We've picked out the top performers from the eight rounds of action in the this season's expanded tournament
Well, it's finally over. After eight matchdays and a ridiculous 144 games, the Champions League's controversial new league phase wrapped up on Wednesday, with Liverpool finishing top of the table and Manchester City scraping into the play-off places.
Whether the 'Swiss Model' was really a success for anyone other than Europe's richest clubs is very much open to debate, but what we can all agree on is that there were some impressive individual displays over the past five months.
But who were the top performers? Who deserves inclusion in GOAL's Team of the League Phase? Find out below and, as always, feel free to express your outrage – and post your own line-ups – in the comments section…
Getty Images SportGK: Yann Sommer (Inter)
The obvious choice for our No.1 shirt. The Switzerland international is undeniably fortunate to play behind one of the best backlines in Europe, but Sommer was also integral to Inter keeping a seriously impressive seven clean sheets in eight games.
Indeed, his 95 percent save success rateis utterly ridiculous and on a whole other level to any other goalkeeper in the competition.
AdvertisementAFPRB: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Just a fantastic footballer. Hakimi is one of the most complete defenders in the game today, as underlined by the fact that nobody in this season's Champions League has won possession more times (56) than the Morocco right-back, while only four players (all attackers) created more chances than Hakimi (21).
He's also emerged as quite the leader at Parc des Princes and Luis Enrique's men simply wouldn't have made it through to the play-offs without him.
Getty Images SportCB: Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
One of the most coveted free agents on the market right now and it's easy to understand why. Tah is a wonderfully composed and combative centre-back who was immense in the league phase for Leverkusen, helping Xabi Alonso's side keep five clean sheets in eight outings.
The 28-year-old was excellent in the air and fantastic on the ball, but it was his ability to snuff out danger that really stood out.
Getty Images SportCB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Van Dijk earned himself a well-earned rest on matchday eight after helping Liverpool keep five clean sheets in their previous seven games. Truth be told, though, the Dutchman almost certainly could have played against PSV in Eindhoven on Wednesday, given he probably wouldn't have expended much energy anyway.
At 33 years of age, Van Dijk is still making marking the world's best attackers look ridiculously easy and has also formed a very formidable central-defensive partnership with Ibrahima Konate.
