Raphinha's breakthrough, Rice the maestro, Guirassy the goal machine: Champions League team of the tournament

On May 31, 2025, the 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League draws to a close, marking the end of the tournament's inaugural season in its new format. The grand finale will see French giants PSG face off against Italian powerhouse Inter.

But before the final whistle, here’s our Champions League Team of the Season for 2024/2025.

Goalkeeper: Yann Sommer (Inter)

The 36-year-old Swiss veteran featured in 13 matches this campaign, keeping a clean sheet in 7 of them—including an impressive streak of five consecutive shutouts.

Sommer averaged just 0.8 goals conceded per game and made 3.7 saves per match. In the crucial second leg of the semi-final against Barcelona, Sommer earned UEFA’s Man of the Match award after racking up 7 key saves.

Left-back: Nuno Mendes (PSG)

The 22-year-old Portuguese star played 15 matches for the Parisians, making a decisive impact in PSG’s quarterfinal tie against Aston Villa with two goals and an assist. Across the campaign, he notched up 4 goals (with an xG of 2.17) in the Champions League.

Nuno boasted an 86% passing accuracy, completed 66% of his dribbles, and won 68% of his aerial duels. On average, Mendes tallied 1.5 interceptions, 3 tackles, and 3.1 clearances per match.

Centre-back: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter)

The 26-year-old Italian took part in 13 matches for Inter, starting 11 times. He provided a crucial assist in a vital away win over Sparta Prague.

Bastoni completed 86% of his passes. On average, he contributed 0.7 interceptions, 1.9 tackles, 2.5 recoveries, and 2.7 clearances per game.

Centre-back: Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund)

The 25-year-old German registered just one direct goal contribution in 12 matches—an assist against Celtic. But his defensive solidity helped the “Black and Yellows” keep five clean sheets. Remarkably, Schlotterbeck picked up neither a yellow nor a red card throughout the campaign.

Nico posted a 90% passing accuracy, with a perfect 100% on crosses. He averaged 1 interception, 2.3 tackles, 5.6 recoveries, and 3 clearances per game. The German completed 80% of his dribbles and won 70% of his duels both on the ground and in the air.

Right-back: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

In 14 Champions League appearances, the 30-year-old German provided 4 assists and created 11 big chances—the highest in the competition. Kimmich completed 92% of his passes, including 71% of long balls and 24% of crosses, and won 61% of his duels.

He averaged 0.9 interceptions, 1.1 tackles, 0.8 clearances, and 2.6 key passes per match. Half of his dribbles were successful. Joshua was the tournament’s leader in attacking actions (100).

Left midfielder: Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)

The 29-year-old Spaniard scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist in 10 matches. He also created 3 big chances for teammates, averaged 2.2 key passes per game, and maintained an 88% pass accuracy.

Per match, Grimaldo averaged 1.8 tackles, 4.3 recoveries, and 1.6 clearances. At least one of his dribbles per game was successful. Alex won 65% of his duels both on the ground and in the air.

Central midfielder: Declan Rice (Arsenal)

The 26-year-old Englishman played 13 matches, but the defining moment came in the first leg of the quarterfinals against Real Madrid, where Rice showed billiard-like precision to score two free-kicks. In total, Declan contributed 4 goals and 2 assists.

Rice maintained a passing accuracy of 92%, with 67% of his long balls finding their target. He averaged 1.2 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 3.5 recoveries, and 1.1 clearances per game, completing 75% of his dribbles.

Right midfielder: Denzel Dumfries (Inter)

The 29-year-old Dutchman played 11 tournament matches, but truly shone in the semi-final ties against Barcelona—scoring twice and providing three assists. His exploits earned him Player of the Week honors in early May.

Dumfries also created 3 big chances across the tournament. He averaged 0.8 key passes, 76% pass accuracy, 0.5 interceptions, 1.8 tackles, 4.3 recoveries, and 1.6 clearances per match.

Attacking midfielder: Raphinha (Barcelona)

This season, Raphinha matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s record with 21 goal contributions: 13 goals and 8 assists in 14 matches, making him the Champions League’s top player for goals plus assists. The 28-year-old Brazilian enjoyed the best campaign of his career, notching a hat-trick against Bayern and two braces against Benfica.

Forward: Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)

Across 14 matches, the 29-year-old Guinean found the net 13 times, sharing the tournament’s top scorer honor with Raphinha. Notably, Guirassy scored five goals against Barcelona (a hat-trick and a brace), and also bagged doubles against Celtic and Shakhtar.

Guirassy also chipped in with 4 assists and created 4 big chances. On average, he delivered 0.9 key passes, 83% pass accuracy, drew 1.8 fouls, and won 54% of his aerial duels.

Forward: Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)

At the start of 2025, the 28-year-old Frenchman stormed into the Ballon d’Or race. In 14 Champions League matches, he scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists.

Dembélé also missed 9 clear chances, but still created 3 big chances and averaged 2.6 key passes per game. His passing accuracy stood at 81%, with an impressive 95% on long balls, and he completed 1.7 successful dribbles per match.

Manager: Simone Inzaghi (Inter)

Despite financial constraints and a limited transfer budget, the 48-year-old Italian tactician led his team all the way to the final. In the group stage, Inter won six out of eight games, with Inzaghi deploying a flexible 3-5-2 system that combined defensive solidity with rapid counterattacks orchestrated by Çalhanoğlu and Thuram.

In the knockout rounds, he outwitted two tournament favorites—Bayern and Barcelona. Against the Catalans, Inzaghi employed aggressive high pressing, securing a dramatic extra-time victory thanks to Frattesi’s goal. His tactical ingenuity, including smart squad rotation and adapting to opponents, allowed Inter to maintain a fine balance between attack and defense throughout the tournament.