Fernandes and Neymar but no Mbappe in star-studded Champions League best XI

With the 2020/21 Champions League group phase done and dusted, now is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the first half of Europe's elite club competition.

Manchester United were the high profile casualities to miss out on a spot in the knock-out phase, along with Serie A side Inter, while Real Madrid avoided an humilating early exit with a 2-0 win over Gladbach on Wednesday night.

Having already revealed the Champions League Team of the Week on our socials, it's time to add a more detailed look at the Champions League Team of the Group Stage. Before we dive straight in, it's worth pointing out only players to have featured in at least half of the apperances can qualify for the XI.

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) - 7.50 rating

After a sharp decline in recent years, there is no doubt Manuel Neuer is back among the very best goalkeepers in the world in 2020. Bayern Munich ended up breezing to top spot in Group A but they needed Neuer to be in peak form on more than one occasion. In fact, only Krasnodar goalkeeper Matvey Safonov (5.5) managed more saves pg than Neuer (5.4) in the group stage (2+ apps).

Right-back: Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) - 7.53 rating

Juan Cuadrado enjoyed a stellar group stage for Serie A side Juventus, finishing with at least two more assists (5) than any other player in the competition. In fact, a return of five assists this season is as many as he managed in all of his previous six Champions League campaigns combined (38 appearances). Moreover, only one player completed more crosses than Cuadrado across the entire group stage (11) to help Juventus claim top spot in Group G.

Centre-back: Cristian Romero (Atalanta) - 8.17 rating

On loan from Juventus, Cristian Romero played a huge role in Atalanta securing Champions League knock-out football for the second season in a row, with one goal and one assist in five appearances. Not just that, but only one player won possession in the defensive third more times than Romerto (33), but he also topped the charts for most interceptions (24) and aerial duels won of defenders (33). Meanwhile, no player made more tackles and interceptions combined than Romero (36).

Centre-back: Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich) - 7.59 rating

Niklas Sule catapulted himself into the Champions League Team of the Group stage with a strong final appearance, netting his first ever goal in European competition in Bayern's 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow in midweek. Sule registered a pass success rate in excess of 90% in three of his four appearances from his average of 76.5 passes pg. Moreover, the 25-year-old won 73.3% of his attempted aerial duels.

Left-back: Alex Sandro (Juventus) - 8.31 rating

Alex Sandro missed the start of the season through injury but his return has certainly made a big impact for Juventus in a short space of time. All three of his starts this season have come in the Champions League, with the Brazilian registering a WhoScored rating above 8.00 in all three. Only Romero (4.8) averaged more interceptions pg than Sandro (4) during the group stage and the Juventus left-back also ranked in the top 10 for most tackles pg (3).

Right wing: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 8.94 rating

The fact Lionel Messi finished the group stage as the highest WhoScored rated player will rankle many. This current Barcelona team are making it increasingly difficult for Lionel Messi to look good, though he is trying his very best to drag them through a tough time. Despite missing two of the matches, Messi still managed to complete the most dribbles (23), register the most key passes (16) and manage the most shots on target (16) in the competition. He ended with five goals and assists in four matches.

Central midfield: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - 7.49 rating

Bruno Fernandes' first Champions League campaign in three years ultimately ended prematurely but it wasn't from a lack of trying from the Manchester United midfielder. Fernandes scored four goals in six matches and also registered one assist, while only one player in the competition won possession in the attacking third more times than the United star (9). The 26-year-old managed 3.3 shots pg and 2.5 key passes pg but it wasn't enough to help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side through to the next round.

Central midfield: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) - 8.53 rating

Joshua Kimmich was limited to appearances in half of Bayern Munich's group games because of injury but he certainly made his game time count. Kimmich scored a stunning winning goal against Lokomotiv Moscow, while also registering two assists to put Bayern 4-2 up on Salzburg before they eventually ran out 6-2 winners. Kimmich finished with four goal involvements in thre matches overall after supplying another assist in a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

Left wing: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - 8.06 rating

Neymar said he didn't come to Paris to play in the Europa League and he certainly stepped up when it mattered most to drag Thomas Tuchel's side through to the knockout stage as group winners. Neymar followed up his two-goal salvo against Manchester United with a hat-trick against Istanbul Basaksehir on Thursday. His perfect 10 rating against the latter is the best individual performance of the Champions League this season. He heads into the knockout stage as the joint top scorer in the competition with six goals.

Striker: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - 8.34 rating

Erling Haaland is another of those players, like Neymar, on six goals, with the Borussia Dortmund sensation scoring in all four of his Champions League group stage appearances. Haaland showed his ruthless streak with five clear-cut chances scored and only two missed. Of players that managed at least 200 minutes of playing time in the Champions League group stage, only one player required fewer touches-per-goal than Haaland (20.2).

Striker: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - 8.09 rating

Cristiano Ronaldo continued his remarkable scoring run at Camp Nou in Juventus' final group game to help the Serie A giants leapfrog Barcelona into first place in Group G with a brace from the spot. Ronaldo concluded the group phase with four goals in as many appearances, equalling his tally from eight appearances in the competition last season. The 35-year-old also weighed in with one assist, playing a direct hand in a goal in every appearance in the competition.