Ranking the players who could decide Champions League semi-finals
Matteo Ruggeri has started 11 of Atletico Madrid's 14 games in this season's Champions League and, with Diego Simeone's side up against an Arsenal outfit who beat them 4-0 earlier in the competition, it figures that the left-back will be an important presence in the semi-finals. The La Liga outfit have used a low block more times than anyone else - 458 times in 14 games - and 23-year-old Italian Ruggeri has played a key role in helping Atletico preserve leads. He has made more interceptions than any of his team-mates and is third overall in the competition this season with 20, while no Atletico player has won more tackles than the battle-hardened Ruggeri, who finished the return leg against Barcelona with blood seeping from his forehead.
Ruggeri was tasked with trying to keep Lamine Yamal quiet during the quarter-finals, and his job this time might be trying to stifle Arsenal's Bukayo Saka. The England winger missed more than a month with an Achilles problem, including both legs of the quarter-final win over Sporting, but, given the Gunners struggled to break down the Lisbon outfit in his absence - and taking into account Atletico’s penchant for a low block - Saka may prove key to unlocking their defence. Opta has Arsenal down as marginal favourites to win the Champions League this season, ahead of Bayern Munich, and Mikel Arteta's side have been a different beast with Saka in the line-up, averaging 2.
6 goals and 2. 3 expected goals (xG) per game in the eight matches the 24-year-old has played compared to only 1. 5 goals and 1.
8 xG on average in the four he missed. Legendary Brazilian right-back Cafu recently claimed Achraf Hakimi is the best in the world in that position, and it's hard to argue given his contributions to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League this campaign. The Parisiens boast a potent threat on both flanks with Nuno Mendes offering similar output from left-back, but we'll go with Hakimi as being more important to their attempt at retaining the European crown given Lucas Hernandez has shared the left-back load with Mendes this term.
Bayer Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo is the only defender to edge Moroccan Hakimi for goal contributions in this season's competition, making five assists and scoring once. But Hakimi (7. 5 on average per game) and Mendes (7.