UEFA Champions League 100: Ranking the Top Players After Round of 16's 1st Leg

After an enthralling set of opening first-leg matches in the Champions League's round of 16, we are spoiled to have another 90 minutes (and perhaps more) on offer.

Two ties are close to being decided after the first encounter, but the remaining six require another meeting to determine a winner—as the gaps in those six contests never eclipsed two goals (not taking into account the component of away goals, which could come into play after 180 minutes are played).

Many of the usual suspects were amazing, some played below their level and the occasional lesser-known—or even unknown—footballer shocked our collective consciousness and arrived from seemingly nowhere.

In that sense, Bleacher Report is taking a holistic approach to the Champions League 100: breaking down each position, finding those outstanding footballers and grading each according to his output. With 100 players—from the 16 qualified clubs in the knockout stage—competition for places is tough, but there is enough room for thorough investigation and critique.

Each player is evaluated by your slightly biased but mostly fair author, who will bring you player grades based on the action after every leg.

Before presenting the first set of grades for the 2016/17 UCL knockout stage, though, one must understand the methodology.

Methodology

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Footballers are graded on a series of four key attributes in their respective positional roles. Using a grading scale, starting at zero and going up to anywhere from 10 to 25, the system is altered by the most recently completed matchday—reaching a maximum of 100 points.

The 100 players are divided into positions and ranked against/with their contemporaries:

• 10 goalkeepers
• 10 right-backs and right wing-backs
• 10 left-backs and left wing-backs
• 15 centre-backs
• 20 defensive, central and attacking midfielders
• 10 right midfielders, right-wingers and right-sided forwards
• 10 left midfielders, left-wingers and left-sided forwards
• 15 strikers and centre-forwards

Domestic form will bear no weight in the Champions League proceedings.

Obviously no system is perfect, and there are flaws with every conceivable methodology, but giving each group of players a unique grading system—rather than throwing every footballer into the same equation—should offer a truer end result from matchday to matchday.

Grading is a subjective process. We all have things we notice and things we appreciate more than others; in that respect, no ranking is ever definitive.

In the event of ties, we simply ask: "Who do we think had a better game?" The winner gets top billing.

Goalkeepers

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Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon and FC Porto's Iker Casillas (two of modern football's most respected and decorated goalkeepers) embraced after their clubs played at the Estadio do Drago.

The moment was one of mutual respect and the understanding Buffon's Italian champions—though in the proverbial driver's seat with a 2-0 victory—are not yet clear of the Portuguese outfit. Juventus have two crucial away goals, but they must continue their defensive dominance to secure a quarter-final berth.

David Ospina is one of the only Arsenal players who would have left Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena with some level of pride. The nature of the Gunners' defending meant the Colombia international could do little about the five goals manager Arsene Wenger's side conceded. He did stop the bleeding (in a manner of speaking) by saving six Bayern shots.

It would appear the tie is over, as Arsenal's task at the Emirates Stadium is elephantine, but it was made somewhat easier by the play of Ospina, who (it seemed) was playing against Bayern Munich's starting XI by himself at times.

Grading Scale

Hand: Handling (graded out of 25)

Pos: Positioning (graded out of 25)

Kick: Kicking (graded out of 25)

Saves: Saves (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Goalkeeper Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Hand	Pos	Kick	Saves	Ovr
1	Ederson Moraes	Benfica	23	24	19	25	91
2	Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City	21	23	20	24	88
3	Kevin Trapp	Paris Saint-Germain	20	21	23	21	85
4	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	20	21	22	22	85
5	Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	19	22	22	19	82
6	Sergio Rico	Sevilla	19	20	21	20	80
7	David Ospina	Arsenal	18	19	17	22	76
8	Willy Caballero	Manchester City	17	18	18	20	73
9	Iker Casillas	FC Porto	18	18	15	20	71
10	Miguel Angel Moya	Atletico Madrid	16	17	16	19	68

Notable Omissions

• Pepe Reina, Napoli
• Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona

Right-Backs and Right Wing-Backs

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Real Madrid are often lauded for their attacking talent, and their defenders sometimes suffer as a consequence. One of the club's more important, but possibly unheralded, footballers is Dani Carvajal. The right-back's crossing is impeccable, and his diligence on the defensive end is paramount to how the Spanish giants play.

Down early versus Napoli, Real needed to respond, and Carvajal found centre-forward Karim Benzema to equalise the match. Proceeding to beat the Serie A side 3-1, manager Zinedine Zidane's charges are in a great position heading to Naples for the second leg—a large portion of that credit goes to Carvajal and his work rates at both ends.

Nearing the end of his career, Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm looked nowhere near retirement age against Arsenal. The experienced defender hardly placed a foot wrong in the opening 90 minutes of the round of 16.

