It was one of those wild Champions League weeks again, drama everywhere, goals flying in, and stars showing up when it really mattered. From Madrid to Istanbul, the continent lit up, and now UEFA’s Technical Observer Group has revealed their Team of the Week, a lineup that pulled players from 11 different clubs.
And of course, Kylian Mbappé took center stage. The Frenchman just can’t stop rewriting history, bagging a hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 5–0 rout of Kairat Almaty. That treble took him to 60 Champions League goals, which is just crazy numbers for a player who’s still only 26. The Frenchman is not just terrifyingly fast; he’s inevitable.
Elsewhere, Rasmus Højlund fired Napoli to their first win of the group stage, scoring two goals from his only two shots. The young Dane’s finishing has been ice-cold, and his confidence is growing every game, you can see he’s starting to believe he belongs at this level.
In Turkey, Uğurcan Çakır pulled off something nobody has done this season: a clean sheet against Liverpool. The Galatasaray keeper organised his defence like a general, and the stats back it up too; he was among the top five for xG prevented (0.79). Over in Monaco, Eric Dier turned back the clock, throwing his body at everything and then calmly scoring a last-minute penalty to rescue a 2–2 draw against Manchester City.
UEFA posted the list on their official X account:
Denzel Dumfries was everywhere for Inter in their 3–0 victory over Slavia Praha, scoring one and shutting down his flank completely. Federico Gatti impressed too, finding the net and making key recoveries for Juventus in their tight draw with Villarreal. Over in Spain, Nuno Mendes played a massive part in PSG’s comeback win at Barcelona Softfootball reports that his driving run set up the equaliser, and his energy didn’t drop once all night.
Martin Ødegaard once again pulled the strings for Arsenal in their 2–0 win over Olympiacos, scoring one and setting up another. Arsenal are no longer playing pretty football just for show; they’re grinding results like title contenders, and Softfootball made an article on why they will win the Premier League.
Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer also makes the cut after bossing the midfield during their 4–1 win against Athletic Club, while Nicolas Pépé turned on the style for Villarreal, mixing flair with a real work rate, something fans hadn’t always seen from him in past years.
Rounding off the XI is Jens Petter Hauge of Bodø/Glimt, who produced a dream performance against Tottenham, scoring twice and creating five key passes. For a small club like theirs, nights like that stay in memory for long.
Full List:
Uğurcan Çakır, Denzel Dumfries, Federico Gatti, Eric Dier, Nuno Mendes, Nicolas Pépé, Martin Ødegaard, Marcel Sabitzer, Jens Petter Hauge, Kylian Mbappé, Rasmus Højlund.
