Champions League Fantasy Football: Midfielders

UEFA.com looks back on the best-performing UEFA Champions League midfielders over the course of Matchday 7 on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

One premium-priced player stood out from the rest in the round of 16 first legs, Vinicíus Júnior (€10.0m) justifying his hefty cost with a starring role in Real Madrid's comeback win at Liverpool. The Brazilian not only scored twice but also provided an assist, earning him the Player of the Match award and 17 Fantasy points, the highest Matchday 7 score across all positions.

Vinicíus Júnior also maintained his record of at least one attacking return in every UEFA Champions League fixture he has started this season, and with Liverpool forced to attack in the second leg to get back into the tie, he should have more space in which to operate.

Despite being on the losing side against Real Madrid, another highly-priced midfield asset continued to deliver rich Fantasy returns. A goal and assist for Mohamed Salah (€11.3m) earned him ten Fantasy points – the Egyptian international's fifth straight double-figure return. With at least three goals needed in Spain, the current highest-scoring Fantasy asset overall will surely play a big part in any revival.

Both Vinicíus and Salah are the only two midfielders in the top five highest points scorers across all positions, although Dortmund's Jude Bellingham (€7.5m) is just behind with 51 points. The 19-year-old picked up just two Fantasy points from the 1-0 first-leg win at home to Chelsea, but with four goals and one assist in the group stage, his sizeable ownership are likely to keep the faith ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Two other midfielders managed to equal Salah's score of ten points on Matchday 7, including Riyad Mahrez (€9.8m), who is once again proving effective for Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, getting his side's only goal and a Player of the Match performance in a 1-1 draw at Leipzig.

The third midfielder to pick up ten #UCLfantasy points was Hirving Lozano (€6.3m), the generously-priced Mexican setting up Napoli's first goal in a 2-0 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt and, like Mahrez, taking home the Player of the Match award.

One player gained a higher #UCLfantasy return than Salah, Mahrez and Lozano, although he was unable to match the huge haul of Vinicíus. Kingsley Coman (€8.0m) has been the scourge of Paris over the years, most notably scoring the winning goal against his former club in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League final.

The French winger did it again in the round of 16 first leg, his strike giving Bayern a 1-0 at Parc des Princes. A Player of the Match performance took his Fantasy total to 11 points and with an extremely small ownership, Coman could prove a useful under-the-radar pick for the return in Munich.