UCL Fantasy Matchday 5: Reigning champion’s team reveal

The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign resumes on Tuesday – and so does the competition’s official Fantasy game.

Here, last year’s overall winner, Joaquín Roth (aka So VAR So Bad), shares his thoughts and reveals his Matchday 5 team.

Matchday 5 arrives with a rare blend of opportunity and volatility. It marks the halfway point of the League Phase, and managers are facing one of the most significant injury pile-ups of the season.

Highly-owned assets such as Gabriel Magalhaes (€5.6m), Achraf Hakimi (€6.0m), Denzel Dumfries (€6.2m), Pedri (€7.5m), Ousmane Dembélé (€10.0m) and Victor Osimhen (€7.7m) have thrown squads off balance and pushed many managers into making early chip decisions.

The key to this week is not perfection, but flexibility. UCL Fantasy is a game that rewards the ability to adapt when plans fall apart. With rotation looming in Matchdays 6 and 8, and some fixture swings approaching, managers must prioritise structure over rigid plans.

Forced into a Wildcard

Coming into the season, I had always planned to use my Wildcard chip in Matchday 6. But UCL Fantasy rarely allows plans to survive.

Owning several of the above injuries, I’ve found myself forced into an early activation.

And this is exactly where the game tests you. A Wildcard is not about sticking to the date you dreamed about; it’s about recognising when your structure is no longer aligned with the next three Matchdays.

Undeniably, my squad needs more than bandages. It needs rebuilding. Therefore, a well-constructed Matchday 5 Wildcard that mirrors the planned structure of Matchday 6’s remains optimal.

Plans are useful; flexibility is essential.

My Wildcard team