There is nothing of note missing from the 33-year-old's trophy cabinet (barring a European Championship at international level); a winner of seven domestic league titles and one Champions League crown, should Lahm's display versus Arsenal continue throughout the UCL campaign, he might have another first-place medal to add to an already illustrious collection.

Grading Scale

Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)

Off: Offence (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Right-Back and Right Wing-Back Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Thomas Meunier	Paris Saint-Germain	24	23	22	23	92
2	Dani Carvajal	Real Madrid	19	24	23	25	91
3	Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	18	24	21	24	87
4	Sime Vrsaljko	Atletico Madrid	22	21	21	22	86
5	Benjamin Henrichs	Bayer Leverkusen	20	23	18	23	84
6	Nelsinho	Benfica	19	21	20	22	82
7	Maxi Pereira	FC Porto	22	18	19	18	77
8	Mariano	Sevilla	19	18	20	19	76
9	Bacary Sagna	Manchester City	17	20	18	19	74
10	Elseid Hysaj	Napoli	18	17	18	17	70

Notable Omissions

• Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus
• Hector Bellerin, Arsenal

Left-Backs and Left Wing-Backs

Aitor Alcalde Colomer/Getty Images

The Champions League's current crop of left-backs might be the best collection at any position. The depth and stylistic variance the position enjoys are quite impressive.

In an attacking sense, Real Madrid's Marcelo is quite possibly the most entertaining defender in world football. In a defensive sense, players like Sevilla's Sergio Escudero help augment solid backbones.

In a more well-rounded sense, players like Atletico Madrid's Filipe Luis or Bayern Munich's David Alaba are in the conversation for being the best footballers at their immensely talented clubs—not just being great left-backs.

One of the more unexpected performances of the round of 16's first legs was that of Juventus full-back Alex Sandro. Equally adept as a wing-back, the Brazilian used his pace, energy and anticipation to assist his defensive team-mates and to assist his opposite full-back (and substitute) Dani Alves for the Old Lady's second away goal against Porto.

Another champion performance came from Paris Saint-Germain left-back Layvin Kurzawa. The 24-year-old assisted PSG's third goal versus Barcelona (scored by Angel Di Maria) in their 4-0 drubbing of the Catalan superpower. He also had the mission of dealing with Lionel Messi for 90 minutes—a mission the young Frenchman handled with great aplomb.

Grading Scale

Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)

Off: Offence (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100 

Left-Back and Left Wing-Back Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Sergio Escudero	Sevilla	25	23	19	24	91
2	Alex Sandro	Juventus	23	23	20	24	90
3	Layvin Kurzawa	Paris Saint-Germain	22	24	21	23	90
4	Filipe Luis	Atletico Madrid	22	21	19	22	84
5	David Alaba	Bayern Munich	21	22	20	20	83
6	Eliseu	Benfica	18	21	21	20	80
7	Marcelo	Real Madrid	20	20	20	20	80
8	Marcel Schmelzer	Borussia Dortmund	19	20	18	18	75
9	Christian Fuchs	Leicester City	17	19	20	17	73
10	Faouzi Ghoulam	Napoli	16	18	18	18	70

Notable Omissions

• Jordi Alba, Barcelona
• Maxwell, Paris Saint-Germain

Centre-Backs

Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Paris Saint-Germain's 4-0 trouncing of Barcelona was unexpected on several levels; one of the most astonishing stories was the emergence (and Champions League debut) of centre-back Presnel Kimpembe. The 21-year-old took the place of PSG captain Thiago Silva and did not look terribly out of place against the most vaunted front three in contemporary football.

How the young defender's performance shakes up manager Unai Emery's thinking in the second leg (up four goals and in the Camp Nou) is yet to be determined, but if the young Frenchman (of Congolese descent) gets another opportunity—and plays like he did in the tie's first 90 minutes—keeping him out of the team would be challenging at best.

Juventus' centre-backs are players whose greatness is expected and taken for granted. In the midst of controversy, as noted by ESPN FC's Ben Gladwell, between manager Massimiliano Allegri and Leonardo Bonucci (arguably Europe's best ball-playing centre-half), his fellow centre-backs Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli remain the foundation of whichever system the Turin side choose to implement.

Can Juventus overcome Porto without Bonucci—relying on his two team-mates and already up two goals? One would think so. Can they win the competition, though? That is another conversation altogether.

