OneFootball
Lewis Ambrose·18 September 2023
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Lewis Ambrose·18 September 2023
The international break is long gone and club football delivered a weekend to remember. Here, squeezed into a 4-4-2, is an XI of players who truly stood out.
Lens had an astonishing 31 shots (10 on target) but could not find a way through as they lost 1-0 to Metz on Saturday. There was barely a moment of rest for Oukidja in goal and the pick of the bunch came against Elye Wahi before the break.
A first Barcelona start brought a first Barcelona goal for João Cancelo in a superb performance against Real Betis. Tucking into midfield, he was excellent throughout the 5-0 win and capped his performance with a superb goal.
Valencia were dominant as they beat Atlético de Madrid 3-0 over the weekend and Diakhaby stood out at the back, standing up to the questions asked by Álvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann and consistently getting himself into the right places at the right time.
A surprise Mats Hummels brace on Saturday helped Borussia Dortmund to a win at SC Freiburg as the centre-half made it a joint-record 16 consecutive Bundesliga seasons with at least one goal scored. Solid in defence, the 34-year-old was head and shoulders above the rest in both boxes.
Usually a right-back, Lamptey played on the left for Brighton at Old Trafford and shone in the position, chipping in with two assists and answering every question asked of him defensively.
Possibly the signing of the summer, Xavi Simons shone yet again on Saturday as he made it a goal and an assist in a third consecutive Bundesliga outing, nodding home the opener before sliding Loïs Openda through for the second goal of the game.
Cristante dominated in midfield as Roma ran riot on Sunday, scoring seven against Empoli, with the 28-year-old scoring one and assisting two more in the rout.
Inter looked unstoppable as they beat city rivals Milan 5-1 on Saturday and no player was more impressive than Mkhitaryan. A bundle of energy with and without the ball, the Armenian battled when needed and struck in the final third with two goals and an assist.
Doku opened his Manchester City account with a wonderful goal and he impressed manager Pep Guardiola too.
I had the feeling he was a little bit shy (against Fulham),” the Manchester City boss said. “Today, no.”
A chipped finish with his right after running in behind, a cooly slid effort inside the near post after beating a defender, then a superb bit of skill and composure to flick the ball over another defender and lob the goalkeeper with a header. Guirassy made it eight goals in four Bundesliga games this season in style with a perfect hat-trick at Mainz.
Nice stunned PSG on Friday evening as Moffi dominated proceedings in a 3-1 win in the French capital. Moffi scored two and assisted another as he terrorised the PSG backline all game long with his endless running and quality in possession.