Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Champions League Team of the Week - Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Marco Verratti

sportsmole.co.uk, 30 September 2021, 13:30
The second gameweek in the group stages of the 2021-22 Champions League produced more drama and shock results, with Real Madrid involved in the biggest surprise, as the most successful team in the history of the competition suffered a 2-1 home defeat to tournament debutants Sheriff Tiraspol.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were also both on the scoresheet for Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, with the two players contributing important goals for their new teams.

PSG moved to the top of Group A courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in Paris, while Club Brugge occupy second due to their impressive 2-1 success away to RB Leipzig.

Liverpool sit comfortably top of Group B courtesy of their 5-1 win at Porto on Tuesday, while Atletico Madrid came from behind to record a 2-1 victory over AC Milan in the same section, with Diego Simeone's side occupying second spot.

Ajax beat Besiktas 2-0 to move onto six points in Group C, meanwhile, and they are joined by Borussia Dortmund, who made it back-to-back wins in the section courtesy of a 1-0 home success over Sporting Lisbon.

Sheriff incredibly sit top of Group D with six points from two matches, having won at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, while Inter Milan, who are third in the section, played out a goalless draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk.

In Group E, Bayern Munich thumped Dinamo Kiev 5-0, while Benfica recorded a 3-0 success over Barcelona, who are bottom of the section without a single point, having also lost 3-0 to Bayern in their opening game in the section.

Ronaldo scored late to hand Man United a huge three points at home to Villarreal, but the Red Devils are only third in Group F, behind second-placed Young Boys, who suffered a 1-0 defeat to section leaders Atalanta BC.

In Group G, Red Bull Salzburg, who are top of the section with four points, recorded a 2-1 victory over Lille, while second-placed Sevilla played out a 1-1 draw with Wolfsburg.

Juventus made it six points from their opening two Group H fixtures courtesy of a 1-0 home success over Chelsea on Wednesday night, while Zenit St Petersburg put four unanswered goals past Malmo in Russia.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the second set of fixtures in the groups stages of this season's competition.

DEFENCE

Sheriff recorded a stunning win at the Bernabeu on Tuesday, and there had to be a spot between the sticks for the away side's goalkeeper Georgios Athanasiadis, who was a key contributor to the victory. The 28-year-old made an incredible 10 saves over the course of the 90 minutes, and he is fully deserving of a position here.

Elsewhere at the back, Achraf Hakimi's performance against Man City was outstanding, with the PSG defender making it a very difficult night for Jack Grealish. The 22-year-old did not get forward too often in the second half, but he was defensively sound throughout the 90 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, there are also spots in the defence for Sheriff's Fernando Costanza and Zenit's Yaroslav Rakitskiy. The former enjoyed an impressive night against Real Madrid, with the 22-year-old making four tackles during a strong defensive performance.

Meanwhile, Rakitskiy not only excelled at the back for Zenit against Malmo but also played a leading role in an attacking sense. Indeed, the 32-year-old provided two assists for the Russian outfit, while he had a pass success rate of 86%, completing 76 of his 88 passes during a brilliant individual showing on Wednesday night.

MIDFIELD

The midfield four simply had to include both Marco Verratti and Idrissa Gueye from PSG; Man City had a lot of the ball during the Champions League clash in Paris, but Verratti and Gueye were so important for the home side when it came to keeping a clean sheet. Gueye actually made the breakthrough in the eighth minute of the match, while Verratti was a pass master, boasting a 93% success rate in terms of finding a teammate.

There were a lot of candidates for the other two spots in midfield, but Curtis Jones was always going to be included due to his excellent performance for Liverpool against Porto; the 20-year-old was the star of the show, providing two assists in his side's 5-1 success in Portugal.

Jones also completed four dribbles and had four shots during a dominant performance, and he even outperformed Mohamed Salah despite the Egypt international scoring twice during the comfortable win.

The final spot in midfield goes to Benfica's Julian Weigl, who was a key presence against Barcelona; the 26-year-old provided the assist for Darwin Nunez to make the breakthrough in the third minute, while he was a constant threat to Barcelona with the ball at this feet.

ATTACK

There was also a lot of competition for the forward positions in this side, with a number of strikers enjoying impressive gameweeks. Overall performance therefore had to be taken into account, and Robert Lewandowski was sensational in Bayern's 5-0 win over Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday night, with the Poland international scoring twice during another wonderful display in the Champions League.

