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Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week: Robert Lewandowski, Declan Rice, Desire Doue

Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the first legs of the quarter-finals, including Robert Lewandowski, Declan Rice and Desire Doue.

Barcelona and Arsenal were the big winners in the first legs of the Champions League quarter-finals, while Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan also secured advantages ahead of the return fixtures next week.

Arsenal incredibly recorded a 3-0 victory over the reigning champions Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium, while Barcelona thumped Borussia Dortmund 4-0 to put one foot in the final four of the competition.

PSG came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in Paris, and Inter also have a lead to protect, having recorded an excellent 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in Germany on Tuesday night.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the first legs of the Champions League quarter-finals, and there were a number of outstanding performers once again.


DEFENCE

Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi on March 5, 2025© Imago

Yann Sommer is given the nod between the sticks due to his excellent performance for Inter against Bayern, with the 36-year-old making six saves at Allianz Arena, and he was a commanding presence for the Italian giants.

Konrad Laimer might have been on the losing side against Inter, but the 27-year-old is fully deserving of a spot in the side here, as the Bayern defender made two tackles and completed two successful dribbles, while he also finished the match with a pass success rate of 96%.

There also had to be a spot at the back for Pau Cubarsi, with the Spain international in terrific form against Dortmund on Wednesday night; the Barcelona centre-back provided the assist for his side's opener, while he won two aerial duels, made two tackles and completed 55 of his 59 passes.

Inter's Alessandro Bastoni also makes it, with the 25-year-old playing a leading role in his side securing all three points; the Italian made five tackles against Bayern, with the home side's forwards finding him incredibly difficult to overcome.

The defensive set-up is completed by Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was a leading performer for the Gunners against Real Madrid; the 18-year-old provided the assist for Mikel Merino to make it 3-0, while he was also defensively excellent, helping to keep Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe quiet.


MIDFIELD

Arsenal's Declan Rice celebrates scoring on April 8, 2025© Imago

There simply had to be a spot in the midfield for Declan Rice, who came up with two sensational free kicks for Arsenal in their three-goal success over Real Madrid, but the Englishman's overall performance in the engine room was also hugely impressive.

Vitinha also makes it, having starred in PSG's home success over Villa; the Portugal international has been a standout performer in the competition this season, and his use of the ball on Wednesday was sensational, finishing with a pass success rate of 97%.

The midfield is completed by Fermin Lopez, who made the most of his starting opportunity against Dortmund; the 21-year-old provided the assist for Barcelona's third of the match, and he was a constant threat to BVB with his running and use of the ball in dangerous areas.


ATTACK

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski on April 9, 2025© Iconsport

Robert Lewandowski sails into the front three, with the Poland international hitting a brace in Barcelona's success over Dortmund; the veteran striker is now on 40 goals for the season, and his quality was on full display in a standout success for Hansi Flick's side.

Lewandowski is joined by Barcelona teammate Raphinha, who is also having a glorious campaign; the Brazilian finished with one goal and two assists on Wednesday night, with BVB simply unable to deal with his threat on the counter-attack.

Lamine Yamal is unfortunate to miss out considering his contribution to Barcelona's success, but there had to be a spot for Desire Doue, who has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting forwards in European football.

Doue was on the scoresheet in PSG's 3-1 success over Aston Villa, while he had six shots, made four tackles and completed 40 of his 45 passes during a stunning performance from the teenage superstar.


SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

CL TOTW QF

Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Sommer (Inter); Laimer (Bayern), Cubarsi (Barcelona), Bastoni (Inter), Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal); Rice (Arsenal), F Lopez (Barcelona), Vitinha (PSG); Doue (PSG), Lewandowski (Barcelona), Raphinha (Barcelona)


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