With El Clasico the biggest game of the weekend in Spain, and the race very much alive for the Champions League places in England, Germany, Italy and France, it was another fascinating couple of days of action across Europe’s top five leagues.
From a two-goal display in Arsene Wenger’s final home game in charge of Arsenal, to another brace for Champions League chasing RB Leipzig, there were some memorable individual performances.
Here we take a look at our European Team of the Week…
GK: Mathieu Gorgelin (Lyon)
Lyon may have won 3-0 against Troyes, but they certainly didn’t have it all their own way. Mathieu Gorgelin was instrumental in helping his side keep a clean sheet, producing five saves. The best of the bunch came 15 minutes from time as Troyes chased the game, making a terrific one-handed stop to keep out Karim Azamoum’s 30-yard free-kick. Gorgelin’s distribution was also impressive, with a 94 per cent pass accuracy.
RB: Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)
Hector Bellerin grabbed two assists for Arsenal against Burnley.
Burnley found it tough to deal with Bellerin’s surging runs forward from right-back all day long at the Emirates. The Spaniard provided two excellent assists, the first of which was a cut-back for Alexandre Lacazette, who finished superbly on the volley. Bellerin’s second arrived late on, as he played an inch-perfect ball across for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Defensively, the 23-year-old made two tackles and four clearances to help keep a clean sheet.
CB: Andrea Ranocchia (Internazionale)
The defender set Inter on their way to an excellent 4-0 win away at Udinese thanks to a deft near-post header from a corner with just 12 minutes gone. The 30-year-old was in superb form defensively alongside Milan Skriniar after that, as he made two tackles, two interceptions, two clearances and won two aerial duels to halt Udinese’s efforts to get themselves back in the game.
CB: Thilo Kehrer (Schalke)
A two-goal display from the defender that helped Schalke assure themselves of second place in the Bundesliga. Kehrer showed excellent technical ability to open the scoring, flicking Guido Burgstaller’s wayward shot into the far corner with a neat flick, before his glancing header was deflected in to give his side a 2-1 lead. Kehrer also excelled defensively, making eight clearances, two tackles and one interception.
LB: Ferland Mendy (Lyon)
A terrific attacking display from the full-back, as he played a crucial role in Lyon’s 3-0 home victory against Troyes. Mendy did superbly well to set up Bertrand Traore for his second goal of the game, as he crossed perfectly for the forward to head home. The defender then played a delicious ball over the top of the defence for Gnaly Maxwell Cornet to fire home two minutes from time.
CM: James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich)
Rodriguez put the disappointment of Bayern’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League behind him with a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win against FC Cologne. The Colombian was in the right place at the right time to level the scores just before the hour mark, as he tapped home from Thomas Muller’s header back across goal. He then teed up Corentin Tolisso for Bayern’s third with a teasing delivery into the box.
CM: Dimitri Payet (Marseille)
Dimitri Payet was superb for Marseille against OGC Nice.
Another midfield masterclass from Marseille’s magician. Payet was key in helping his side record a come-from-behind win against OGC Nice that kept alive Marseille’s hopes of a top-three finish. After Mario Balotelli had opened the scoring, Payet produced a terrific cross that was finished well by Valere Germain, before the Frenchman won it, showing great composure to pick up a loose ball and tap home from close range.
CAM: Ademola Lookman (RB Leipzig)
The Everton loanee looked bright for RB Leipzig, as they recorded an emphatic 4-1 win against Wolfsburg. Lookman opened the scoring, as he slid in to meet Jean-Kevin Augustin’s cross, before doubling his tally with a composed finish to make it 3-1 shortly after the break. The youngster also played a key role in Leipzig’s fourth, with his surging run and pass helping Augustin on his way to netting a goal of his own.
CAM: Naim Sliti (Dijon)
A complete midfield performance from Sliti for Dijon in their 3-1 win against Guingamp. The Tunisian was everywhere, making five key passes and recording an impressive 11 dribbles in his side’s victory. It was from his dangerous corner that Cedric Yambere was able to make it 2-1, before Sliti rounded off the scoring himself with a goal from close range, having previously been denied by the goalkeeper.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
The former Borussia Dortmund man has taken to life in the Premier League with relative ease. He was once again excellent for Arsenal as they hammered Burnley 5-0. A well-timed run allowed him to tap home from Alexandre Lacazette’s cross to open the scoring, before he turned provider for Arsenal’s fourth with a pass inside for Alex Iwobi. Aubameyang completed the scoring with a neat finish from Bellerin’s cross.
ST: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Down to ten men and with their unbeaten run on the line against their biggest rivals, Barcelona needed someone to step up. That man, of course, had to be Messi. The Argentine netted his 551st goal for the club to put them 2-1 ahead, despite the man disadvantage. Messi was also denied by two excellent Keylor Navas saves, as both he and Luis Suarez worked tirelessly in attack for Ernesto Valverde’s side.
