Sterling and Messi among best rated Champions League displays this season
In the build up to Sunday's highly aniticpated Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, it's time to remember some of the standout moments of what has been an extremely long campaign in UEFA's elite club competition.
There have been 14 instances of perfect WhoScored 10 ratings in the 2019/20 Champions League compared to just six in the Europa League. Our rating system caps a player performance at 10 but behind the scenes we are able to see whose performance was the best, statistically speaking.
Rather than run through all 14 instances of 10 ratings, we will countdown from six and build up to No.1 spot.
6. Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax) vs Lille, 17/09/19
It's not often a defender earns a perfect WhoScored 10 rating so this is certainly one to cherish for Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico. In fact, the Argentine is the only defender to garner a 10 rating in the Champions League this season, with said performance coming in Ajax's group stage encounter with Lille back in September. Ajax secured a 3-0 home win, with Tagliafico scoring one and assisting another. The 27-year-old also weighed in with 16 tackles and interceptions combined (16) - the highest collective figure in a Champions League game this season.
5. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) vs Red Star Belgrade, 26/11/19
Robert Lewandowski remarkably has 15 goals in the Champions League this season, scoring in all nine of his appearances to date. Four of those goals came in 77 minutes against Red Star Belgrade back in November. The Bayern Munich striker needs two goals in Sunday's final to match Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 17 goals in a single Champions League campaign.
4. Rodrygo (Real Madrid) vs Galatasaray, 06/11/19
Rodrygo became the second youngest player in Real Madrid history after Raul to score a Champions League hat-trick after netting a treble against Galatasaray in November at the age of 18. The Brazilian winger, who has endured a 2020 to forget, also registered one assist in Madrid's 6-0 demolition of the Turkish giants. Moreover, the now-19-year-old impressively completed 92.6% of his attempted passes and scored from all three attempts on goal.
3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) vs Borussia Dortmund, 27/11/19
Barcelona's Champions League campaign ended in humilation earlier this month and now Lionel Messi is seriously considering his future at the club, tired of the politics and constant failure on and off the pitch. Back in November, however, things looked quite rosy after Messi garnered a perfect 10 rating in Barcelona's 3-1 home win over Borussia Dortmund. Messi played a direct hand in all three goals, scoring twice and registering one assist. Messi was actually denied a hat-trick by the woodwork. Moreover, he had five attempts, registered four key passes and completed 11 dribbles.
2. Raheem Sterling (Man City) vs Atalanta, 22/10/19
Placing second in the list of best individual performances in the 2019/20 Champions League is Manchester City's Raheem Sterling. The England international scored his first European hat-trick in City's 5-1 destruction of Atalanta in the group stage, doing so in the space of 11 minutes. Moreover, Sterling also registered an assist in the drubbing. The 25-year-old scored three goals from four attempts, while also completing five dribbles and winning three fouls.
1. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) vs Tottenham, 01/10/19
Former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry certainly enjoyed his return to north London back in September when he hammered four goals past ex-rivals Tottenham in Bayern Munich's remarkable 7-2 win in the group stage. Gnabry also registered one assist in Bayern's rout, scoring his four goals from five attempts. The Germany international also completed three dribbles and won four fouls to claim the best individual display of the 2019/20 Champions League campaign.
