Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week, including Ilkay Gundogan, Alexis Mac Allister and Robert Lewandowski.
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
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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
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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
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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)