Hat-trick hero Gyokeres features alongside Liverpool star in Champions League Team of the Week
The fourth round of the new Champions League format is now behind us, and here we’re taking a look back at the standout performers from this week’s action.
Included in our Team of the Week are players from AC Milan, PSV, Dinamo Zagreb, Brest, Lille, Shakhtar Donetsk, Barcelona, Sporting and Liverpool.
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Mike Maignan (AC Milan) - 8.23
Paulo Fonseca’s AC Milan side pulled off one of the upsets of the week in the Champions League, claiming a 3-1 victory against an out-of-sorts Real Madrid team at the Bernabeu. Crucial to the visitors leaving the Spanish capital with all three points was goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who made a whopping nine saves on the night, including five stops from attempts inside the box.
PSV were one of the big winners of this week in Europe, putting four past Girona in Eindhoven on their way to a first win in the competition this season. 21-year-old defender Ryan Flamingo opened the scoring for the Eredivisie leaders, firing home following a throw-in after 16 minutes. The centre-back also completed three of four long balls and won five of the six duels he contested, for a WhoScored rating of 8.36.
Raul Torrente (Dinamo Zagreb) - 8.25
Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb moved into the play-off positions with a huge win over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night. The visiting side eventually ran out 4-1 winners, while centre-back Raul Torrente earns a place in our XI having made three tackles - including one as the last man - as well as 10 clearances, three blocks, two interceptions, and one goal line clearance.
Brendan Chardonnet (Brest) - 8.21
French side Brest continued their impressive start to life in the Champions League, picking up a third win of the campaign against Sparta Prague on Wednesday evening. Defender and captain Brendan Chardonnet turned in a Player of the Match display in Czechia, making three tackles, two blocks, 11 clearances and four interceptions to ensure his side left with a crucial three points.
Another French side to have made a strong start so far are Lille, who earned a seventh point of the season with the draw at home to Juventus on Tuesday. Kosovan attacker Edon Zhegrova earns a place in our best XI following a sumptuous assist for Jonathan David’s first-half opener. The 25-year-old also managed two key passes, two shots and eight successful dribbles, on his way to a WhoScored rating of 8.44.
With a WhoScored rating of 9.62, PSV attacker Malik Tillman is our Champions League Player of the Week, following a starring performance in Tuesday’s win over Girona. The United States international was directly involved in three of the hosts’ four goals on the night, providing an assist either side of finding the net himself - in the 33rd minute. In all, the 23-year-old made six key passes, four tackles and five ball recoveries, while also winning seven of nine duels contested.
Georgiy Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk) - 8.62
Shakhtar Donetsk picked up their first three points of the season in the Champions League when they came from behind to see off Young Boys on Wednesday night. 22-year-old midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov was instrumental for the hosts, involved in both goals (one assist, one goal), while also making three key passes and four successful dribbles, to land a WhoScored rating of 8.62.
Barcelona star Raphinha continued his sensational start to the season under new boss Hansi Flick as he both scored and assisted in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade. The Brazilian - who netted a hat-trick against Bayern Munich two weeks ago - found the net with one of four attempts on goal and made two key passes, to return a WhoScored rating of 8.50.
Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting) - 8.95
Perhaps the result of the week came in Lisbon on Tuesday evening, as departing head coach Ruben Amorim oversaw a 4-1 victory over Manchester City in his final home match. To no surprise, Sporting’s lethal frontman Viktor Gyokeres was very much involved in the thrashing; the Sweden international was responsible for three of the home side’s four goals, becoming only the fourth player to score a hat-trick against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Sandro Kulenovic (Dinamo Zagreb) - 9.26
Another striker who played a big part in a 4-1 victory this week was Dinamo Zagreb’s Sandro Kulenovic, who bagged a brace in the victory over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday. The 24-year-old found the net with each of his two attempts on goal, while he also made one successful dribble, two tackles and four clearances, in a fine all-round display.
Rounding off our Team of the Week is Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, who was trialled in a centre-forward role for the first time by Arne Slot against Bayer Leverkusen, and to great effect. The Colombian netted a first career hat-trick against the German champions, with all three goals coming inside the final half hour and - largely - from the exact same spot in the penalty area.
