The Best XI of the 2014/15 Champions League Last 16
Sixteen teams have gone and 16 remain, with the best teams in Europe set to resume Champions League combat in the new year.
But who are the best players from those teams? And who would make up a best XI from the sides remaining in European football's elite competition?
Everyone will have a different opinion of course, but we reckon that this dream team would stand a great chance of Champions League glory.
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
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It's an easy choice to make in goal, where the Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer takes the No. 1 shirt.
Now widely regarded as the best stopper in the world, Neuer's trademark sweeper-keeper style ensures he stands out from the crowd as Bayern's last line of defence. He kept four clean sheets as the German champions qualified for the last 16 by winning five of their six matches in Group E, in which they finished ahead of Manchester City.
The 2013 Champions League winner will have his eye on making an appearance in the Berlin final in June.
Defence: Philipp Lahm, Javier Mascherano, Thiago Silva, Marcelo
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Things get a little trickier when we move into defence, but as a World Cup winner and Neuer's captain at Bayern Munich, Philipp Lahm is thoroughly deserving of his place in the team at right-back.
The central-defensive partnership of Brazil's Thiago Silva of Paris Saint-Germain and the Argentina and Barcelona star Javier Mascherano might be a little unconventional, but the Group F rivals would offer a lot of protection to Neuer in goal.
Mascherano might be better suited to playing in defensive midfield, but as he's proven over his successful career, he is a leader who can be trusted to give his all for the team no matter where he is stationed.
Silva's Brazil team-mate Marcelo of Real Madrid played in all six of his team's matches as they won Group B with a maximum 18 points, and he takes the left-back slot as a reward for his rapid rate of improvement in recent years.
Midfield: Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, James Rodriguez
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Competition for places gets a lot more fierce in midfield, but two new Real Madrid stars make the cut after shining in the European champions team that easily dismissed Basel, Liverpool and Ludogorets to finish top of Group B.
German World Cup winner Toni Kroos played in all six of Real's matches in the group stage, while Colombia's James Rodriguez played in five, scoring in the 5-1 win over Basel at the Bernabeu on Matchday 1.
Injury ensured that Bayern Munich icon Bastian Schweinsteiger only managed 99 minutes in the group stage, but he played the whole game in Bayern's final match against CSKA Moscow, a 3-0 win in which he registered an assist for Sebastian Rode's goal.
The midfield metronome will hopefully be up to full fitness by the New Year, though, and he will be a key player when Champions League combat resumes.
Attack: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar
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Two of the three places in attack were never really up for debate, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi taking their spots as their battle to be the Champions League's all-time top scorer intensifies.
Messi currently holds the record after scoring eight goals in the group stage to move onto 75 strikes in his 92 games in the competition, with Ronaldo three behind him on 72 goals from 109 games after he scored in five in his six matches.
Obviously, both will be men to watch in the knockout stages, with Messi's Barcelona team-mate Neymar joining them in attack after managing three goals in five matches, including at home and away to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazil star makes up a front three that surely no defence would be able to handle and completes our team that would take the Champions League by storm.
