Champions League Fantasy Football: Matchday 1 top performers

Following an action-packed start to the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage, UEFA.com looks back at the top performers on Matchday 1 in each position on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

GOALKEEPERS

It was a profitable Matchday 1 for goalkeepers, with a total of ten managing to keep a clean sheet. The highly-owned Thibaut Courtois (€6.0m) was one of three keepers who gained seven points thanks to his four saves in Real Madrid's 0-3 victory over Celtic, and #UCLfantasy managers will be expecting another solid return on Matchday 2 as the reigning European champions welcome Leipzig. Lesser-owned goalkeepers also impressed across Matchday 1, with both Dinamo Zagreb's Dominik Livaković (€4.5m) and Simon Mignolet (€4.5m) of Club Brugge matching Courtois' score despite boasting a tiny fraction of the Belgian's ownership. Livaković successfully shut out Chelsea as Dinamo triumphed 1-0 in Croatia, whilst Mignolet kept Bayer Leverkusen at bay.

Of the four Premier League goalkeepers in action, three managed a score of six points on Matchday 1. Ederson (€6.0m) and Hugo Lloris (€5.5m) both kept clean sheets as Manchester City and Tottenham emerged victorious against Sevilla and Marseille respectively, whilst Alisson Becker (€6.0m) saved a penalty, which helped him emerge with the same score despite Liverpool's 4-1 defeat at Napoli. Manuel Neuer (€6.0m) also picked up six points as Bayern overcame Inter, but keeping a clean sheet on Matchday 2 will be a tall order for the German, who faces former team-mate Robert Lewandowski as Barcelona travel to Munich.

DEFENDERS

Defenders proved arguably the most lucrative #UCLfantasy assets in the opening round of group fixtures, providing four of the top seven-point scorers. The man who stole all the headlines was Benfica's Alejandro Grimaldo (€5.0m). The left-back shone going forward, setting up the opening goal against Maccabi Haifa, before scoring himself with a brilliant long-range effort as Benfica won 2-0. Combined with four ball recoveries and a Player of the Match award, Grimaldo accumulated 20 Fantasy points, the most of any player on Matchday 1. Other Benfica defenders to profit from a #UCLfantasy standpoint were Nicolás Otamendi (€4.5m) and António Silva (€4.0m) gaining nine points each as both racked up 11 ball recoveries.

Of the four highest-scoring Matchday 1 defenders, two came from Manchester City in the form of João Cancelo (€6.5m) and Rúben Dias (€5.5m). The former stood out in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League campaign from an attacking standpoint and began this year's group stage in the same fashion, recording two assists, one for Dias, as City won 4-0 at Sevilla. Pep Guardiola's side have kept four clean sheets from seven games in all competitions so far this season and are at home to Dortmund on Matchday 2.

MIDFIELDERS

Napoli's 4-1 defeat Liverpool was arguably the result of the round and a key performer was Polish international Piotr Zieliński (€7.0m), who shone playing just behind the striker. Two goals and an assist, and the Player of the Match award, helped Zieliński acquire 18 Fantasy points and his fairly modest price tag is likely to mean plenty of interest from Fantasy managers ahead of a Matchday 2 trip to a Rangers side beaten 4-0 by Ajax. Just behind Zieliński was an even cheaper #UCLfantasy asset in Shakhtar's Marian Shved (€5.0m), who bagged 17 points against Leipzig after scoring twice for the Ukrainian champions. Those #UCLfantasy managers sniffing out a bargain should have serious food for thought with Celtic next up.

Despite being listed as a midfielder, Marcus Edwards (€7.0m) was deployed in a forward role by Sporting CP on Matchday 1 to great effect. The 23-year-old picked up a goal, an assist and 14 Fantasy points as the Portuguese side won 3-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt. Elsewhere it was a case of new season, same Leroy Sané (€9.0m) in the UEFA Champions League. The Bayern winger ended 2021/22 as the highest-scoring midfielder from a #UCLfantasy point of view and started this season with a 13-point haul, grabbing both a goal and assist against Inter ahead of a mouth-watering Matchday 2 meeting with Barcelona.

FORWARDS

Anyone thinking a change of club meant the goals would dry up for Robert Lewandowski (€11.0m) in the UEFA Champions League were very much mistaken. The 34-year-old continues to reward those #UCLfantasy managers who invest in him every season, as he marked his European debut for Barcelona with a hat-trick. No forward could match Lewandowski's 18 Fantasy points and his return to old club Bayern on Matchday 2 looks set to be an enthralling occasion.

Two other premium-priced forwards justified their cost on Matchday 1, with both Erling Haaland (€11.0m) and Kylian Mbappé (€11.0m) scoring twice for Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, the latter gaining three extra #UCLfantasy points due to being named Player of the Match against Juventus. Owners of Mbappé will be confident of further returns on Matchday 2 at Maccabi Haifa, while Haaland, who has already scored 12 goals in eight appearances in all competitions for his new club, makes him a player #UCLfantasy managers can ill afford to ignore ahead of a Matchday 2 reunion with Dortmund