The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is back, and Europe’s premier club competition came back with an almighty bang that has made naming a Team of the Week a difficult task.
From Atletico Madrid’s dramatic 2-1 win against FC Porto to Liverpool’s capitulation against Napoli, there was drama on every corner of the continent this week, with some clubs already feeling confident or worried about even making to the Round of 16 in the New Year.
As well high stakes drama, there were some players who stood out on the pitch, and these are the stars and talents we will be looking at today in our debut UCL Team of the Week feature, with plenty of names to choose from after an entertaining and brilliant opening week of the Champions League.
With no further delay, here’s HITC Sport’s UCL Team of the Week for Matchday 1:
Zagreb hero Livakovic starts alongside Brugge wonderkid Sylla with Grimaldo & Cancelo
Goalkeepers rarely get a moment in the spotlight, yet it would be something of an understatement to say that Dominik Livakovic was a big reason Zagreb were able to keep a clean sheet against Chelsea in the opening game of the Champions League, with the Croatian shot-stopper making 3 key saves and denying the Blues a perfect start.
It wasn’t just goalkeepers stealing headlines, though, as Benfica fullback Alex Grimaldo scored arguably the goal of the week with a thunderous dipping shot to secure a 2-0 win for the Portuguese giants at home against Champions League minnows Maccabi Haifa.
Another fullback who starred this week was Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, who playing back in his natural right-back position bagged two assists in a thumping 4-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s side against Sevilla, with the reigning Premier League champions already looking like strong favourites to win the Champions League this season.
Wrapping up the defence is Club Brugge teenager Abakar Sylla, who this season has only just broken into the Belgian giants’ senior squad and now looks set to remain there for the remainder of the year, with the 19-year-old keeping a clean sheet against Bayer Leverkusen in an imperious performance from the Ivory Coast defender.
Tottenham maestro Hojbjerg & Liverpool slayer Anguissa star with Kimmich & Berghuis
If there were two big stories from Wednesday’s fixtures, it would come in the form of two different four-goal results on the continent as Ajax thrashed Rangers at home 4-0 in Amsterdam whilst Napoli inflicted one of Liverpool’s biggest losses in Europe for quite some time in a 4-1 victory for the hosts, with Steven Berghuis and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa stars for their respective clubs.
Starting with Ajax and Berghuis, the elegant Dutch international assisted Edson Alvarez for the opener before the midfielder got himself on the scoresheet just past the half-hour mark, with Rangers unable to contain the versatile playmaker as Berghuis pulled the strings for the Eredivise champions in a convincing win.
1,142 miles south saw a similar performance from Anguissa against another titan of British football as Napoli dismantled Liverpool in one of Jurgen Klopp’s heaviest defeats in Europe as manager of the Merseyside giants, with the former Fulham midfielder scoring a brilliantly-finished goal as well as manning the midfield with excellence and poise that the visitors simply couldn’t handle.
Back in England, though, Tottenham were having an easier job and ran out 2-0 winners thanks to a brace from Ricahrlison, however, it was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who was the commanding performer on the night, with the £15m signing from Southampton stealing the show from the midfielder in the Dane’s first Champions League start.
Mbappe leads UCL Team of the Week with Shakhtar sensation Mudryk & Foden
With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo winding down on their careers, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland look set to become the next great Champions League striking rivals, yet despite both players scoring a brace, it’s the PSG star who makes it in the UCL Team of the Week this time around.
Playing against Italian giants Juventus, Mbappe, tore the Serie A side to pieces with two world-class goals in the opening half as PSG got off to a winning start in their Champions League group, with the French superstar no doubt likely to feature in another UCL Team of the Week this season.
Joining Mbappe in attack is Haaland’s Manchester City teammate Phil Foden, who like Cancelo, was a star for the English side in Spain as the winger bagged a goal and an assist in what was arguably the 21-year-old’s best performance of the season so far, with the England internationals set for a big year in Europe.
The final player in the UCL Team of the Week is Shakhtar Donetsk sensation Mykhaylo Mudryk, who with one goal and two assists sealed a famous win for the Ukrainian giants in Germany against RB Leipzig, with the likes of Fabrizio Romano even praising the 21-year-old for his incredible performance against the Bundesliga giants.
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