Champions League 2017-18: The moments of this season's tournament

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 15 goals in this season's Champions League going into Saturday's final with Liverpool

With only one game of this season's competition remaining, BBC Sport gathered the thoughts of several European football journalists on the moments that shaped the 2017-18 Champions League.

Here's what BBC Euro Leagues Football Show regulars Mina Rzouki, James Horncastle, Julien Laurens and Raphael Honigstein, European football writer Andy Brassell, BBC World Service's John Bennett and BBC Sport online journalist Emlyn Begley thought about the most memorable goals, performances, disasters and comedy moments.

Best moment

Kostas Manolas' 82nd-minute winner gave Roma a 3-0 win over Barcelona, and a semi-final spot on away goals

JB: The Kostas Manolas header which completed one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history. Roma were out of this world against Barcelona on that Tuesday night back in April but time was running out and it looked as though Barcelona would squeeze through to the semi-finals, until Manolas flicked on Cengiz Under's cross. Cue scenes at the Stadio Olimpico that 'I Giallorossi' fans will never forget. Football was invented for moments like that.

AB: You could pick any one of a handful from Tottenham's campaign, a huge leap forward from last season, but Christian Eriksen's equaliser away at Juventus stands out. Spurs had no easy tasks in this season's Champions League and were equal to most of them, but Eriksen's goal capped a stunning comeback and underlined the fact that Mauricio Pochettino and company had one of the competition's most consistent teams of recent years sweating.

RH: Mo Salah's goal in the second leg against Manchester City. Just when Liverpool were really beginning to crumble and needed something to happen, he comes up with the most nonchalant, cool, almost effortless finish you'll see to settle a tie.

EB: Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick for Real Madrid at Juventus in the quarter-final first leg. The greatest goalscorer the Champions League has ever known has become more of a poacher as he gets older - but he showed he still has the ability to score wonder goals with this strike. The standing ovation he got from the Juve fans had shades of the original Ronaldo's hat-trick against Manchester United.

JL: PSG left-back Layvin Kurzawa - a very average football player - scoring a hat-trick against Anderlecht. Imagine all the great defenders who have played in the Champions League and he's the first one to score a hat-trick. That's football taking the mick.

JH: James Pallotta, the Roma president, dropping into the Piazza del Popolo fountain after Roma completed the most incredible comeback we've seen in this tournament... since Barcelona beat Paris St-Germain. It felt like a defining moment in a great season for Roma.

Outstanding performance

Cristiano Ronaldo held his nerve to knock Juventus out following the Italian side's quarter-final fightback

RH: There were a few outstanding team performances, like Sevilla's win at Old Trafford. For a player, it's a bit easier as you can name him every year - Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 15 goals - and the 90th-minute penalty against Juventus. It was a game where nothing had gone for Real Madrid and the Bernabeu were baying for blood. The way he scored, the complete lack of any nervousness, was hugely impressive. He is a real role model for anyone who wants to see how to deal with pressure.

JL: The second leg between Roma and Barcelona. I think there is no other choice. It was such an incredible game. The Romantada, karma - hitting Barcelona after what they did to PSG last season. It was an incredible performance and deserved win.

JB: Sorry Manchester United fans but Wissam Ben Yedder's cameo at Old Trafford stands out for me. He came on in the 72nd minute, gave Sevilla the lead in the 74th minute and then a wonderful, nerveless finish made history for Sevilla in the 78th minute. The definition of an impact sub. In fact he made such a big impact that two days later Didier Deschamps gave him his first international call-up.

AB: Roma 3-0 Chelsea. Many will point to the 'Romantada', the Giallorossi's second-leg fightback against Barcelona, but it was victory over the English champions that set the tone for Eusebio di Francesco's team in the Champions League. Their key players were well rested - thanks to the squad improvements made by new sporting director Monchi - and it showed as they tore into Chelsea with desire and attacking intent.

EB: Mohamed Salah's masterclass in the the first leg of Liverpool's semi-final against his old club Roma. The winger scored two excellent goals - and assisted two more - to beat one of the world's top goalkeepers in Alisson Becker. All this in arguably the biggest game of his career - against a team who should have known how to contain him better than anyone. As if to emphasise just how good he'd been, the Reds looked like they would add to their 5-0 lead when he came off - and it ended 5-2.

MR: Tottenham going to Turin, playing in that stadium where so many people have struggled and scoring all those goals against Juventus in the first leg was interesting. Watching that, I thought Spurs have announced themselves on the biggest stage.

Breakthrough player

Mohamed Salah has scored 10 goals in the Champions League this season, plus another in qualifying

MR: Mo Salah. It has to be a Liverpool player. This is a guy I famously didn't think would do everything he managed to do. Watching him at Roma, he was a good player but nothing like what's he's proved to be at Liverpool. He's a different player - he has the spark, quality, pace and understanding with his team-mates. He's proved to be the difference maker. When you look at what he was for Roma, that match against Real Madrid and now, he's fantastic.

JB: We knew about him here in the UK but now Scotland's Andrew Robertson has made the breakthrough on the European stage. The Liverpool defender was outstanding in the quarter-final against Manchester City and in the semi-final versus Roma. From relegation with Hull City to a Champions League final with Liverpool in 12 months. An inspired signing by Jurgen Klopp.

