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

Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week: Erling Haaland, Florian Wirtz, Julian Alvarez

sportsmole.co.uk, 28 November 2024, 08:13
Liverpool's incredible form in the 2024-25 Champions League continued on Wednesday evening, with the Reds recording a 2-0 victory over the reigning European champions Real Madrid at Anfield.

Arne Slot's side are top of the Champions League table, boasting 15 points from five matches, while Real Madrid sit down in 24th, only just in the playoff spots, with the capital giants losing for the third time in the competition this term.

Inter Milan are second, having beaten RB Leipzig 1-0 on Tuesday, while Barcelona moved into third spot in the division courtesy of a 3-0 success over Brest.

Borussia Dortmund, who beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on Wednesday, are fourth, while Atalanta BC have also impressed in the competition this term, with their last victory proving to be a 6-1 success over Young Boys.

Bayer Leverkusen, who are sixth, beat Red Bull Salzburg 5-0, while seventh-placed Arsenal were huge winners in Portugal, recording a 5-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon, with the Green and Whites struggling in their first European match since Ruben Amorim's exit.

Elsewhere, AC Milan beat Slovan Bratislava 3-2, Atletico Madrid recorded a 6-0 win over Sparta Prague, Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0, while Manchester City were held to a 3-3 draw by Feyenoord.

Red Star Belgrade were big winners, beating Stuttgart 5-1, while Sturm Graz overcame Girona courtesy of a 1-0 success, and Aston Villa held Juventus to a goalless draw at Villa Park.

Lille were away winners, beating Bologna 2-1 in Italy, Celtic drew 1-1 at home to Club Brugge, Benfica were 3-2 winners over Monaco, while PSV Eindhoven beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 in a five-goal thriller in the Netherlands.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the fifth set of fixtures in the league phase of the competition, and it was incredibly difficult to pick this week due to the number of outstanding performers.

DEFENCE

Manuel Neuer gets the nod between the sticks in this side due to his performance in Bayern's narrow win over PSG; the German was at his dominant best, making six saves in total, while he was also calm and composed in possession of the ball.

Liverpool's Conor Bradley is unfortunate to miss out on a spot in the side considering his display against Real Madrid, but there simply had to be space in the XI for both Marcos Llorente and Alex Grimaldo in the full-back positions.

Llorente scored once and provided two assists from right-back in Atletico's 6-0 victory over Sparta Prague, while Grimaldo scored once and provided one assist in Leverkusen's 5-0 victory over Salzburg; the 29-year-old had seven shots in total, while he made four tackles and completed 62 of his 70 passes during an outstanding performance.

Neuer is joined by Bayern teammate Kim Min-jae, with the 28-year-old outstanding against PSG, scoring the only goal of the match, while he made two tackles, won two aerial duels and boasted a pass success rate of 93%.

There also had to be a spot in the side for Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes, with the 26-year-old on the scoresheet in his side's excellent win over Sporting; Viktor Gyokeres found it difficult to make his mark against the Gunners, and Gabriel was one of the London club's most impressive performers during the huge win in Portugal.

MIDFIELD

The outstanding midfield performance came from Charles De Ketelaere, with the 23-year-old in brilliant form for Atalanta in their 6-1 win over Young Boys; the Belgian scored twice and provided three assists, with Young Boys finding it incredibly difficult to deal with the midfielder on Tuesday night.

There is also a spot for PSV's Malik Tillman, with the 22-year-old hitting a brace in his side's 3-2 success over Shakhtar; the midfielder also won five tackles during an outstanding performance, with Tillman key to his side claiming all three points.

The midfield is completed by Timi Elsnik, with the 26-year-old providing two assists in Red Star Belgrade's victory over Stuttgart; Elsnik also won two aerial duels and made three tackles during a brilliant all-round performance, and there is no question that he was vital to his side securing a vital win on home soil.

ATTACK

There was also a lot of competition in the final third of the field, with some outstanding performers being left out, including the in-form Robert Lewandowski, but there had to be a spot for Julian Alvarez, who starred for Atletico against Sparta Prague, scoring a brace in his side's 6-0 win, and he was unplayable on the night.

