See which players and teamed performed best in the group stage…
UEFA yesterday announced their winners of the group stage awards from the Champions League. See the winners, including the best match, the best comeback, the best team and the best young player of the group stage, below.
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Player of the Group Stage – Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano was not a house hold name before his astonishing group stage goalscoring feats, where he scored more single handedly than several teams managed.
Despite missing the last game of the group stage, the Brazilian striker scored a sensational nine goals, including seven over two legs against BATE Borisov.
Young Player of the Group Stage – Breel Embolo
The 17-year-old Embolo was outstanding for Basel in the UEFA Youth League last year, and now he’s stepped up his game to the senior level, playing a vital role in the 1-0 win over Liverpool and picking up a goal and an assist against Ludogorets.
Senior Player of the Group Stage – Francesco Totti
Before Embolo was born in 1997 Totti was already scoring in European competitions, and the Roma forward is still going.
Totti’s equaliser against Manchester City put him ahead of Ryan Giggs as the Champions League top scorer, and he shows no signs of stopping yet.
Team of the Group Stage – Real Madrid
Real were only the sixth team to finish a Champions League group stage with a perfect record. They are also the only team to have done it twice, after racking up a perfect 6 from 6 in 2011/12 too. They finished the group a record breaking 11 points ahead of second placed Basel.
Match of the Group Stage – Manchester City 3 – 2 Bayern Munich
A truly memorable game, especially considering how bleak things looked for Man City at 2-1 down with just five minutes to go. Bayern displayed the same worrying fragility they showed against Real Madrid in the knock-out stages last year to concede two late Sergio Aguero goals.
Comeback of the Group Stage – Arsenal 3 – 3 Anderlecht
Arsenal were three goals up and cruising in Belgium on mathday four, but after conceding to Anthony Vanden Borre lost their nerve totally, and threw away three points that could have allowed them to finish as top scorer.