MX23RW : Sunday, December 15 21:09:51| >> :120:13680:13680:

Champions League Team of the Week: Neymar, Robert Lewandowski, Angel di Maria

Sports Mole selects its Champions League team of the semi-finals, including Neymar, Robert Lewandowski, Angel di Maria and Serge Gnabry.

Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich set up a mouth-watering Champions League final showdown by both winning 3-0 in their respective semi-finals this week, ending the journeys of surprise packages RB Leipzig and Lyon in the process.

PSG were the first to book their place in the showpiece event at the Estadio da Luz, cruising past Leipzig to reach the final of the Champions League for the very first time.

Bayern were similarly comfortable against Lyon in the end as they reached the final for the first time since 2013 and an 11th time overall, keeping them in with a chance of lifting the trophy for a sixth time.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League team of the semi-finals.



CL TOTW SFs

With such comfortable winners in both semi-finals it was impossible to pick anything other than an XI made up entirely of members from the two finalists.

Things might not have been quite as comfortable for Bayern without Manuel Neuer in fine form, though, with the German forced into three saves to deny Lyon a route back into the match.

Joshua Kimmich joins his clubmate in the defensive line courtesy of another impressive showing at right-back, chalking up assists for the first and third goals.

It is an all PSG backline aside from that, though, with the French outfit doing a better job of limiting Leipzig's chances than Bayern managed against Lyon. Centre-back duo Presnel Kimpembe and Thiago Silva were integral to that, putting the latter within 90 minutes of lifting the Champions League as his final action in a PSG shirt.

Juan Bernat also helped to thwart the Leipzig defence as well as having an impact further up the field, capping off the scoring with a glancing header 11 minutes into the second half.

Marquinhos opened the scoring in that match with a textbook glancing header of his own, getting his name on the scoresheet for the second game in a row, and he gets the holding midfield role alongside Bayern's Thiago Alcantara in this XI after the Liverpool-linked Spaniard put in another midfield masterclass.

Given the attacking talent on show it is no surprise that we have a star-studded forward line, and arguably the standout individual performance over both games came from Angel di Maria, who had a direct hand in all three of PSG's goals, scoring once himself and delivering the crosses for the other two.

Neymar was similarly influential, although he will have been frustrated to end the game with only one assist to his name after missing a couple of clear chances and hitting the woodwork twice.

Serge Gnabry was nowhere near as wasteful for Bayern, blasting the Germans into the lead with a superb solo strike after 18 minutes and then doubling their advantage shortly after the half-hour mark with a much simpler finish from close range.

Robert Lewandowski then capped the scoring off with a header for his 55th goal of a remarkable campaign, 15 of which have come in the Champions League as he closes in on Cristiano Ronaldo's single-season record for the competition.

ID:410953: cacheID:410953:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4947:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Paris Saint-Germain celebrate scoring against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on August 18, 2020
Read Next:
PSG's road to the Champions League final
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Chiefs
@
Browns
6pm
Ravens
@
Giants
6pm
Jets
@
Jags
6pm
Cowboys
@
Panthers
6pm
Washington
@
Saints
6pm
Dolphins
@
Texans
6pm
Bengals
@
Titans
9.25pm
Colts
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Patriots
@
Cardinals
9.25pm
Buccaneers
@
Chargers
9.25pm
Steelers
@
Eagles
9.25pm
Bills
@
Lions
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern14103142123033
2Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen1485132201229
3Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt1483334201427
4RB Leipzig148332315827
5Freiburg147342019124
6Stuttgart146532924523
7Mainz 05Mainz146442519622
8Borussia DortmundDortmund146442521422
9Werder Bremen146442224-222
10Wolfsburg146353125621
11Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach146352319421
12Union BerlinUnion Berlin144551315-217
13Augsburg144461627-1116
14Hoffenheim143561926-714
15St Pauli143291119-811
16Heidenheim1431101831-1310
17Holstein Kiel1412111437-235
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum1403111135-243


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!