RH: You have to go with a Liverpool player. Sadio Mane has been a revelation. He'd never played in the Champions League proper before, he'd always failed in the qualifiers with Salzburg. The impact he's had, with a hat-trick against Porto and scoring in all the big games, he gets overlooked a little bit with the industry of Firmino and brilliance of Salah but he's had a fantastic season.

AB: Sevilla striker Wissam Ben Yedder. Entering this year's Champions League with only a smattering of European experience, he showed what a canny finisher he is - only Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's phenomenal front three have scored more than him in the competition, with his eight goals including a double to sink Manchester United at Old Trafford.

JL: Roma keeper Alisson Becker. We have said on the pod many times how great he's been this season. Despite the semi-final against Liverpool, where he was a bit let down by his defence, he's been incredible. He's been the best goalkeeper in Europe.

JH: Andy Robertson has had a great season and it's an incredible story. He didn't make the grade at Celtic and was relegated with Hull City. From that to being in the Champions League final is remarkable.

EB: A £34m signing may be an odd selection for breakthrough player - but nobody anticipated a scenario where Liverpool's Mohamed Salah would outscore Lionel Messi in this season's Champions League or be a serious contender to break the 10-year Ronaldo-Messi Ballon d'Or duopoly. This is a man who had scored three Champions League goals before this season - and none in a knockout game.

Biggest disappointment

Marco Verratti was sent off as Paris St-Germain went out to Real Madrid

AB: Paris St-Germain's exit. There's no shame in losing to Real Madrid, of course, but the manner in which Paris let this slip was hugely deflating after the fanfare surrounding Neymar's arrival. PSG managed to throw away a promising position in the first leg and rarely looked capable of turning it around at home.

MR: Juventus travelling to the Bernabeu, scoring three goals and walking out empty handed because of that penalty decision. They didn't do enough to secure their passage into the semi-finals despite an outstanding performance in Spain.

JB: When Real Madrid, Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund were drawn together in Group H, we were all expecting box office games and a nerve-wracking finish. In the end, the Germans let us down. Dortmund finished without a win and with only two points from two draws against Apoel Nicosia. Head coach Peter Bosz paid the price when he was sacked in December.

JL: Paris St-Germain. They had Real Madrid on the ropes at the Bernabeu in the first leg - and still managed to bottle it. Unai Emery made poor tactical changes and the team didn't show up for the second leg in Paris. That was so disappointing.

EB: Barcelona blowing a 4-1 first-leg lead to go out to Roma. It was a great Champions League comeback - but hopes had been high for a team who almost went through the entire La Liga season unbeaten. It also meant for a third season in a row there was no Lionel Messi in the last four. I would have gone for Atletico crashing out in the group stages - but they ended the season winning the Europa League.

JH: Atletico Madrid. Nobody really expected Roma to get out of that group because Atleti and Chelsea were favourites. I do think winning a trophy is better than just coming out of a group and getting knocked out, but it was a bit disappointing. With Diego Costa, they could have been a real force.

RH: Dortmund finishing third in a group behind Spurs and Real Madrid is no crime - but if you look at the results and performances, they were dire. Failing to beat Apoel, I'm still struggling to believe what I saw. The writing was on the wall for Peter Bosz at that point. It's hard to look at this Dortmund squad and believe how bad they were at times.

Strangest moment

JB: World Snooker champion Mark Williams stole his thunder by turning up to his news conference in just a towel but we can't forget Paulo Fonseca's Zorro moment after Shakhtar Donetsk's 2-1 victory over Manchester City in December. Fonseca promised to dress up as Zorro if his team qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and kept his word. He must have been confident because the costume was ready and waiting in his office at full-time. He's just signed a new deal but expect to see the "masked vigilante" at a Premier League club near you soon. Shakhtar played some excellent football in this season's Champions League.

EB: Gianluigi Buffon is a passionate guy - but it was surprising to see him lose his cool to such an extreme after Michael Oliver awarded an injury-time penalty to Real Madrid in their quarter-final second leg. Post-match interviews where he said Oliver had a "bag of rubbish for a heart", was a "beast" and started listing the soft drinks the Englishman should be drinking in the crowd rather than refereeing will live long in the memory.

AB: Atletico Madrid's Gabi using a four-letter expletive to describe the Europa League after his side were pushed to the brink of group elimination by Azeri minnows Qarabag - only for Diego Simeone and company to go on and win it. The captain was, though, happy enough to poke fun at himself about it after the Lyon final.

JL: Timo Werner coming off for RB Leipzig against Besiktas as he had a headache because of the noise in the stadium. One of the weirdest things I've ever seen.

JH: Paulo Fonseca, the Shakhtar manager, dressing up as Zorro when they qualified. He showed he's a man who always keeps his word as he'd vowed to do that if they got out of the group.

RH: Strangest and most tragic, and funny depending on where your sympathies lie, was Sven Ulreich's calamitous mistake at the Bernabeu. It's the kind of goalkeeping howler which will etch itself on to the collective memory of Bayern fans. It was the biggest high-profile mistake I've seen in a long time.

MR: Gianluigi Buffon going absolutely crazy after Juventus went out to Real Madrid. He's a veteran, a legend, an icon, everyone looks to him for his comments and sporting-like behaviour. He's always been a gentleman so losing his rag was strange. He thought he might go out like Zidane and he did indeed.

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