European Team of the Week: Chelsea's Tammy Abraham and Barcelona's Ansu Fati feature as young guns shine

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  • Ansu Fati.

    There’s a lot of European football to consume on a weekly basis and plenty of top performances that warrant our attention.

    Whether it’s a flurry of goals from a single player or underrated contributions that had big impacts, we’re keeping an eye on them.

    As such, after every round of fixtures in Europe’s top five leagues, we pick out the outstanding performers and slot them into our Team of the Week.

    Here’s our latest selection:

    (4-4-2)

    GK: THIBAUT COURTOIS | REAL MADRID

    The Belgium No1 had very little to do at a damp Santiago Bernabeu.

    He, however, averted disaster in the fraught final moments against Levante. With the score set at a fraught 3-2, a threatening free-kick was curled into Ruben Vezo’s path.

    The Portuguese centre-back made a solid connection, only for Courtois to spread himself wide and repel his effort.

    RB: CHRISTOPHE JALLET | AMIENS

    The timeless right-back was at his best versus vaunted former employers.

    A fortunate seventh-minute goal saw his deep free-kick spin into the top corner once Lyon centre-back Joachim Andersson failed to stretch his leg and clear. His 91st-minute header then allowed midfielder Mathieu Bodmer – another veteran ex-Les Gones player – to secure a memorable 2-2 draw.

    CB: NIKOLA MILENKOVIC | FIORENTINA

    Maurizio Sarri’s first experience on the touchline for Juventus ended in frustration – and Serbia centre-back Milenkovic was a key source of this pain.

    Played on the right-hand side of a three-man defence, the 21-year-old helped shackle Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain. There could even have been greater cause for personal celebration, a 77th-minute header being superbly repelled by Poland No1 Wojciech Szczesny to maintain the champions’ unbeaten start.

    CB: LUCA CEPPITELLI | CAGLIARI

    Ceppitelli showed the Rossoblu attackers how it’s done, netting a first-half brace in their 3-1 victory against Parma.

    The skipper swept home from just inside the penalty area, then powerfully headed in a 39th-minute second. In the process, he became the first defender in Europe’s top-five leagues during 2019/20 to double up in a single game.

    LB: NACHO MONREAL | REAL SOCIEDAD

    What a smart pick-up Monreal is proving to be.

    The 33-year-old preyed upon a rare Jan Oblak fumble to tap-in and seal a seriously impressive 2-0 victory for La Real against then-unbeaten Atletico Madrd.

    At the other end of the pitch, his experience within a youthful side helped repel the threats of Joao Felix and in-form Vitolo.

    RW: ANSU FATI | BARCELONA

    The kid can play.

    New benchmarks keep being set by the 16-year-old sensation. In the 5-2 dismantling of Valencia, he became the youngest player in La Liga history to score and assist a goal in the same game.

    This was the Frenkie de Jong and Fati show – both players teeing the other up for goals. It takes some talent to fill the void left by the absent Lionel Messi.

    CM: KENNY MCLEAN | NORWICH

    McLean symbolised everything good about the Canaries in their shock 3-2 triumph against champions Manchester City.

    The Scotland centre midfielder pressed high and fast from kick-off to unsettle Pep Guardiola’s thoroughbreds. He would then adroitly take advantage of a recurring weakness at the near post from set-plays and flick in a memorable opener.

    CM: MARCO REUS | BORUSSIA DORTMUND

    One of the results of the weekend was BVB’s surgical 4-0 dismantling of Bayer Leverkusen.

    Germany forward Reus put the scalpel into the visitors, netting a brace to send his side back top of the nascent Bundesliga. An unselfish fake shot by Paco Alcacer teed him up five minutes after the restart, before completing the rout on 90 minutes.

    LW: AMINE HARIT | SCHALKE

    This is how you end a nine-month Bundesliga drought.

    The Morocco midfielder was simply unplayable in the 5-1 humbling of Paderborn.

    Harit deftly let the ball go across him to curl in his 71st-minute first, before finding the bottom corner at the death to end the scoring. This was also a first Bundesliga brace for the 22-year-old.

    CF: TAMMY ABRAHAM | CHELSEA

    Abraham’s prodigious talent continued to shine bright during a memorable 5-2 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

    The 21-year-old became the first player in Premier League history to notch a hat-trick and own goal in the same match. His three-goal haul also moved him top of the 2019/20 Premier League scoring charts with seven.

    CF: DARIO BENEDETTO | MARSEILLE

    What a pick-up the Argentina centre forward is proving to be.

    The €14 million summer addition from Boca Juniors was brilliant again in the south-coast clash at Monaco. Sunday’s hosts charged into a 2-0 lead, only for Benedeto to strike twice – and rock the crossbar – in an eventual 4-3 win.

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