🇪🇺 OneFootball's European Team of the Weekend | OneFootball

Serie A and the Bundesliga joined the rest of Europe’s top five leagues in making a return to action over the weekend.

But who impressed most across the continent to make our star XI in a 3-5-2 formation?

GK: Frederik Rønnow (Union Berlin)

Two penalties saved in a 4-1 victory? Rønnow and Union are starting like they mean to go on as they prepare for a momentous campaign which will see them compete in the Champions League for the first time.

RWB: Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)

There were some outstanding wing-back and full-back performances this weekend, particularly from Germany where Pascal Stenzel shone in Stuttgart’s big win, but Frimpong was sensational against RB Leipzig, terrorising them with his constant forays forward and ending with a goal and assist in an impressive opening win.

CB: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)

Playing in a centre-back role, the versatile Dutchman brought the ball forward with ease throughout to keep his side’s momentum going, won many of his defensive duels and was cool throughout in dealing with the Cádiz press. It may not be his preferred position but he still excelled.

CB: Ozan Kabak (Hoffenheim)

The 23-year-old had an afternoon of mixed fortunes in his side’s opener. He found the net and pulled off two huge clearances which denied Freiburg certain goals in his day job – but it still wasn’t enough to prevent his side falling to defeat.

CB: Denis Zakaria (Monaco)

Like De Jong, Zakaria wasn’t the only midfielder who found himself in a deeper role over the weekend due to injuries and like De Jong, he took to his new surroundings effortlessly. Not only was he in an unfamiliar role, it was also the Swiss international’s Monaco debut – making his adaptation all the more impressive as he never looked daunted by the occasion.

LWB: Pervis Estupiñan (Brighton)

For the second week in a row, the flying Brighton defender makes the cut. At Molineux, he abandoned almost all defensive instincts to pin Wolves back and overlap time and time again to help his side pick up another big win, finishing up with an assist and a goal.

CM: Yves Bissouma (Tottenham)

Bissouma scooped Spurs’ Man of the Match award for the second successive game and appears to be a man rejuvenated in Ange Postecoglou’s side. During their win over Manchester United, he covered every blade of grass, nullifying the visitors at the back when needed and constantly setting the tempo to push his side forward in pursuit of goals.

CM: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

Like Estupiñan, the Real Madrid phenom makes it for the second week in a row as his two goals helped his side to a 3-1 win at Almería, meaning he is just the third LaLiga player in the 21st century to be involved in four goals in his first two games. “I feel like I’m 10 times better as a player than last season,” he said afterwards. It’s hard to argue.

CAM: Takumi Minamino (Monaco)

The Japan international already looks to be a man reborn this season. His confidence looks to be back as he was directly involved in every goal in Monaco’s 3-0 win over Strasbourg. He scored the first with a long-range wonder goal, added a cool finish for the second and then assisted for the third.

ST: Kevin Behrens (Union Berlin)

The 32-year-old hasn’t exactly been prolific since making the move to the capital in 2021 but made history in their season opener win, netting a hat-trick of headers to become the first player to achieve that feat since Opta started collecting such data 20 years ago. And then capped off an incredible day by simply cycling home afterwards.

ST: Lautaro Martínez (Inter)

No player has scored more goals in Serie A over the past three seasons than the Inter captain who started the campaign in intimidating form with two close range finishes to sink Monza and get the Nerazzurri up and running. In 2023, he is averaging a goal every 89.91 minutes – no player in Europe has a better record.