Florian Wirtz was the standout forward in the latest set of Champions League fixtures, with the Germany international scoring twice and registering one assist in Leverkusen's 5-0 victory over Salzburg; he had four shots in total and managed three successful dribbles, while the attacker also produced three key passes.

There is also a spot for Erling Haaland, who came up with a brace in Man City's 3-3 draw with Feyenoord; the Norway international made the breakthrough from the penalty spot in the 44th minute, before scoring again early in the second period, but the Citizens collapsed late on and were made to settle for a point.

SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Neuer (Bayern); Llorente (Atletico), Kim (Bayern), Gabriel (Arsenal), Grimaldo (Leverkusen); De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Elsnik (Belgrade), Tillman (PSV); Alvarez (Atletico), Haaland (Man City), Wirtz (Leverkusen)

Top News

11 December 2024 talksport.com Having already stunned the world of football with an almighty spending spree, Saudi Arabia is looking to do it all over again on the international stage. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk FIFA have confirmed that the 2034 World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Andrija Maksimovic, take a bow! 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Cristian Romero has apologised for taking aim at the board after Sunday's 4-3 Premier League defeat to Chelsea. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly learned the asking price of Bologna striker Santiago Castro. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Phil Jones believes Virgil van Dijk would have still been 'incredible' in a different Premier League era. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The majority of Manchester United's first-team squad are reportedly in favour of the rotational policy that Ruben Amorim has adopted in the early stages of his time in charge of the Red Devils. 11 December 2024 talksport.com If you wondered if Troy Deeney has made a U-turn on his claim Mohamed Salah isn't world class, think again... 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly open to selling Marcus Rashford as early as the January transfer window, with the Red Devils believed to be willing to listen to serious offers for the attacker. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Jason Cundy believes the best is yet to come for Jadon Sancho in a Chelsea shirt. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will drop points against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday if they repeat their performance against Girona in the Champions League, according to Reds expert David Lynch. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Villarreal attacker Alex Baena has said that he would only consider leaving the Yellow Submarine for a certain number of clubs amid suggestions that Barcelona are keen on his services. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Kasimpasa take on the Turkish Super Lig's new boys, Eyupspor, at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium on Friday, hoping to secure their first win under new manager Hakan Keles. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have confirmed their 24-man travelling party for Thursday's Europa League contest against Viktoria Plzen, with Victor Lindelof and Toby Collyer returning to the squad after spells on the sidelines. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Former Real Madrid star Sami Khedira believes 'genius' Mesut Ozil was let go too early from the Bernabeu. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson has revealed that there had been a plan for him to join a different European club. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are allegedly already discussing a loan exit for Cesare Casadei ahead of the January transfer window. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea make the 7,000-mile round-trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana in their penultimate fixture in the League Phase of the Conference League on Thursday afternoon. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Toulouse, looking to widen their lead over the drop zone, are set to take on relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne at the Stadium de Toulouse on Friday evening for matchday 15 of the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Mikel Arteta has claimed that Arsenal "have the capacity" to strengthen their first-team squad during the January transfer window. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Aston Villa Women have sacked manager Robert de Pauw after six months in charge. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Barcelona's stormy season continues with their £51million summer signing potentially leaving for free in January. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Danny Murphy has picked out a rival Premier League team who would be the perfect next club for Manchester United star Marcus Rashford. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The penultimate gameweek of 2024 in the Eredivisie will kick off at MAC³PARK Stadion with PEC Zwolle playing hosts to Willem II on Friday night. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly cooled their interest in Lille forward Jonathan David, with the Catalan outfit having reservations over whether the Canadian would fit into their style of play. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed his number one rule for the dressing room. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and Toby Collyer all trained with Manchester United on Wednesday morning ahead of Thursday's Europa League contest with Viktoria Plzen. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Tony Pulis revealed to talkSPORT exactly where teams are going wrong defending against Arsenal after they were labelled the 'new Stoke City'. 11 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The bottom two in the La Liga table will lock horns for a vital contest on Friday evening, with Real Valladolid welcoming Valencia to Estadio Jose Zorrilla. 11 December 2024 talksport.com Jose Mourinho has left Millwall fans dreaming after he recently joked about wanting to manage at The Den.