter back in control at the San Siro. His goal aside, Martinez worked tirelessly for the cause and relieved pressure with his hold-up. The performance of a leader.

Read – Champions League Awards: Rice cooks at the Bernabeu

See more – Champions League top scorers: Guirassy takes the lead

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