Onana, Salah Misses Out Of The Champions League Team Of The Season For 2022/23.

Manchester City dominate UEFA's picks for the 2022-23 Champions League team of the season, with seven names in the starting 11 (XI), after their hard-fought 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday night.

Their incredible representation in the XI, shows City's dominance of the tournament this season, as they conceded just five goals on the way to lifting the trophy.

The victory sees Pep Guardiola win the trophy for the first time in 12 years, with his Barcelona side having defeated Man United at Wembley in 2011.

Man City also completed a historic treble, adding the Champions League title to the Premier League and FA Cup crowns that they had already won this season.

Rodri’s goal midway through the second half of the fixture proved to be decisive, with the Italian side living up to their reputation as a stout defensive team.

To be crowned champions of Europe and complete the Treble, City had to get past strong teams like RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and finally Inter Milan.

After the game, as is customary, UEFA revealed their Team of the Season, as selected by their Technical Observer panel.

The lineup, which is in a 4-3-3 formation, is spearheaded by City star Erling Haaland, whose 12 goals and one assist in 11 games saw him top the goalscoring charts, and take the Golden Boot, four more than second-ranked Mohamed Salah with 8 goals, two assists in eight games.

While teammate Kevin De Bruyne contributed seven assists, the most across all clubs.

They are among the seven City players to make the team, alongside Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, and Ruben Dias all included.

Nerazzurri, who were the losing finalists, have two defenders in the squad, which are Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Dimarco whom are part of Simone Inzaghi’s signature back five.

Bastoni started in 12 of Inter’s 13 games in the competition this season, chipping in with three assists in group stage games against Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen as well as against Benfica in the first leg of the quarter-final. 

Dimarco was also a mainstay in Inzaghi’s side over the course of the European season, featuring in 11 Champions League matches. 

The 25-year-old also provided five assists in the Champions League this season, more than any other defender in the competition, with De Bruyne the only player to have provided more in 2022-23 (six). 

Surprisingly, there was no room for Andre Onana in the team of the season, despite registering more saves than any other goalkeeper in the tournament this season. 

The 27-year-old Cameroon international’s redemption after a drug-related ban has been completed, played a starring and vital role as Inter made a shock run to the final.

He kept eight cleansheets in 13 matches, including against Barcelona in a crucial 1-0 group stage victory and in both semi-final fixtures against city rivals AC Milan. No goalkeeper made more saves in the competition than the ex-Ajax star.

👕✨ Introducing the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League Team of the Season, as selected by UEFA's Technical Observer panel.

Who would be your captain? ©️🤷‍♂️#UCL || #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/tMrT2z3LPQ

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 11, 2023

This comes shortly after Rodrigo was selected by the same panel as the Player of the Season for the tournament.

The 26-year-old Spain international had a stellar 2022-23 campaign, appearing in all but one of City's Champions League matches, scoring twice. 

He delivered a standout performance in the final, earning the Player of the Match award. 

Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was named the Champions League Young Player of the Season, capping a remarkable campaign for the 22-year-old Georgian.

Kvaratskhelia won the Serie A title with Napoli and also claimed the league's MVP award earlier this month.

UEFA's Champions League Team of the Season:

Goalkeeper:

Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

Defenders: 

Kyle Walker (Man City), Ruben Dias (Man City), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Federico Dimarco (Inter)

Midfielders: 

John Stones (Man City), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Rodri (Man City)

Forwards: 

Bernardo Silva (Man City), Erling Haaland (Man City), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).

Who do you think should have been in the Champions League Team of the Season? Let us know...