Six Liverpool players including goalkeeper Alisson, defender Virgil van Dijk and forward Sadio Mane have been named in UEFA’s Champions League League squad of the season.
Champions League winners Liverpool’s total pipped that of semifinalists Ajax, who had five players including coveted defender Matthijs de Ligt named in the 20-player squad.
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A panel of nine experts including England manager Gareth Southgate, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez and former Manchester United manager David Moyes picked the squad, which included both Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus.
Messi finished as outright top scorer in the tournament, with 12 goals, for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign, taking the crown from Ronaldo, who ended his European campaign with six strikes.
Liverpool, who beat Tottenham 2-0 to win the trophy in Madrid on Saturday, also had defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson and midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum named in the selection.
Three Spurs players — defender Jan Vertonghen, midfielder Moussa Sissoko and forward Lucas Moura — were chosen.
Champions League Squad of the Season:
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham) Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) Frenkie de Jong (Ajax) Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon) Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool) David Neres (Ajax) Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Dusan Tadic (Ajax) Sadio Mane (Liverpool) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) Lucas Moura (Tottenham)