AFC Champions League 2020 (West) Best XI announced

It will come as no surprise that a number of the Persepolis side who have reached the 2020 AFC Champions League final made the line-up after their impressive displays throughout and they are joined by five other standout performers.

Below are the 11 players voted by the public on the-AFC.com, while an XI by Stats Perform, the official statistics provider for the AFC, is also included as a comparison.

Tell us who is your favourite player from the AFC Champions League 2020 (West) in the poll at the bottom of the article.

GOALKEEPER

Fans' Pick: Hamed Lak – Persepolis

  • 7 appearances, 2 goals conceded
  • 5 clean sheets (#1 for goalkeepers)
  • 88.9% save percentage

Hamed Lak-Persepolis v Pakhtakor-ACL2020

Collecting a huge majority of the votes, the popular Persepolis custodian was out in front by some distance after conceding just two goals, both of which were from the penalty spot, in seven games. Al Nassr 'keeper and 2020 semi-finalist Brad Jones come second.

Stats Perform Pick: Hamed Lak (Persepolis)


DEFENDERS

Fans' Pick: Siamak Nemati – Persepolis

  • 21 crosses in open play (#3 by a defender)
  • 6 chances created
  • 1 assist

Siamak Nemati

Converted from a midfielder to right-back due to injuries, Siamak Nemati made the position his own with some fine performances in Doha, a seamless transition that the fans have clearly appreciated. He earned 79 percent of the votes, ahead of Al Nassr's Sultan Al Ghannam (18%), Al Sadd's Pedro Miguel (2%) and Pakthakor's Khojiakbar Alijonov (1%).

Stats Perform Pick: Sultan Al Ghannam (Al Nassr)


Fans' Pick: Maicon – Al Nassr

  • 34 clearances, 21 headed clearances (both #1 by a defender)
  • 22 aerials won (#1 by a defender)
  • 7 blocks (#1 by a defender)

28 – The number of clearances made by Brazilian defender Maicon in his side's march to the semi-finals, one more than Khalilzadeh. 

Our first non-Persepolis pick, Maicon of Al Nassr clinched the fans' vote for centre-back after a hugely impressive campaign from the Brazilian where he topped multiple defensive stats. The 32-year-old partners Persepolis defender Shojae Khalilzadeh, who recently signed for Qatar's Al Rayyan, in our rearguard.

Khalilzadeh edged former teammate Hossein Kanaani, while Tarek Salman of Al Sadd, Al Duhail's Mehdi Benatia and Al Nassr's Abdullah Madu were also among the nominees.

Stats Perform Pick: Shoja Khalilzadeh (Persepolis), Maicon (Al Nassr)


Fans' Pick: Saeid Aghaei – Persepolis

  • 25 crosses from open play (#1 by a defender)
  • 4 clean sheets
  • 6 chances created

Saeid Aghaei

Persepolis brought in Saeid Aghaei shortly before the 2020 AFC Champions League resumption and the former Sepahan man proved what an astute signing he was to be as he formed part of a near impenetrable defence that took the Tehran side to the final. His performances resonated in our polls too as he was the overwhelming favourite for our best XI.

Awad Khamis of Al Nassr was some way behind in second place, while Pakhtakor's Farrukh Sayfiev and Shabab Al Ahli's Abdulaziz Haikal were also nominated.

Stats Perform Pick: Saeid Aghaei (Persepolis)


MIDFIELDERS

Fans' Pick: Bashar Resan – Persepolis

  • 1 goal, 2 assists
  • 12 chances created (#3 by a midfielder)
  • 423 passes (#2 by a midfielder)

Bashar Resan was a picture of calmness as he slotted home from the penalty spot to give Persepolis a 1-0 win over Al Taawoun on Friday.

Bashar Resan has developed into one of Persepolis' key players in recent times and the Iraqi was outstanding in his side's run to the final, with the midfielder proving a hugely popular candidate in this category.

Resan takes the right side of our three-man midfield with Esteghlal star pair Mehdi Ghaedi and Resan's teammate Kamal Kamyabinia, who received the second and third most votes respectively, taking up the other two spots.

Stats Perform Picks: Jaloliddin Masharipov (Pakhtakor), Hassan Al Haydos (Al Sadd), Caio (Sharjah)


FORWARDS

Fans' Pick: Amir Arsalan Motahari – Esteghlal

  • 2 goals scored
  • 11 touches in opposition box
  • 50% conversion rate

Amir Arsalan Motahari-Esteghlal vs Al Ahli-ACL2020

Having gained just over half of the votes (52.6%) it was Esteghlal frontman Amir Arsalan Motahari who proved the most popular among fans after the striker netted two goals in his side's run to the Round of 16.

The former Zobahan man is joined in attack by Al Nassr's seven-goal Abderrazak Hamdallah (44.6%) and the 2018 AFC Champions League top scorer Baghdad Bounedjah of Al Sadd.

Stats Perform Picks: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al Nassr), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd), Almoez Ali (Al Duhail)

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