Champions League Team Of The Week: Round 2
Rangers, Olympiakos, Lazio and Marseille put in the best performances this week, when the big guns were surprisingly off-colour.
However, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Arsenal had a good evening in the end, though Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Manchester United and Roma did not play poorly either.
Interestingly, Champions League finalists Liverpool and AC Milan were the worst! This week's best line up in a 3-4-3, with a number of strikers having had to be reduced to honourable mentions.
Goalkeepers
Mandanda (Marseille): It was clear from the start that Liverpool were struggling, and it was Mandanda's job to ensure that the Reds did not find much joy from distance, against the run of play. A number of quality saves to leave Rafa Benitez scratching out what little hair he had left.
Defenders
John Terry (Chelsea): The Blues' captain courageous never shirked a challenge, even if it was going in head first, despite playing with a mark and a fractured cheekbone. A leader's display against dangerous Valencia.
Kolo Toure (Arsenal): The Ivorian produced arguably the best defensive display of the week, standing firm in Romania as Nicolae Dica and his teammates tried repeatedly to split Arsenal wide open.
Gael Givet (Marseille): Fernando Torres and Peter Crouch looked absolutely atrocious, and a large part of the credit is due to Givet, who combined well with Julien Rodriguez to keep them inconspicuous.
Midfielders
Christos Patsatzoglou (Olympiakos): The wing-back turned it up a few notches, and his team responded by raising their game to come from behind and pick up their first ever away win in the Champions League.
Scott Brown (Celtic): The former Hibs midfielder was a man possessed against Milan, running all over the pitch and playing in his teammates with impressive dedication.
Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma): After going missing at Old Trafford last season, the next Giallorossi skipper was in the mood on Tuesday, doing anything and everything in the middle fo the pitch to make Manchester United struggle to control the game.
Joe Cole (Chelsea): A goal and an assist at the Mestalla saw him help Avram Grant silence critics in style, and make under pressure Abramovich jump with childlike enthusiasm. Could that just turn it around for the Blues?
Forwards
Daniel Cousin (Rangers): An inspired display, a goal and an assist as the Scots destroyed Lyon in their own backyard to get their qualification campaign up and running. The perfect way to head into a double header against Barcelona!
Goran Pandev (Lazio): Was in red hot form against Real Madrid, scoring twice to earn Lazio a much deserved point against Real Madrid. He was getting on the end of almost everything, turning half-chances into real goal threats, and could have had a few more on the night.
Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille): The little known striker was a constant nightmare for Carragher and Co., and got just reward for his persistence when his long range shot headed off target, then curled and dipped viciously to go in off the angle. Became an instant hero, and left the Reds tottering in Group A.
Mandanda
Terry-Toure-Givet
Patsatzoglou-Brown-De Rossi-J. Cole
Cousin-Pandev-Valbuena
Honourable Mentions
Big names such as Drogba (Chelsea), Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) all did well, but must make way for their less illustrious colleagues this week. Kanoute (Sevilla), Kuranyi (Schalke), Beasley and McCulloch (Rangers) also deserve mention.
At the back, Julien Escude (Sevilla), David Weir (Rangers) and Marek Cech (Porto) deserve mention, while in goal, Victor Valdes was the man for Barcelona, rescuing them repeatedly from Gomez and company when the defence looked at odds, well before three goals helped them seal a win.
Fernandinho and Jatson were both in fine form for Shakhtar as they pipped Benfica to go top, while Stoltidis (Olympiakos), Milos Krasic (CSKA Moskow), Poulsen (Sevilla) and Gabi Mudingayi (Lazio) were vital cogs in their respective teams' scheme of things.
Returning to the big clubs, Joaquin (Valencia), Scholes (Manchester United), Iniesta (Barcelona), Alexander Hleb (Arsenal) turned in some impressive displays.
goal.com
Rangers, Olympiakos, Lazio and Marseille put in the best performances this week, when the big guns were surprisingly off-colour.
However, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Arsenal had a good evening in the end, though Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Manchester United and Roma did not play poorly either.
Interestingly, Champions League finalists Liverpool and AC Milan were the worst! This week's best line up in a 3-4-3, with a number of strikers having had to be reduced to honourable mentions.
Goalkeepers
Mandanda (Marseille): It was clear from the start that Liverpool were struggling, and it was Mandanda's job to ensure that the Reds did not find much joy from distance, against the run of play. A number of quality saves to leave Rafa Benitez scratching out what little hair he had left.
Defenders
John Terry (Chelsea): The Blues' captain courageous never shirked a challenge, even if it was going in head first, despite playing with a mark and a fractured cheekbone. A leader's display against dangerous Valencia.
Kolo Toure (Arsenal): The Ivorian produced arguably the best defensive display of the week, standing firm in Romania as Nicolae Dica and his teammates tried repeatedly to split Arsenal wide open.
Gael Givet (Marseille): Fernando Torres and Peter Crouch looked absolutely atrocious, and a large part of the credit is due to Givet, who combined well with Julien Rodriguez to keep them inconspicuous.
Midfielders
Christos Patsatzoglou (Olympiakos): The wing-back turned it up a few notches, and his team responded by raising their game to come from behind and pick up their first ever away win in the Champions League.
Scott Brown (Celtic): The former Hibs midfielder was a man possessed against Milan, running all over the pitch and playing in his teammates with impressive dedication.
Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma): After going missing at Old Trafford last season, the next Giallorossi skipper was in the mood on Tuesday, doing anything and everything in the middle fo the pitch to make Manchester United struggle to control the game.
Joe Cole (Chelsea): A goal and an assist at the Mestalla saw him help Avram Grant silence critics in style, and make under pressure Abramovich jump with childlike enthusiasm. Could that just turn it around for the Blues?
Forwards
Daniel Cousin (Rangers): An inspired display, a goal and an assist as the Scots destroyed Lyon in their own backyard to get their qualification campaign up and running. The perfect way to head into a double header against Barcelona!
Goran Pandev (Lazio): Was in red hot form against Real Madrid, scoring twice to earn Lazio a much deserved point against Real Madrid. He was getting on the end of almost everything, turning half-chances into real goal threats, and could have had a few more on the night.
Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille): The little known striker was a constant nightmare for Carragher and Co., and got just reward for his persistence when his long range shot headed off target, then curled and dipped viciously to go in off the angle. Became an instant hero, and left the Reds tottering in Group A.
Mandanda
Terry-Toure-Givet
Patsatzoglou-Brown-De Rossi-J. Cole
Cousin-Pandev-Valbuena
Honourable Mentions
Big names such as Drogba (Chelsea), Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) all did well, but must make way for their less illustrious colleagues this week. Kanoute (Sevilla), Kuranyi (Schalke), Beasley and McCulloch (Rangers) also deserve mention.
At the back, Julien Escude (Sevilla), David Weir (Rangers) and Marek Cech (Porto) deserve mention, while in goal, Victor Valdes was the man for Barcelona, rescuing them repeatedly from Gomez and company when the defence looked at odds, well before three goals helped them seal a win.
Fernandinho and Jatson were both in fine form for Shakhtar as they pipped Benfica to go top, while Stoltidis (Olympiakos), Milos Krasic (CSKA Moskow), Poulsen (Sevilla) and Gabi Mudingayi (Lazio) were vital cogs in their respective teams' scheme of things.
Returning to the big clubs, Joaquin (Valencia), Scholes (Manchester United), Iniesta (Barcelona), Alexander Hleb (Arsenal) turned in some impressive displays.
goal.com
Buy on AliExpress.com
:rofl2:
