The best UCL semi-finals XI on the free-to-play Fantasy game, CLUB

Sponsored by CLUB

CLUB is a new, free-to-play mobile Fantasy game that allows football fans to create, build and sell their own digital football club and step into the shoes of a Club Owner (CO).

It’ll not just be Premier League players you can choose from but also those from Europe’s other top four leagues. They’ll score you points based not only on their performances in domestic leagues but also in European competitions, too.

CLUB’s intuitive scoring system promises to match the ‘eye test’ of football fans: so not only will there be the usual points for things like goals and assists, but there’ll also be rewards for the Declan Rices of this world!

Proper player positions are also a unique facet of CLUB – for example, you couldn’t have three specialist right-backs in your side.

And here we can see how the players would have scored in CLUB during the emotional and dramatic UEFA Champions League semi-finals over the last fortnight, with this dream XI taking both legs into account.

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BEST XI OF ALL FOUR UCL SEMI-FINAL MATCHES

GK – Alisson (Liverpool)

The first few picks all belong to Liverpool’s backline, so we’re going to quickly get repetitive in our writing here! So firstly, despite not being represented in this XI, a shout-out to Villarreal and how uncomfortable they made Jurgen Klopp’s side by wiping out their 2-0 advantage from the first leg. The reliable Alisson conceded the fewest of all four goalkeepers.

RB – Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold took part in this round’s only clean sheet and also provided the cross for Luis Diaz to head home and make it 2-2 in Spain.

CB – Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool)

With Joel Matip getting Premier League matches, summer signing Ibrahima Konate is handed the Champions League outings. His CLUB score of 18.5 was the highest of all defensive assets.

CB – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

A rock at the back for Liverpool, it’s never a surprise to see Virgil van Dijk in such combined XIs. Without him for most of last season, the Reds ended up far adrift of Manchester City in the league and crashed out of both domestic cup competitions in the fourth round.

LB – Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)

The left-back assisted twice in the breathtaking first leg at the Etihad. His deep cross was converted by a left-footed Karim Benzema striker, while his pass enabled Vinicius Junior to score a wonderful individual goal.

CM – Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

In central midfield, Bernardo Silva scored the decisive goal that won the first leg 4-3 and must have thought he set up a winner for Riyad Mahrez in Madrid. Little did he know that Carlo Ancelotti’s men were about to wake up and do something extraordinary.

CM – Fabinho (Liverpool)

Alongside the Portuguese international is Fabinho, scorer of the first goal in Liverpool’s own comeback win from Tuesday night. You’d never get the Brazilian featuring in an FPL dream XI – and this is where CLUB differs from most other Fantasy games.

RW – Rodrygo (Real Madrid)

Introduced in the 68th minute to replace Toni Kroos on Wednesday, the 21-year-old made himself a Real Madrid legend by first netting in the 90th minute, then again immediately afterward, to take the game into extra time. It was a monumental cameo from Rodrygo.

AM – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

The first leg in Manchester belonged to Kevin De Bruyne. Fresh off delivering four goals and four assists from six league games, he provided one of each to put his side 2-0 up after 11 minutes. However, he struggled in the second leg and was withdrawn midway through the second half.

LW – Luis Diaz (Liverpool)

When Liverpool were in trouble at Villarreal, Luis Diaz was brought on at the start of the second half. The January signing soon headed home an Alexander-Arnold cross and suddenly the panic was over.

CF – Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Finally, Karim Benzema. Far ahead of the next highest scorer with 35.6 CLUB points, he once again proved his world-class credentials on the biggest stage.

Not content with hat-tricks against both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, Benzema scored twice in Real Madrid’s first leg – including a cheeky ‘Panenka’ penalty just days after missing two spot-kicks at Osasuna. He scored another penalty during Wednesday’s extra time to seal a famous victory.

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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. Here are the key features:

• Select players from Europe’s top five leagues. With a bigger pool of players to choose from (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga), there should be a sizeable reduction in ‘template’ teams to help negate the effective ownership (EO) factor that a lot of us have come to hate in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
• Points are scored over multiple competitions. Not just their domestic fixtures but in both the UEFA Champions League and Euopa League.
• An intuitive scoring system. For example, an N’Golo Kante defensive midfield masterclass would bring in a good score, regardless of whether he produced a goal or assist.
• Play players in their real positions. Players will have designated positions based on historical performances for their team, so you will need to buy and select individuals who are able to play in your side’s formation. You can’t – for example – have four left-backs in your defence.
• Live transfer market, with player prices moving 24/7. Forget staying up until 2.30am in the morning and biting your nails to see if Antonio Rudiger rises in price – a dynamic transfer market will see player prices fluctuate with regularity, based on their EO.
• Grow your budget by being successful. It can be done by climbing the league rankings, winning cup competitions or growing the infrastructure via facilities and sponsorships.
• Choose your Club name, badge and club owner avatar. We all love a funny team name, don’t we? Bayern Badonde and Bilbao Baggins FC are two of the best that we’ve seen so far, with CLUB allowing you to name your own team.
• Select your kit, sponsor and upgrade your club infrastructure. Take off your Mikel Arteta hat and don your Stan Kroenke cap as you make upgrades and sort deals at boardroom level.

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