The UEFA Champions League makes for a great football spectacle, and the new 36-team league format has the whole world talking after the competition’s opening matchday.
57 goals were scored in 18 matches and across 18 different venues as some of Europe’s big hitters lived up to expectations in an entertaining round of matches.
Put together by insights from its journalists and researchers, Afrosport has come up with a list showing 11 of the best performers from the Champions League matchday one in what is tagged “The Afrosport UCL Team of the Week”.
Formation: 4-2-2-2
Goalkeeper
David Raya – Arsenal
Arsenal were not their usual selves at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo when they faced reigning Europa League champions Atalanta.
The Gunners didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength for much of the game, but one man who was his ever-reliable self was Spanish shot-stopper David Raya. The former Brentford man spared Arsenal’s blushes, saving a penalty from Mateo Retegui as well as the Italian’s rebound effort, to earn Mikel Arteta’s men a point and help them avoid defeat.
Defenders
Jeremie Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen
Feyenoord’s De Kuip couldn’t contain the fire that Bayer Leverkusen brought, and the German champions ran riot in the Netherlands, sealing a 4-0 win over the hosts.
One man at the forefront of this breathtaking performance was Dutch defender Jeremie Frimpong, whose trademark marauding runs birthed two assists as he provided Leverkusen’s second and third goals. The Dutchman was also crucial to helping Xabi Alonso’s side keep a clean sheet as they recorded their joint-biggest win in the Champions League.
Virgil Van Dijk – Liverpool
Cool, calm, and collected—those are the words that best describe the Liverpool captain, who scored the second goal in their 3-1 win over AC Milan at the infamous San Siro Stadium.
Although the Reds swiftly fell behind to a Christian Pulisic strike in the third minute, Ibrahima Konate drew them level 20 minutes later. Van Dijk completed their comeback with a towering header in the 41st minute before Dominik Szoboszlai added the third.
Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid
With Real Madrid finding it hard to find a breakthrough against Stuttgart as the scores were tied at 1-1, Rudiger rose highest to head home a Luka Modric corner and put the defending champions ahead in what ended in a 3-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The German was in inspired form, as he initially earned Los Blancos a penalty in the first half before it was ruled out after a VAR review. The 31-year-old was also solid defensively, keeping a troublesome Stuttgart attack from further punishing his side.
Vanderson Campos – AS Monaco
Although a bit uncharacteristically shaky on defence, that can be excused as the Brazilian was playing as a left-back instead of his usual right-back role.
However, this did not deter him from making his forward runs, which bore great dividends as he was Monaco’s creator-in-chief in their historic 2-1 win over Barcelona, providing the assists for the two goals.
Midfielders
Michael Olise – Bayern Munich
As competition debuts go, Olise might not have anyone better than this, as the former Crystal Palace winger scored twice in his maiden Champions League match.
The Frenchman scored in the 38th and 61st minutes to help Bayern Munich complete a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb at Allianz Arena as they became the first side in Champions League history to score 9 or more goals in a single game.
Youri Tielemans – Aston Villa
In what was their first UEFA Champions League match, Aston Villa returned among Europe’s elites after 41 years. The European champions, however, were spotless and didn’t look out of place as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Young Boys at the Wankdorf Stadium.
Belgian midfielder Tielemans was at the forefront of every good thing the Villans did, scoring once and providing another goal as Unai Emery’s side announced themselves to the European top division.
Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen
The German had a memorable debut in the Champions League, one which many others can only dream of.
Wirtz, 21, scored Leverkusen’s first and third goals in their rout of Feyenoord, becoming the first German to score two or more goals on his Champions League debut.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens – Borussia Dortmund
Matchday one was filled with lots of goalscorers and magicians, but none neared the heroics of English forward Bynoe-Gittens, who came off the bench to score a brace as Borussia Dortmund beat Club Brugge 3-0 at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
The 20-year-old replaced the more experienced Marcel Sabitzer in the 68th minute, and eight minutes later, he put Dortmund ahead before making it two in the 86th minute to become the second youngest player (20y 41d) to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League match
Forwards
Harry Kane – Bayern Munich
Kane scored 44.4% of Bayern Munich’s goal in their heavy victory over Dinamo Zagread. The 31-year-old scored four goals, including three penalties, to become the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a single European Cup/UEFA Champions League match.
The Three Lions captain also became the first Englishman to score four goals in a game in the competition since Arsenal’s Alan Smith, while also surpassing Wayne Rooney (30) to emerge as the highest scoring Englishman in the competition’s history (33).
Victor Olatunji – Sparta Prague
It was a night of many firsts across different venues in matchday one, and the epet ARENA in the Czech Republic was not left out as Nigerian forward Victor Olatunji scored and assisted in his Champions League debut, a 3-0 win for Sparta Prague over RB Salzburg.
The 25-year-old became the first Nigerian to score and assist in his debut in the competition and the third African to do so as Sparta claimed their first win in the competition since 2003.
Coach
Vincent Kompany – Bayern Munich
The former Mancheser City defender led Bayern Munich to a resounding victory in their opening game as they maintained their perfect start to the season on all competitions.