As already mentioned, Mohamed Salah scored twice in Liverpool's win over Porto, and the Egypt international had to be included considering his display. Salah netted in the 18th minute and then the 60th to take the match away from Porto, and he could have had a hat-trick as he continued to threaten in the latter stages.

The final spot in the XI goes to Benfica's Darwin Nunez, who found the back of the net on two occasions against Barcelona on Wednesday night. The 22-year-old had five shots in total against the Catalan giants, and his movement in the final third caused the away team's back three all sorts of issues over the contest.

SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Champions League team of the week (3-4-3): Athanasiadis; Hakimi, Costanza, Rakitskiy; Verratti, Gueye, Jones, Weigl; Salah, Lewandowski, Nunez

Top News

25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Turkish giants Besiktas are reportedly interested in signing Fulham winger Adama Traore in the January transfer window. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sepp van den Berg has suggested that he has no regrets over leaving Liverpool for Brentford during the summer transfer window. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Mohamed Salah has conceded he's 'probably more out than in' when it comes to staying at Liverpool beyond this season. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ed Sheeran has taken to social media to apologise to Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim after interrupting his interview with Sky Sports. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Napoli forward Victor Osimhen is reportedly attracting interest from a new club ahead of the January transfer window. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola is confident that his Manchester City side can both quickly turn their fortunes around and enjoy a successful season in spite of their recent dip in form. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim singled out Joshua Zirkzee and Jonny Evans after Sunday's 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town in the Premier League. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Hoping to end a 15-year sequence without a win against Real Madrid, Liverpool butt heads with the reigning Champions League champions at Anfield on Wednesday evening. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly identified Ederson and Martin Zubimendi as top targets to bolster their midfield in January. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Celtic will host Club Brugge at Celtic Park on Wednesday evening in a pivotal UEFA Champions League clash, as the Scottish champions aim to strengthen their chances of reaching the knockout stages against a Belgian side that have been riddled with inconsistency this term. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne has provided a fresh update on his contract situation at the Etihad Stadium. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Always one of the most highly-anticipated contests on the Champions League calendar, Liverpool and Real Madrid collide in a clash of the titans at Anfield on Wednesday evening. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Juventus have reportedly considered an audacious swap deal that could see Douglas Luiz move to Manchester United in return for Joshua Zirkzee. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Roy Keane's argument with an Ipswich Town fan stemmed from his time as the club's manager as new details have come to light. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Liverpool host Manchester City in a Premier League blockbuster on Sunday but the fixture has been changed to an unusual kick-off time. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Leicester City's players have been slammed for jetting to Copenhagen for their Christmas party. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold remains a doubt for Wednesday's Champions League league phase battle with Real Madrid at Anfield. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The latest chapter in the Liverpool-Real Madrid rivalry will be written on Wednesday evening, when the continental foes collide in Wednesday's Champions League blockbuster. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior will miss their Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday due to a leg injury. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to build a lead at the top of the Championship table, Leeds United will welcome Luton Town to Elland Road on Wednesday. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Leicester City have reportedly suffered a blow in the pursuit of one of their top managerial targets. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher has admitted that Leicester City were fortunate to end Saturday's Premier League fixture against Chelsea with 11 players. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Premier League football will be uninterrupted for the next four months but there will be no early Saturday kick-off this weekend. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Steve Cooper was sacked after just five months in charge of Leicester City as the Foxes sit dangerously close to the relegation zone. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Ed Sheeran apologised for gatecrashing Ruben Amorim's post-match interview on Sunday. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fulham have reportedly joined Leicester City in the race for Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal are at risk of matching an unwanted Champions League record set by Manchester United when they face Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday evening. 25 November 2024 talksport.com The Premier League festive schedule is one of the best times of the season for fans as games come thick and fast, and it'll be no different this year. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to extend their goal-laden winning run to four matches, in-form Middlesbrough will welcome Blackburn Rovers to the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night for a Championship battle. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah has dropped the biggest bombshell yet over his future at Anfield, revealing that he is currently "more out than in" as he awaits an extension offer.
Thu 28 Nov, 17:45
EL
Qarabag Qarabag
-
sch
Lyon Lyon
Thu 28 Nov, 20:00
EL
Nice Nice
-
sch
Rangers Rangers