Champions League Worst Team of the Group Stages

Karan Tejwani

• 2 Nov 2022 22:12 GMT
• 6 min read

The Champions League has seen some poor performances all round, with many sides that were expected to go far going out early.

The likes of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Ajax are all set to drop to the Europa League, adding to the surprise of this edition of the competition.

With that, considering all the poor individual performance, what is the worst team of the group stages thus far?

Remko Pasveer

Ajax started the group stages of the Champions League with so much promise after a 4-0 win over Rangers, but it all went downhill from there. In goal, 38-year-old Remko Pasveer was in the form of his life, even playing for the Netherlands for the first time in October and a World Cup berth likely.

Then came the important games against Napoli and Liverpool. Against the Italians at home, two mistakes contributed to a 6-1 defeat and against the Reds at home, he made a hash for Mohamed Salah’s opener in a 3-0 loss, condemning Ajax to a group stage exit.

Joe Gomez

Liverpool ended up qualifying from their group but it was far from an easy ride, as seen from their first group game against Napoli. They traveled to Naples and were embarrassed 4-1, as the Italians were too good and too quick, making them hard to match.

Gomez, in particular, struggled and he didn’t get much better throughout the campaign as Liverpool required a win against Ajax on the second last matchday to secure qualification. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool can only hope it gets better in the knockout rounds.

Leonardo Bonucci

Juventus are going through one of the most disastrous periods in their modern history right now and endured a horrific group stage campaign.

They were eliminated from the groups after taking just three points. Part of the reason for that was a dreadful defence, which leaked goals for fun - including six over two games to Benfica.

Captain Leonardo Bonucci showed that he is a shadow of his former great self, looking old, slow and every bit of his 35 years of age. He was torn apart by Kylian Mbappe in the first group game loss to PSG. His goal in matchday six versus PSG mattered little.

Gerard Pique

Barcelona had a disastrous Champions League campaign and it ended with a second group stage exit in as many years. Part of their problem was their back-line, which was affected by injury, forcing Gerard Pique to come into the team and he showed he wasn’t up to this level.

Pique had a nightmare against Inter in their decisive Champions League game, as his lack of defending led to Inter scoring thrice in a 3-3 draw. That put them on the verge of exit, and showed why Barcelona are willing to move him on at the end of the season.

Jeremie Frimpong

Bayer Leverkusen have had a poor season thus far, and it’s been much of the same in the Champions League. They only finished third their group because Atletico Madrid were even worse. A huge problem has been their lack of consistency in defence.

Jeremy Frimpong who is widely regarded as an emerging full back has struggled for them and showed that in games against Porto and Atletico Madrid. While there is talent in him, he wasn’t able to express that in the best way in the Champions League this season.

Nemanja Gudelj

Sevilla had a tough group with Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund and they ended up exiting in the group stages as they finished third. In that team Gudelj struggled the most, failing to keep pace with his side’s opponents.

Prior to the return of Jorge Sampaoli as coach, Gudelj was struggling across both competitions and in the Champions League, it proved to be costly, making the possibility of qualification even lower.

John Lundstram

Rangers have been far from their best in the Champions League and did not earn a point from this campaign having lost all their games. It started with a 4-0 hammering against Ajax and just got worse and worse.

John Lundstram has been a concern in midfield, showing he’s not at the level of the Champions League. Against all three sides, he was slow, unable to make the right decisions and it cost him and his team as suffered an embarrassing exit.

Marcos Alonso

Marcos Alonso was one of several names Barcelona signed this year in the hope of getting far in the Champions League but that hasn’t been the case. Like Pique in defence, Alonso too showed this may be a level too far, as Inter and Bayern Munich got the better of him and Barcelona.

Against the Italians, he was often out of place, allowing them to exploit that area and that proved to be costly as it put them on the verge of Champions League exit. Now, he’ll be in the Europa League and will want to make amends in the upcoming year.

Raphinha

Like Alonso, Raphinha also joined Barcelona earlier this year and has struggled across both competitions. The bad part is, Barcelona paid a massive fee, and will now lose Champions League funds as well. Throughout the campaign, Raphinha’s contributions were minimal.

He didn't score or assist in the competition until the final matchday, when Barca were already out. He has been an underwhelming signing, and his lack of contribution in the Champions League has proven to be costly.

Dusan Vlahovic

Juventus signed Dusan Vlahovic for €80m in January 2022, hoping that he would make the difference to what is a painfully average Bianconeri attack.

But Vlahovic has been unable to make much of a difference, although it should be noted that the service to him has been abysmal.

He scored just one goal in the groups, against Maccabi Haifa at home, and has gone long stretches of games without even touching the ball. Juventus need to do much more for Vlahovic, but they also need much more from him, too.

Alvaro Morata

Atletico Madrid exited the Champions League in the group stages, and their lack of goals in big moments cost them. Alvaro Morata often led the line, and he didn’t help his sides cause. Zero goals, zero assists and a small contribution overall.

Considering the club’s financial problems, losing Champions League funds is a big blow, and they may have to sell players to make up for it. Morata could be one of the first out the door, and judging by his poor performances in the competition, it would be justified.