Ranking the best 15 players in the 2021/22 Champions League so far
5. Thibaut Courtois
You cannot tell me a greater redemption tale than Thibaut Courtois’. From a guy who was despised by Chelsea fans for heading to a bigger club and having a bad season at Real Madrid to one of the finest goalkeepers in the world today, Courtois’ graph has made a massive green leap.
However, there appears to be some sort of ignorant agenda against Real Madrid or La Liga as a whole by English “pundits” and reporters who don’t even deem the Belgian to be one of the top ten goalkeepers in the world, let alone the number one, despite his performances proving them wrong on a daily basis.
He has been Real Madrid’s biggest saviour for more than two seasons, making up for every defensive blunder. If there was one player who did not deserve the El Clasico defeat, it was Thibaut Courtois, who gave his all but was let down by his teammates.
However, in the Champions League, he has continued to show why he is ranked higher than the supposed finest goalkeeper in the world, Edouard Mendy.
Courtois has made 31 saves in the competition thus far, compared to Mendy’s 5, with a save rate of nearly 86 percent to Mendy’s 83. Not to mention his crucial penalty save in the Round of 16 encounter against PSG, which if scored would have made a comeback more difficult.
He is certainly the greatest one available, and you will not be able to persuade me differently.
4. Kylian Mbappe
Sit back because I’m about to show you something that will quickly turn you into a fan of this guy. At the age of 23, Kylian Mbappe is a club’s second top scorer, fourth top assist holder, the youngest player to register 100 goals for any French team, a world cup winner, 9th in the Ballon d’Or ranking (which is questionable and absurd), Champions League runner up, and many other individual awards with a career of more than 10 years ahead of him.
Mbappe is the face of youth football today for a variety of reasons. His pace, cleverness, and calmness in tight moments, all united in his feet, make him a one-of-a-kind talent.
Despite the signings of Leo Messi and Neymar, it is Mbappe who leads the PSG attacking line in every game. For the defenders, he is a shadow, owing to his furious pace and off-the-ball movement, which make him a world-class winger/striker capable of running havoc in the opposing box.
His impact on PSG’s Champions League success has been enormous not only this season but since he arrived at the Parisian club. Scoring 6 goals and assisting 4 in only 8 games is no joke, and aside from the numerical value, the weight these figures carry is immense, and there is no mistake that he is PSG’s strongest player this season.
Mbappe would be heralded as the only carrier who carried PSG from the group stages all the way to the quarterfinals if it weren’t for Real Madrid’s comeback, and there is no debate that he is the fourth greatest player in the UCL today.