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: Ilkay Gundogan, Alexis Mac Allister, Robert Lewandowski

sportsmole.co.uk, 3 October 2024, 08:49
There were some huge scores in the second set of fixtures in the 2024-25 Champions League, with the biggest of those coming in Germany, as Borussia Dortmund thumped Celtic 7-1.

Barcelona beat Young Boys 5-0 on home soil, while four matches finished 4-0, with Brest beating Red Bull Salzburg, Inter Milan overcoming Red Star Belgrade, Manchester City beating Slovan Bratislava and Benfica thrashing Atletico Madrid.

Arsenal recorded a statement 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, while Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 at Villa Park on Wednesday night to make it two wins from two in the competition this season.

Liverpool were also victorious, beating Bologna 2-0, while Bayer Leverkusen overcame AC Milan courtesy of a 1-0 scoreline, Feyenoord beat Girona 3-2 and Atalanta BC were 3-0 winners over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Lille also deserve a special mention, having beaten the reigning champions Real Madrid 1-0 on Wednesday, while Club Brugge overcame Sturm Graz and Juventus were 3-2 winners over RB Leipzig.

There were also three draws in the latest round of action, with Stuttgart playing out a 1-1 with Sparta Prague, PSV Eindhoven drawing 1-1 with Sporting Lisbon and Dinamo Zagreb holding Monaco to a 2-2.

Dortmund's huge score over Celtic has allowed them to sit at the top of the table, while Young Boys are currently at the bottom.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the second set of fixtures in the league phase of the competition.

DEFENCE

Emiliano Martinez was the standout goalkeeper in the latest round of action, with the Argentina international in sensational form against Bayern. The World Cup winner made seven saves in total, with two of those particularly outstanding, and he was a key contributor to Villa securing a famous victory over the German giants.

Man City's Rico Lewis gets the nod at right-back, having put in a strong display against Slovan Bratislava. Lewis had three shots, made two tackles and finished with a pass success rate of 95%, with the 19-year-old arguably the best player on the field during the European clash despite the presence of a number of big names.

Pau Torres had a goal disallowed against Bayern on Wednesday, but he eventually came up with the assist that saw Jhon Duran win the match for his side. The Spaniard has not always been at his best since arriving at Villa Park, but this was a statement performance from the centre-back against a star-studded attack.

Perhaps the biggest shock of the week came in Portugal, with Benfica thrashing Atletico, and Alexander Bah was sensational for his team against the La Liga giants. The 26-year-old got his name on the scoresheet, while he won four aerial duels and made four tackles during an outstanding performance.

The defence is completed by Lille's Tiago Santos, who was excellent against Real Madrid. The 22-year-old managed to contain the likes of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, while he was a threat down the other end of the field, completing three successful dribbles, and he produced 27 accurate passes in France.

MIDFIELD

There are two Premier League representatives in the midfield, with Alexis Mac Allister included due to his excellent performance against Bologna. The Argentine got his name on the scoresheet in the 11th minute, but it was his overall display that impressed the most, as he used the ball excellently throughout his time on the field.

Man City's Ilkay Gundogan also makes it, having starred against Slovan Bratislava. The German was on the scoresheet in the European fixture, while he boasted a pass success rate of 93% and had three shots in total, with the majority of Man City's strong work on the evening coming through the 33-year-old.

The final midfield spot is awarded to Jerdy Schouten for his excellent performance in PSV's 1-1 draw with Sporting. The 27-year-old scored his side's goal in the Netherlands, but it was his defensive work that caught the eye, making five tackles in total, and he continued to sniff out danger when his side needed it the most.

ATTACK

Notable mentions have to go to Barcelona's Raphinha, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy and Inter's Mehdi Taremi, who were all excellent in the latest set of matches. However, there was such competition for spots in the front three due to the number of excellent performances.

Robert Lewandowski had to make it, with the 36-year-old scoring twice during Barcelona's 5-0 win over Young Boys. It was a truly brilliant centre-forward performance from Lewandowski, as he caused problems throughout the contest, demonstrating that he remains one of the best strikers in the world.

Karim Adeyemi, meanwhile, hit a stunning treble in Dortmund's 7-1 win over Celtic, with the 22-year-old arguably the standout performer in the second game week of the tournament. Adeyemi's pace and power caused Celtic so many issues, and he was such a huge threat throughout the game in Germany.

The final spot in the XI is awarded to Abdallah Sima for an outstanding display in Brest's 4-0 win over Salzburg. Sima scored twice in the European fixture, while he also won five aerial duels and made five tackles, demonstrating his importance to the team as a whole, and the 23-year-old is fully deserving of a spot in this side.

SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Martinez (Villa); Lewis (Man City), Torres (Villa), Bah (Benfica), Santos (Lille); Schouten (PSV), Gundogan (Man City), Mac Allister (Liverpool); Sima (Brest), Lewandowski (Barcelona), Adeyemi (Dortmund)

Top News

15 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to offer Joshua Zirkzee in a player-plus-cash bid for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could be open to the idea of compromising on a contract extension of two years given the forward has long indicated that his clear preference would be to stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England interim boss Lee Carsley has revealed the reason behind his decision to omit Harry Kane from the starting lineup for the 3-0 UEFA Nations League win over Greece. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England moved to the top of their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group on Thursday evening courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Didier Deschamps was left frustrated on Thursday as his France side failed to capitalise on their dominance against Israel, being held to a 0-0 draw, though they still progressed to the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals after Italy beat Belgium in the other League A Group 2 fixture. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England have risen to the top of Group 2 of League B in the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Greece in Athens on Thursday night. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sandro Tonali's first international goal was enough to send Italy through to the finals of the UEFA Nations League courtesy of a 1-0 win away in Belgium this evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women and Manchester City Women will go head-to-head in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash at Stamford Bridge. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has asked Manchester City to sign two defenders in 2025, according to a report. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte has said that he is open to making the move to Real Madrid. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona sporting director Deco has said that his club are not planning to be active during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Moldova can boost their hopes of securing promotion from League D Group 2 in the UEFA Nations League when they face fellow European minnows Andorra at Estadi Nacional on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Montenegro welcome Iceland to Stadion Kraj Bistrice in Niksic for their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal Women and Tottenham Hotspur Women will be looking to secure derby bragging rights when they face off in Saturday's Women's Super League clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nacho has ruled out the possibility of returning to Real Madrid amid suggestions that Los Blancos were considering making an attempt to re-sign him during the January transfer window. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams with contrasting objectives in the National League are set to meet at the Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday, as promotion hopefuls Gateshead host relegation-threatened Aldershot Town. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim will reportedly take Manchester United training for the first time on Monday, with the club confident that his visa will have arrived in time for him to officially get on the grass next week. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has said that a back issue forced Lisandro Martinez to pull out of the squad for the national team's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualification matches with Paraguay and Peru. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has reportedly set his sights on an exit from the club next summer, and plans to take key man Alex Grimaldo with him. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Locked together at the top of League C Group 1 with two games to play, Sweden and Slovakia will battle it out to take the outright lead when they meet on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal will reportedly allow out-of-favour defender Jakub Kiwior to leave the club on loan in January. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Wales travel to the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri to face Turkey in their penultimate League B Group 4 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona midfielder Pablo Torre has not ruled out the possibility of leaving the club in January, after seeing his game time reduced recently. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to narrow their gap to the top two in the League One table with a third consecutive victory, Barnsley will visit the Abbey Stadium to take on Cambridge United on Saturday. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Isak has delivered a fresh update on his future at Newcastle United, amid reported interest from a number of clubs including Arsenal. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United Women will attempt to claim back-to-back victories when they travel to the Broadfield Stadium for Saturday's Women's Super League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion Women. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma have confirmed the appointment of 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri as their new first-team manager until the end of the season. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has revealed that he was "desperate" to join Chelsea in 2022. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal could rival Manchester City and Liverpool for the signature of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. 14 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool are reportedly weighing up whether to make a move for in-form PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi.