European Team of the Week: Assist king Lionel Messi features with Sergio Ramos and Angel Di Maria

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Here’s what our latest European Team of the Week looks like:

GK: Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

He got off to a shaky start when he rushed off his line as Toulouse striker Aaron Leya Iseka was put clean through and went around him only to strike the post. Mandanda recovered with an excellent save with his feet to deny Quentin Boisgard later in the half before making a stunning stop from Iseka’s near-post volley in the second half.

CB: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

He was lucky to avoid a sending off after his challenge on Ruben Garcia but was alert to give his side the lead before half-time as Casemiro played the ball across the face of the Osasuna goal. Was excellent defensively in the second half, making a game-high six clearances.

CB: Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan)

The centre-back produced a match-winning display in the Milan derby. Zlatan Ibrahimovic troubled him but he quickly rose to the challenge. Despite conceding twice, he made some crucial defensive interventions while his header to complete the comeback from 2-0 down was a thing of beauty.

CB: Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig)

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich had scored a whopping 16 goals in their previous four games but Dayot Upamecano led a defence that shut them out. He went toe-to-toe with Robert Lewandowski and won both aerial duels while recovering the ball 10 times and clearing it on eight occasions. Another commanding performance from the young Leipzig defender that will impress his numerous suitors.

RM: Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain)

Broke the deadlock expertly as he cut in from the right and beat the Lyon keeper at his near post. He then forced Anthony Lopes into action again with a shot from the edge of the box after some good link-up play. He then set up substitute Edinson Cavani unselfishly for the fourth goal in a 4-2 win for PSG.

CM: Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen)

Scored the winner in a seven-goal thriller against Borussia Dortmund, glancing in his header superbly from Daley Sinkgraven’s cross soon after Leon Bailey had equalised. In a pulsating encounter, the midfielder also registered six tackles and three interceptions.

CM: Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese)

Nearly scored with a venomous half-volley only for Brescia keeper Jesse Joronen to tip it onto the crossbar. His 115 touches were more than anyone else managed on the pitch while he also mustered four shots and six key passes, popping up with a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time.

LM: Dimitri Payet (Marseille)

Bamboozled the defender on the left flank before scoring from an impossible angle in a 2-0 win over Saint-Etienne last Wednesday. His stunning effort from range was the difference in a clash with Toulouse at the weekend.

RF: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Not only did Messi complete a hat-trick of assists to steer Barcelona to a 3-2 win over Real Betis but his contributions led to Clement Lenglet, Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong all scoring in the same match. Give him a seventh Ballon d’Or now!

CF: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan)

It should be surprising that a 38-year-old, who signed a six-month contract in January, is big hit but it’s Zlatan Ibrahomovic so it’s really not. He set up the Milan derby opener with a strong header before showing great instincts to score the second. He even hit the post with another header in the second half. I was a little isolated at times but didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.

LF: Richarlison (Everton)

Latched on to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s flicked header and drove at Gary Cahill menacingly before finishing into the far corner. His header from a corner came back off the woodwork but Calvert-Lewin stabbed in the rebound from close range to complete a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.