Grading Scale

Def: Defending (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)

Off: Offence (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Centre-Back Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Def	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus	24	21	24	19	88
2	Luisao	Benfica	24	20	24	19	87
3	Adil Rami	Sevilla	23	22	22	18	85
4	Jose Gimenez	Atletico Madrid	21	23	22	18	84
5	Presnel Kimpembe	Paris Saint-Germain	23	22	19	19	83
6	Mats Hummels	Bayern Munich	20	21	21	20	82
7	Raul Albiol	Napoli	21	21	20	18	80
8	Andrea Barzagli	Juventus	21	22	20	17	80
9	Javi Martinez	Bayern Munich	19	21	19	18	77
10	Marquinhos	Paris Saint-Germain	19	18	18	19	74
11	Clement Lenglet	Sevilla	20	19	17	17	73
12	Marciano	FC Porto	19	18	16	16	69
13	Raphael Varane	Real Madrid	17	17	17	15	66
14	Nicolas Otamendi	Manchester City	16	17	15	16	64
15	Robert Huth	Leicester City	16	15	17	14	62

Notable Omissions

• Thiago Silva, Paris Saint-Germain
• Leonardo Bonucci, Juventus
• Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich

Defensive Midfielders, Central Midfielders and Central Attacking Midfielders

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/Getty Images

Continuing with Paris Saint-Germain's supremacy: Manager Unai Emery's midfield three had one of the best collective performances in recent Champions League history. Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and Adrien Rabiot were simply brilliant at the Parc des Princes against Barcelona.

Each player was at the peak of his powers. Matuidi was a box-to-box dynamo, and Verratti broke up Barcelona's play by pestering Andre Gomes, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta into uncharacteristic mistakes. Rabiot was able to find pockets of space and/or carry the ball through Barca's lines, wreaking havoc on the Catalans' shape and creating untold opportunities for PSG's front three to inflict even more damage.

The Parisians were sublime, and their 4-0 victory was more than warranted; perhaps it was even kind to Barcelona boss Luis Enrique and his visiting contingent.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara was a terror to Arsenal. Scoring two goals and assisting once in the Germans' 5-1 thrashing of manager Arsene Wenger's side. The Spanish midfielder was on top of his game among the Bavarians' embarrassment of riches, making him the top-ranked midfielder after the round-of-16 first leg.

Grading Scale

Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Defensive, Central and Central Attacking Midfielder Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Cre	Pro	Ovr
1	Thiago Alcantara	Bayern Munich	19	24	25	25	93
2	Marco Verratti	Paris Saint-Germain	24	23	22	23	92
3	Adrien Rabiot	Paris Saint-Germain	21	23	23	24	91
4	Blaise Matuidi	Paris Saint-Germain	23	23	22	22	90
5	Steven N'Zonzi	Sevilla	23	23	21	23	90
6	Arturo Vidal	Bayern Munich	24	22	21	23	90
7	Fabinho	AS Monaco	18	23	23	24	88
8	Casemiro	Real Madrid	24	22	18	23	87
9	Joaquin Correa	Sevilla	17	22	23	24	86
10	Toni Kroos	Real Madrid	17	22	23	23	85
11	Miralem Pjanic	Juventus	18	23	22	22	85
12	Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	16	23	23	21	83
13	Xabi Alonso	Bayern Munich	17	22	21	21	81
14	David Silva	Manchester City	16	22	21	22	81
15	Kevin Kampl	Bayer Leverkusen	21	20	18	21	80
16	Gabi	Atletico Madrid	19	20	20	20	79
17	Luka Modric	Real Madrid	18	20	19	21	78
18	Yaya Toure	Manchester City	17	21	19	20	77
19	Marek Hamsik	Napoli	15	20	20	21	76
20	Danny Drinkwater	Leicester City	19	20	17	18	74

Notabel Omissions

• Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
• Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona

Right Midfielders, Right-Wingers and Right-Sided Forwards

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria was spectacular against Barcelona and was (in these rankings) the first leg's best footballer.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star took the first leg of the Champions League knockout stage by storm—against a Barca outfit who were consensus favourites. Di Maria scored twice in the space of 61 minutes in the 4-0 win. Had the Argentina international played the full 90 minutes, he might have got himself a hat-trick given PSG's dominance.

What made Di Maria's pre-eminence even more apparent was the shocking absence of his fellow countryman, Lionel Messi. Playing the complete 90 minutes, the footballer understood as the game's best was inexplicably invisible. Paris Saint-Germain were immense in midfield and did well cutting off his supply lines, but even with the chances Barcelona's talisman received, he was a non-factor.

In Bavaria, Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben was his usual self against Arsenal. Cutting in on his left foot, the Dutch winger was a nuisance to the Gunners defence for 88 minutes, scoring the opening goal in their 5-1 victory.

Manchester City and AS Monaco were in an open battle at the Etihad Stadium. City's Raheem Sterling and Monaco's Bernardo Silva have different mandates starting on the right-hand side of midfield, but both were effective in those roles during an opulent, chaotic 5-3 Manchester City win.

