SM
Friday, May 30
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week: Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Joao Neves

:Headline: Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week: Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Joao Neves:
Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Week from the latest round of action, including Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Joao Neves.
Sports Mole

Liverpool and Barcelona have both secured their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League, while nine teams have been eliminated following the penultimate round of matches in this season's league phase.

Liverpool's 2-1 success over Lille continued their perfect record in the competition, with the Reds top of the table on 21 points, while Barcelona beat Benfica 5-4 in a thrilling affair to book their spot in the next round with a game to spare.

Four teams have secured at least a spot in the playoffs as a seeded side, with Arsenal beating DInamo Zagreb 3-0, Inter Milan recording a 1-0 win over Sparta Prague, Atletico Madrid beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 and AC Milan overcoming Girona 1-0.

A further 12 teams have also secured a spot in the playoffs - Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus and Celtic are among those.

Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Monaco on Tuesday, Bayern were beaten 3-0 by Feyenoord, while Juventus were held to a goalless draw by Club Brugge, but Real Madrid thumped Red Bull Salzburg 5-1 in a stunning performance, while Celtic beat Young Boys 1-0 on home soil.

Paris Saint-Germain moved into 22nd spot in the table courtesy of a 4-2 success over Manchester City, who are currently outside of the playoff spots in 25th, with Pep Guardiola's shock facing a shock elimination.

Elsewhere, Atalanta BC thumped Sturm Graz 5-0, with the Italians in seventh, while Bologna were 2-1 winners over Borussia Dortmund; also on Tuesday, PSV Eindhoven beat Red Star Belgrade 3-2, while Stuttgart overcame Slovan Bratislava 3-1.

RB Leipzig beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Wednesday, while Shakhtar Donetsk recorded a 2-0 victory over Brest.

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


DEFENCE

Feyenoord's Justin Bijlow is given the nod between the sticks, with the 27-year-old outstanding in his side's 3-0 win over Bayern, making seven saves in total, while he was also dominant aerially during a fine performance.

There had to be a spot in the back three for Monaco's Wilfried Singo, who scored the only goal of the match in his side's 1-0 success over Villa; the 24-year-old won two aerial duels, made two tackles and finished with a pass success rate of 84% in an excellent performance.

Club Brugge's Brandon Mechele also makes it, with the 31-year-old playing a major role in his side holding Juventus to a goalless draw on Tuesday night; the centre-back was defensively excellent, while he completed 45 of his 53 passes against the Italian giants.

The defensive unit is completed by Inter's Alessandro Bastoni, who came up with the assist for Lautaro Martinez to find the back of the net against Sparta Prague; it was the Italian's defensive performance that impressed the most, though, as he played a major role in keeping out the opposition.


MIDFIELD

Joao Neves was excellent against Man City on Wednesday night, with the Portugal international playing a vital role in PSG's statement win; the midfielder was on the scoresheet in Paris, while he made seven tackles and completed 55 of his 62 passes in a sensational display.

Charles De Ketelaere was another outstanding midfield performer, with the 23-year-old scoring once and providing one assist in Atalanta's five-goal success over Sturm Graz; the Belgian played further forward on Tuesday, but he is included in a deeper position here.

Kevin is also included due to his excellent performance for Shakhtar against Brest; the 22-year-old was on the scoresheet in the European affair, while he managed six successful dribbles and made three tackles during a standout display in a wide area.

There also had to be a spot in the team for Jamie Leweling, who was terrific against Slovan Bratislava, coming up with two goals from a wide position; the 23-year-old had six shots in total during the European clash, with the hosts simply unable to deal with him.


ATTACK

Julian Alvarez, Luuk de Jong, Rodrygo and Santiago Gimenez scored braces in this gameweek, but all four had to be left out considering the performances of three other attackers in the latest set of fixtures.

Vinicius Junior had to be included considering his performance against Salzburg, with the Brazilian scoring twice in the second period of his side's 5-1 success, while he was also heavily involved in the first goal, with the attacker at his best on Wednesday night.

Raphinha, meanwhile, scored twice in Barcelona's incredible comeback-win over Benfica on Tuesday night; the Brazilian was the player driving his team forward during their difficult periods, with the 28-year-old tracking back to help his side before making a difference down the other end.

There is also a hat-trick hero in this XI, with Vangelis Pavlidis scoring three times in Benfica's clash with Barcelona, but it was not enough for the Portuguese outfit to secure a positive result in the nine-goal contest.

Pavlidis had seven shots in total during a brilliant performance, and the 26-year-old did not deserve to be on the losing side.


SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Biljow (Feyenoord); Mechele (Club Brugge), Singo (Monaco), Bastoni (Inter); Leweling (Stuttgart), Neves (PSG), De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Kevin (Shakhtar); Raphinha (Barcelona), Pavlidis (Benfica), Vinicius (Real Madrid)


body check tags ::

amp_article__563631 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2025-01-23 12:59:47:
html db last update - 2025-01-23 12:59:47 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:
RM
Read Next:
Bellingham, Saka, Vinicius: Champions League Team of the Week
>


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Lautaro Martinez Alessandro Bastoni Brandon Mechele Wilfried Singo Justin Bijlow Charles De Ketelaere Jamie Leweling Joao Neves Santiago Gimenez Rodrygo Luuk de Jong Julian Alvarez Vinicius Junior Raphinha Vangelis Pavlidis Pep Guardiola Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories.
 
Recommended Next on SM
Bellingham, Saka, Vinicius: Champions League Team of the Week
I'm Gunner stay: Arsenal centre-back 'on verge' of signing new contract
How 'productive' Fernandes talks could lead to possible Ronaldo reunion
Aston Villa to rival Newcastle for Kieran Tierney?

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLiverpool38259486414584
2Arsenal382014469343574
3Manchester CityMan City38218972442871
4Chelsea38209964432169
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle382061268472166
6Aston Villa38199105851766
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest381981158461265
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton38161396659761
9Bournemouth3815111258461256
10Brentford38168146657956
11Fulham38159145454054
12Crystal Palace381314115151053
13Everton381115124244-248
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham381110174662-1643
15Manchester UnitedMan Utd38119184454-1042
16Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38126205469-1542
17Tottenham HotspurSpurs38115226465-138
RLeicester CityLeicester3867253380-4725
RIpswich TownIpswich38410243682-4622
RSouthampton3826302686-6012
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Dream shirt battle brewing as Chelsea strike 'total agreement' for Delap deal

1

DS

How 'productive' Fernandes talks could lead to possible Ronaldo reunion

2

H'

Preview: Gamba Osaka vs. Kashima Antlers - prediction, team news, lineups

3

PG

Preview: Seattle vs. Minnesota Utd - prediction, team news, lineups

4

PS

Luk who's back: Modric 'seriously considering' shock move to British giants

5

LW

I'm Gunner stay: Arsenal centre-back 'on verge' of signing new contract

6

IG

Preview: Antalyaspor vs. Trabzonspor - prediction, team news, lineups

7

PA

Preview: Kasimpasa vs. Goztepe SK - prediction, team news, lineups

8

PK

Ronaldo "in negotiations" over deal that could jeopardise Messi last dance

9

R&

Man City have "clearly identified" summer targets as "swift" transfer prediction is made

10

MC


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OSZAR »