Our UCL star XI for the free-to-play Fantasy game, CLUB

Sponsored by CLUB

The excitement around CLUB continues to build, as this new free-to-play mobile Fantasy game moves closer to early access beta.

CLUB allows football fans to create, build and sell their own digital football club and step in the shoes of a Club Owner (CO).

Uniquely, you’ll be able to choose players from Europe’s top five leagues and they’ll score you points based not only on their performances in domestic leagues but also in European competitions too.

With CLUB’s intuitive scoring promising to match the ‘eye test’ of football fans, we’ve picked the 11 stand-out players from the recent UEFA Champions League (UCL) ’round of 16′ games who we’d love to own.

REGISTER FOR CLUB HERE

How Do I Play CLUB?

Like all the Fantasy games we know and love, CLUB users pick real players and score points based on their real-world performances.

CLUB takes it to another level in their next-generation Fantasy Football game, however:

• Choose players from Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga) and follow their fortunes into both the UEFA Europa League and Champions League.
• The intuitive scoring system reflects what you see on the pitch. For example, an N’Golo Kante masterclass with no goals or assists would still see him score competitively.
• Squads use real formations and realistic player roles, so you can’t have four left-backs in your defence. These will reflect the real-world positions that a player is capable of playing. So, for instance, Mohamed Salah could be a forward or a midfielder depending on how you choose to play him.
• Initially you’ll be selecting a team from the Premier League, with a limited budget and tough choices to make. You might start with a star or two but you’ll have to grow your club, spot talent and earn money and work towards a dream team which can eventually include all of the top stars across Europe!
• You can grow your budget by climbing the league rankings, winning cup competitions or growing your club’s infrastructure via facilities and sponsorships.
• CLUB’s dynamic transfer market sees player prices fluctuate based on their effective ownership (EO). With five leagues’ worth of star players, teams should theoretically be less ‘template’.

BEST XI FROM UCL ROUND OF 16

GK – Ederson (Manchester City)

As the only goalkeeper to keep clean sheets in both legs of this round, it only feels right to start with the Manchester City stopper.

DEF – Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Three English sides progressed to the quarter-finals and Chelsea’s success was aided by the first leg’s clean sheet and Cesar Azpilicueta’s goal in the second match.

DEF – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

It’s a similar story for Liverpool colossus Virgil van Dijk, who forged a fantastic away performance alongside Ibrahima Konate to keep out Inter Milan. He even found time to go upfield and assist Mohamed Salah’s goal.

DEF – Pau Torres (Villarreal)

The main shock of this round was Villarreal following their 1-1 home draw against Juventus with a 3-0 victory in Turin. Spanish centre-back Pau Torres contributed at both ends by successfully denying the hosts and scoring the second goal.

DEF – Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid)

Not only did Atletico’s left-back score and bag a clean sheet at Old Trafford, he was replaced in the first leg shortly before Manchester United equalised. So that’s a pair of shut-outs, a goal and the assist for Joao Felix.

MID – Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)

Bayern would have been nervous heading into their second leg against Salzburg, with the match in Austria finishing 1-1. They needn’t have worried. Last Tuesday brought a 7-1 mauling, partly aided by Leroy Sane’s goal and two assists.

MID – N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)

Some defensive stability is needed in this midfield and N’Golo Kante once again showcased his talents, this time against Lille. He was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ by the official Fantasy UCL game for the first leg, due to a clean sheet, assist and seven balls recovered.

MID – Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Numerous Man City players used to play for Benfica, so imagine how delighted they were to beat fierce rivals Sporting 5-0 in February. This made them the first side in Champions League history to lead by at least four goals halfway through a knockout tie. Bernardo Silva scored twice in Lisbon.

MID – Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)

The third Chelsea man scored in both legs against Lille.

FOR – Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Up front there are two world-class superstars that had nothing to prove, yet still managed to score hat-tricks on the biggest club stage. Although Sane played a part in Bayern’s 7-1, an even bigger part was Robert Lewandowski’s three goals and assist. It is now the earliest hat-trick in Champions League history, completed by 23 minutes.

FOR – Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

The spectacular comeback against Paris Saint-Germain was all because of Karim Benzema. Three-quarters through the tie, Real Madrid were 2-0 down on aggregate and set for elimination. Then, with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar looking on, Benzema scored three times and knocked the French side out. A magnificent individual performance.

You can now register for an account on the CLUB website and for those who want to gain access to the early access beta and guarantee themselves a low club number, you can also get your hands on one of their limited founding clubs once you have created an account.

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