Grading Scale

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Right Midfielder, Winger and Forward Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Angel Di Maria	Paris Saint-Germain	24	24	25	25	98
2	Arjen Robben	Bayern Munich	20	22	24	24	90
3	Saul Niguez	Atletico Madrid	21	22	22	24	89
4	Bernardo Silva	AS Monaco	24	25	16	24	89
5	Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	23	22	20	23	88
6	Karim Bellarabi	Bayer Leverkusen	21	21	22	22	86
7	Pablo Sarabia	Sevilla	19	20	21	21	81
8	Eduardo Salvio	Benfica	17	23	17	19	76
9	Juan Cuadrado	Juventus	19	19	15	18	71
10	James Rodriguez	Real Madrid	20	17	17	16	70

Notable Omissions

• Lionel Messi, Barcelona
• Gareth Bale, Real Madrid

Left Midfielders, Left-Wingers and Left-Sided Forwards

VI-Images/Getty Images

Real Madrid started their first leg with Napoli on shaky ground. Goalkeeper Keylor Navas was found out by Lorenzo Insigne, and the hosts found themselves down 1-0.

Real found their feet, though, got back into the tie and eventually won the match 3-1. Their superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, was crucial in that effort.

Despite his name being unwritten on the scoresheet, the Portuguese attacker was one of the key cogs in manager Zinedine Zidane's machine. Getting out of tricky situations, making the correct pass and finding pockets of time and space, Ronaldo's game did not leap off the page (minus his assist to Toni Kroos for Madrid's second), but it was an all-encompassing performance by the wing player—one Madrid fans should hope the 32-year-old can provide again in Naples.

Julian Draxler was questioned after his January transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. Many thought moving to France's Ligue 1 was below his level, but games like the one he offered PSG against Barcelona are why (one might suspect) he left VfL Wolfsburg for the four-time defending French champions.

Scoring a wonderful goal and being a constant outlet for the Parisians' attack when possession was retrieved in midfield, the 23-year-old German displayed why his reputation has ballooned since his time as a youngster at FC Schalke 04—and why it will continue to grow.

Grading Scale

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Left Midfielder, Winger and Forward Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Julian Draxler	Paris Saint-Germain	23	24	23	24	94
2	Leroy Sane	Manchester City	24	23	22	23	92
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	23	21	20	22	86
4	Lorenzo Insigne	Napoli	19	20	22	22	83
5	Douglas Costa	Bayern Munich	22	22	16	21	81
6	Vitolo	Sevilla	21	21	17	21	80
7	Julian Brandt	Bayer Leverkusen	22	23	16	17	78
8	Neymar	Barcelona	18	23	16	18	75
9	Yacine Brahimi	FC Porto	18	21	15	19	73
10	Thomas Lemar	AS Monaco	20	18	15	17	70

Notable Omissions

• Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich
• Yannick Carrasco, Atletico Madrid

Strikers and Centre-Forwards

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When Gabriel Jesus went down injured in domestic play, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola merely had to look down his bench and point to the Premier League's best centre-forward over the past five seasons. Since then, Sergio Aguero has taken his rightful place in City's starting XI.

In the round of 16, Aguero was his customary goalscoring self (albeit with a measure of help from Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic). His contribution to an outrageously open football match—played on the fast break for 90 minutes—was two goals and an assist to Leroy Sane.

His counterparts from Monaco were similarly successful. Radamel Falcao, now the wise, cagey veteran and Kylian Mbappe, the young, energetic upstart, were a handful for City's defence (if we can call it that). The pair registered three away goals together and take them back to the French Riviera down 5-3 on aggregate with at least 90 more minutes left to negotiate.

In Bayer Leverkusen's BayArena, Atletico Madrid's strike partnership—Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro—scored two goals away from home, in a winning effort for manager Diego Simeone.

The Frenchmen accounted for half of Atletico's offensive output, and he gave their side a comfortable grip heading into the second leg at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Grading Scale

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Striker and Centre-Forward Rankings | Round of 16 First Leg

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	22	22	23	25	92
2	Radamel Falcao	AS Monaco	22	21	24	24	91
3	Kevin Gameiro	Atletico Madrid	23	20	23	24	90
4	Edinson Cavani	Paris Saint-Germain	22	22	22	23	89
5	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	22	20	24	23	89
6	Antoine Griezmann	Atletico Madrid	19	21	23	22	85
7	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	20	20	22	23	85
8	Kylian Mbappe	AS Monaco	17	23	22	23	85
9	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	16	18	22	22	78
10	Alexis Sanchez	Arsenal	19	19	20	20	78
11	Kostas Mitroglou	Benfica	18	17	20	21	76
12	Paulo Dybala	Juventus	19	19	18	17	73
13	Stevan Jovetic	Sevilla	17	17	18	18	70
14	Javier Hernandez	Bayer Leverkusen	16	18	15	16	65
15	Gonzalo Higuain	Juventus	18	16	16	14	64

Notable Omissions

• Luis Suarez, Barcelona
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund