Yet another week of UEFA Champions League action is in the books, and it’s one that’ll perhaps be best remembered for Brazilian forwards scoring hat-tricks.
Two South American stars from Real Madrid and Barcelona scored three against German opposition this past midweek, with one in particular proving why he’s deserving of the Ballon d’Or by doing so.
Elsewhere across the continent we enjoyed the typical thrills and spills that have come to be expected from Champions League action.
Here’s 90min’s pick for the team of the round.
Juventus were pretty awful on Tuesday evening, but if there was one player that deserved a positive outcome from the game against VfB Stuttgart it was goalkeeper Mattia Perin.
The Italian – deputising for the suspended Michele Di Gregorio – was in outstanding form, saving a penalty kick and making a further eight stops throughout the game to prevent 2.06 xG of chances.
Perin was very unfortunate to concede late in the game, even if the rest of his team weren’t.
Paris Saint-Germain‘s attackers didn’t look particularly potent in front of goal against PSV Eindhoven in midweek, but fortunately for them right-back Achraf Hakimi did.
The buccaneering full-back thumped home the equaliser for his team on the night and was generally PSG’s most effective attacking outlet throughout the game – creating two chances for his teammates and having four pops at goal himself.
Monaco ran riot against a poor Red Star Belgrade side in one of the early kick-offs on Tuesday evening, with both their centre-backs getting in on the action at the other end of the park in a 5-1 win.
While Thilo Kehrer (of West Ham infamy) bagged an assist, 23-year-old Wilfried Singo edged him out and secured his place in our team of the round by scoring one and assisting another. Nice work.
Antonio Rudiger always seems to pop up with a goal when Real Madrid need one the most, doesn’t he?
The former Chelsea defender was at it again in midweek when his team were 2-0 down at home to Borussia Dortmund, taking matters into his own hands by racing into the opposition box and thumping home a header on the hour mark. It was the goal which spurred on Madrid to a dramatic comeback win.
Nuno Santos was one of Sporting’s unsung heroes in the 2023/24 Liga Portugal winning campaign, and he’s continued to impress at the start of the new season too.
The full-back was instrumental in his team’s 2-0 win over Sturm Graz in the Champions League, scoring the opener at one end and winning 100% of his duels at the other. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Fermin Lopez bagged two assists in Barcelona’s thumping 4-1 win over Bayern Munich, one of which was a pinpoint 60-yard diagonal into the path of Raphinha that will surely go down as one of the best passes of the 2024/25 season.
The academy graduate was electric in the win, but not his team’s best performer on a night to remember.
Manchester City spent £53m on Matheus Nunes in the 2023 summer transfer window, and then proceeded to simply not play him for basically a full year.
Following Rodri’s season-ending ACL injury, Nunes has finally started to get some minutes under his belt, and he’s certainly making the most of them. The midfielder thoroughly impressed in the midweek Champions League clash with Sparta Prague, prompting Pep Guardiola to admit: “The only problem he has is one, his manager doesn’t give him the minutes he deserves.”
Remember the name, Antoni Milambo.
The 19-year-old announced himself on the European stage this past week with a brace in Feyenoord’s very, very unexpected win over Benfica at Estadio Da Luz. Check out Milambo’s first goal in the win if you haven’t seen it yet, it was pretty special.
Hands up who knew Raphinha had these types of performances in his locker?
If your name isn’t Hansi Flick, put your hand down.
Given new responsibilities in the Barca attack by Flick – and even the captain’s armband in their last two games too – Raphinha has looked like a player reborn in 2024/25.
The Brazilian was utterly exceptional in midweek against Bayern, netting a brilliant hat-trick in a 4-1 rout.
After a lengthy (by his standards) goal drought of two games, Erling Haaland was back on form against Sparta Prague.
His two goals in the 5-0 thumping, which included a rather astonishing feat of acrobatics, took his overall tally for the season to 13 in 11 games. Simply ridiculous.
Vinicius Junior is the best footballer in the world right now.
His hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund proved it.
Just hand him the Ballon d’Or already. Get it over with.
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