The Champions League gets serious this week as the round of 16 begins.
To get to this point, 160 games have been completed — now there are just 29 left to play. But those 29 are the most consequential matches of the competition, the moments when each team’s key players must step up and perform.
But who should we be keeping an eye on? The superstars, sure, but you can’t land the European Cup with stellar names alone. Who are the key figures who have been excellent in the 2024-25 season without generating as many headlines as they should have? (And yes, let’s acknowledge that if you play in probably the most prestigious club football competition in the world, you are hardly obscure.)
Eight of The Athletic’s experts have made their choice here — who would you pick?
Desire Doue — Paris Saint-Germain
When your name means “Desired Gifted” and you are sold for a €50million (£40m; $53m) transfer fee at age 19, you attract a certain spotlight. Happily for Paris Saint-Germain, Doue seems to thrive under it.
To see a teenager play with such joy and freedom on the Champions League stage calls to mind something Julien Stephan, his coach at Rennes, said midway through last season. Some young players breaking into the first team are told to conform to a more rigid, less spontaneous way of playing, but Stephan said the key for Doue was to play with more “insouciance”, not less.
Initially, it was unclear where Doue would fit in at PSG after his summer transfer; by mid-December, he had started just four games in all competitions and had shown only glimpses of his dribbling and creative spark. But after coming off the bench to score his first goal for the club in a crucial Champions League win away at Red Bull Salzburg, he went into the winter break in high spirits and hasn’t looked back.
(Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)
He excelled on the right of the front three in PSG’s 4-2 victory over Manchester City in January, tormenting Josko Gvardiol, but his future appears to lie in a slightly deeper role, where his ability to carry the ball from midfield has brought another dimension to Luis Enrique’s team.
Oliver Kay
Igor Paixao — Feyenoord
Some wingers are schemers, masters of subtlety who worm their way into your heart slowly, one delicate little flick at a time. Paixao is not one of those wingers. He is the embodiment of a different archetype: the wideman as shaken-up soda can, all big gestures and bigger grins, fizzing away with energy he can’t possibly suppress.
Case in point: his performance in the first leg of Feyenoord’s Champions League knockout play-off against Milan. The Brazilian ran at Kyle Walker with such relentless ferocity that you felt like calling a helpline. His winning goal may have owed more to poor goalkeeping than anything else, but he also hit the bar and went close from the halfway line. “Paixao makes fun of Milan” ran one Dutch headline the morning after.
It was no one-off. The 24-year-old was influential in the staggering comeback against Manchester City, brilliantly setting up David Hancko’s late equaliser. That was one of four assists in the competition. Take the Eredivisie into account and he has 19 goal involvements in 34 matches this season.
That return, coupled with his direct running and speed, should earn him a big move in the summer, with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma being credited with interest. In the more immediate future, he looks like Feyenoord’s key man against Inter.
Jack Lang
Benjamin Pavard — Inter
The thing about Inter is that pretty much all their players have played a part in the team’s ascendence to being one of the best sides in Europe. Therefore, choosing any player from Simone Inzaghi’s side should have no place in an ‘under-the-radar’ pick, so to add to that, my choice is a former World Cup and Champions League winner.
Pavard doesn’t often get the headlines, but his solid and consistent performances in Inter’s back three have been a cornerstone of the side’s defence since he arrived in the summer of 2023.
(Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
In addition to his well-timed tackles and smart positioning, Pavard has adapted well to the role of the wide centre-back in Inzaghi’s side. He is now comfortable moving forward and playing as a pseudo midfielder, a role that allows Hakan Calhanoglu or Nicolo Barella to drop into the back line and help the build-up phase. Pavard’s underlapping runs are also an important attacking solution against deep defences as the right centre-back, as illustrated in Inter’s 1-0 victory against Juventus last season.
Despite being part of successful Bayern Munich, Inter and France teams, Pavard doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
Ahmed Walid
Vangelis Pavlidis — Benfica
“When you‘re playing as a 15-year-old, you dream of playing in front of 65,000 people on a Champions League night,” Pavlidis told Benfica’s official club website recently.
Now is his time to shine. The Greek striker has been on the periphery of Europe’s big time for a few seasons — he scored regularly in the Europa League and Conference League with AZ and finished joint-top goalscorer in the Eredivisie last season. After a slow start to life with Benfica — only four league goals before the turn of the year — he has exploded in recent weeks.
He’s scored 10 goals in his last nine matches, generally close-range finishes with his right foot. He kicked off that run with a hat-trick in the crazy 5-4 defeat against Barcelona, a decent omen considering Benfica face the same opposition in the round of 16 — although it will presumably be a tighter, tenser encounter this time. Pavlidis isn’t all about speed, but he does linger on the shoulder of the last defender and go in behind, which should be a threat against Barcelona’s defensive line, surely the most aggressive in Europe.
(Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
Only four players have scored more goals than Pavlidis (seven goals) in the Champions League this season. Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy (10) is still in the competition but Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (eight) has already been eliminated. Robert Lewandowski (nine) and Raphinha (eight) will be playing for the opposition. Another three goals in this tie and Pavlidis will likely find himself top of the charts.
Michael Cox
Jamie Gittens — Borussia Dortmund
With Dortmund floundering in 10th in the Bundesliga, the Champions League provides a helpful distraction to an otherwise miserable season for Nico Kovac’s side.
If they are to stand any chance of progressing against Lille, then the pace and trickery of star winger Gittens will certainly be required. The 20-year-old has bagged four goals to help Dortmund progress to the knockout phase, but his dribbling ability is undoubtedly his strongest attribute.
Cutting inside from the left wing onto his stronger right foot, Gittens has an insatiable tendency to shift his body, drop a shoulder, and accelerate beyond his opposite number with ease. For context, only Jamal Musiala (57), Vinicius Junior (57), Bradley Barcola (60) and Rafeal Leao (77) have attempted more than Gittens’ 56 take-ons in the Champions League this season — quite the company.
He is on the radar of many elite sides but there is little doubt that this is his breakout season, with seven goals and three assists in the Bundesliga already being more than his previous two campaigns combined.
Dortmund have nurtured young English talent in recent years and it seems Gittens is the next player on the production line. If you don’t already know about his attacking qualities, you will soon.
Mark Carey
Raphael Onyedika — Club Brugge
There are times when it is possible to believe that Pep Guardiola is not being entirely sincere when he lavishes praise on one of Manchester City’s opponents. It can feel as though he might be exaggerating for effect. There is, though, no reason to doubt that his admiration for Raphael Onyedika was anything other than sincere.
The day before City’s decisive encounter with Club Brugge in January, Guardiola managed to single out the 23-year-old without actually naming him. “The defensive patterns are really good, especially with the holding midfielder,” he said. The term is fitting. When watching Brugge, you do not need to be Guardiola to spot that Onyedika is the player who binds everything together.
(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The Nigeria international has all the attributes elite teams cherish in a defensive midfielder. He is dynamic, industrious, combative almost to a fault: his red card in the group stage defeat by Milan was his second in four European appearances. His greatest virtue, though, is a little less tangible. Onyedika is just always in the right place at the right time.
Brugge are not the most glamorous team left in the competition, but that is not to say they are short of talent. Joaquin Seys and Chemsdine Talbi, the hero of the win against Atalanta, are 19; bright futures surely lie ahead. Maxime De Cuyper and Ardon Jashari are unlikely to remain in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League for much longer either.
It is Onyedika, though, who is almost certain to feature in the Champions League next season, whether Brugge qualify or not. Aston Villa, their opponents in the last 16, have watched him previously. So have Milan, and PSG and Bayern Munich. Everyone, Guardiola included, will know his name soon enough.
Rory Smith
Lucas Chevalier — Lille
By Ligue 1 standards, Lille do not have the most reputable academy, but Chevalier has been a cornerstone in the past three seasons. The 23-year-old is a graduate of their academy and was third choice in their 2020-21 Ligue 1-winning season. The following campaign, when Lille were last this deep in the Champions League, Chevalier was cutting his teeth on loan at Valenciennes in Ligue 2.
Bruno Genesio, who succeeded Paulo Fonseca as head coach in the summer, stuck with Chevalier as first choice and has been duly rewarded. Lille only have one clean sheet in eight European games this season, but Chevalier’s shot-stopping has been excellent. Based on post-shot expected goals (PSxG) data, his saves have prevented nearly three goals more than a statistically average goalkeeper.
He is the youngest goalkeeper to be featuring regularly in the competition and played every game last season when Lille made the Conference League quarter-finals. While he is not particularly dominant in his box nor as a sweeper-keeper, he distributes every bit like a modern goalkeeper: short passes in build-up, plenty of launched goal kicks.
He made five saves in an iconic 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the league phase this term, including one-v-one against Endrick, and reacted smartly to a late Arda Guler free header from only eight yards out.
After being chipped early on one-v-one by Mohammed Salah, Chevalier showed good aggression and decision-making in Lille’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield, another game where he made five saves. If Lille are to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, Chevalier must perform.
Liam Tharme
Johan Bakayoko — PSV
To followers of Dutch football, Bakayoko is a flashing red dot on the radar. The right-sided winger was a standout performer in the Eredivisie last season, contributing 12 goals and nine assists to help PSV clinch the title.
For those less familiar, expect an electric, prolific dribbler capable of giving Arsenal’s back line a tough time on Tuesday night. No player has completed more than his 93 progressive carries — defined as a dribble that moves the ball at least five yards and 15 per cent of the remaining distance towards goal — in this season’s Champions League.
When it comes to creating chances from wide areas, Bakayoko typically likes to drive towards the byline before delivering a cross — only three players have delivered more than his 32 in this season’s competition. Yet he is just as dangerous when cutting inside, as evidenced by his brilliant solo goal against Girona in the group stage. Receiving the ball in the right corner, he weaved inside past two defenders, drove to the edge of the box, and unleashed a low strike past Paulo Gazzaniga.
Bakayoko has already proven his ability against English opposition this season, playing a key role in PSV’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool in the final round of group matches. Receiving the ball in the box, he shaped to shoot before shifting onto his right foot instead, deceiving Andy Robertson and Jarell Quansah, before coolly placing his effort into the left corner. Arsenal will hope to avoid a similar fate.
Conor O’Neill
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Will Tullos)
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