Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
What a performance from the big Belgian, reminiscent of his iconic shift in the 2022 Final. This time around, his eight saves couldn’t prevent Madrid’s defeat, but the scoreline would have been much worse without him.
Defence: Conor Bradley (Liverpool)
Bradley’s best performance in a Liverpool shirt, on a night that threatened to be overshadowed by the return of Trent. The 22-year-old won three tackles and seven duels, locking down the right-hand channel and keeping Vinícius Júnior quiet.
Defence: Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur)
An early contender for the Puskás Award, van de Ven continued his impressive goalscoring form for Tottenham. Having picked the ball up deep inside the Spurs half, the Dutchman ran the length of the field dodging half-hearted challenges, before coolly slotting past the keeper. A goal, clean sheet and three points – a good day at the office.
Defence: Dan Burn (Newcastle United)
Newcastle have had a poor domestic season so far, but sit level on points in Europe with PSG, Real Madrid and Liverpool after three wins from four. Dan Burn’s bullet header opened the scoring against Athletic Club, before putting in a solid defensive shift to secure the clean sheet.
Defence: Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich)
Another impressive shift from Konrad Laimer in Bayern’s back four.
Tasked with defending Khvicha Kavaratskhelia, Laimer came out on top with three interceptions, five clearances and eight duels as the ten men of Bayern held on to the points.
Midfield: Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
The standout performer from across the gameweek. Szoboszlai was at the heart of everything good for Liverpool; dominating the midfield, feeding the forwards and regularly testing Courtois. Managed to find the head of one of the smallest players on the pitch for Alexis Mac Allister’s winner.
Midfield: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
About time someone other than Haaland was among the goals for City – Foden bagged a brace with two cushioned curling efforts into the far corner. He was lively throughout and looked back to his best.
Forward: Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge)
Club Brugge were close to pulling off the shock of the gameweek against Barcelona, but still came away with an impressive point. Carlos Forbs scored two and grabbed an assist from the right wing, giving Alejandro Balde a torrid time throughout.
Forward: Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray)
Osimhen and Galatasaray’s great start to the Champions League continued as the Nigerian bagged a second half hat-trick in the 3-0 away win over Ajax. Now up to 6 goals, Osimhen sits top of the scorers chart ahead of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane with 5.
Forward: Mikel Merino (Arsenal)
With Viktor Gyökeres sidelined for the foreseeable future, Mikel Merino will be the focal point of the Arsenal attack. Against Slavia Prague, the Spaniard picked up where he left off; scoring a brace and looking like a natural frontman in Arteta’s system. If this goalscoring form continues, Gyökeres will have a fight on his hands to win the starting spot back.
Forward: Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich)
Luis Díaz delivered a first-half performance that had it all. An early double set Bayern up for the three points, before his rash challenge on Hakimi resulted in an early shower for the Colombian. He will now miss the visit to Arsenal, a massive miss for the Bavarians.
