European Team of the Week: 19-21 May

GK: Maxime Dupé (Toulouse Football Club)

Toulouse’s solid run of form of late has gifted the Occitanie club another crack at Ligue 1 football next season after taking points in four of their last six fixtures, including a credible 0-0 draw away against OGC Nice at the weekend, with goalkeeper Maxime Dupé making eight saves across an influential performance.

📊 Pour la 3e fois cette saison, @maximedupe a réussi 8 arrêts lors d’un match du @Toulousefc :

9🆚PSG le 31 août 2022
8🆚Monaco le 6 novembre 2022
8🆚Nice le 21 mai 2023#OGCNTFC pic.twitter.com/AN7PCYWsBd

— TFC Database (@TFCDatabase) May 22, 2023

RB: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli)

The story of Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s rise from relative football obscurity to becoming captain of Napoli, which has now included leading the club to its first Serie A title since the days of Maradona, continued at the weekend with a fantastic goal in a big win over Inter Milan to help push the club toward cracking the 90-point barrier.

Something new last night. First ever two-way live interview in Italian & English with the man who will soon become Napoli’s second ever captain to lift the Scudetto 💙🏆

Giovanni Di Lorenzo: @btsportfootball pic.twitter.com/FiFNmHO6yu

— Adriano Del Monte (@adriandelmonte) May 22, 2023

RCB: Sebastiano Luperto (Empoli Football Club)

A huge 4-1 thrashing of Juventus left Empoli supporters dancing into the night on Monday evening as the club continued its hot run of form of late to guarantee Serie A football next season, with the center-back defending stoutly while also finding the back of the net in the process.

🇪🇺 Il nostro Sebastiano Luperto nell’Europe’s Top 5 Leagues Team of the Week by @WhoScored https://t.co/iP97nW264S

— Empoli Football Club Official (@EmpoliFC) May 23, 2023

LCB: Sinaly Diomandé (Olympique Lyonnais)

Linked with a host of clubs that could prize him away from the Rhône Valley this summer, Ivorian defender Sinaly Diomandé put in a polished defensive performance this weekend while helping Olympique Lyonnais to a vital three points against AS Monaco, which still sees them in the race for Europe.

Lyon defender Sinaly Diomandé (22) has attracted interest from clubs around Europe, including Eintracht Frankfurt and Bologna. (FM)https://t.co/kLo7RcjJmj

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) May 18, 2023

LB: Roland Sallai (Sport-Club Freiburg e.V.)

A frustrating season for Hungarian international forward Roland Sallai may see him leave in the summer, but his contributions at the weekend – while featuring at full-back – came by way of a brace of assists across recent appearances that have been vital to Christian Streich’s cause.

🇭🇺 Roland Sallai in his last five games:

– 1 goal
– 4 assists
– 1 penalty won

6 goal contributions in just 290 minutes.

He’s on fire on the pitch despite going through a difficult time off it.

The summer can’t come soon enough. Time to move on. pic.twitter.com/SHcdbdp5cc

— Bence Bocsák (@BenBocsak) May 19, 2023

RCM: Amine Gouiri (Stade Rennais Football Club)

Stade Rennais’ star Amine Gouiri set personal records at the weekend during a 5-0 thrashing of Ajaccio away from home, bagging a hattrick and hitting a career single-season high for goals while helping the Brittany-based outfit keep their top-five dreams alive.

🔎 | FOCUS

Amine Gouiri starred in Rennes’ emphatic 5–0 win away to Ajaccio:

⏱️ 72’ played
👌 28 touches
⚽️ 3 goals
🎯 4 shots/3 on target
💨 1/1 successful dribbles
⚔️ 4/6 duels won
🦵 2 tackles
📈 9.3 Sofascore rating

🔥🔥#AJASRFC pic.twitter.com/nvw6CF18aN

— Sofascore (@SofascoreINT) May 21, 2023

CM: Konrad Laimer (RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V.)

The moment Bayern let the title race slip away? 🔴🤦

Konrad Laimer’s composed finish at the Allianz Arena last weekend set RB Leipzig on the path to a 3-1 victory that could yet end Bayern’s 10-year hold on the Bundesliga. 🇩🇪🏆 pic.twitter.com/rOqHemTqCj

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) May 23, 2023

LCM: Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad de Fútbol)

Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino remains at the center of the club’s fight to feature in the Champions League next season, with the Spanish midfielder bagging a goal in a 2-1 win against champions Barcelona to retain their five-point cushion in fourth.

Mikel Merino is the first opposition player to score an open play goal against Barcelona at Camp Nou in LaLiga this season.

It’s May and they’ve already won the title. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xplpwubPrW

— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) May 20, 2023

RF: Francesco Caputo (Empoli Football Club)

One of two veteran strikers to make the team of the week, Empoli striker Francesco Caputo scored a huge brace against Italian giants Juventus in an unexpected 4-1 win that played a key joint role in potentially stripping The Old Lady of Champions League football next season

EMPOLI ARE MAKING JUVENTUS LOOK SILLY. 😮

35-year-old Francesco Caputo with a brace. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2jFYB2K8xR

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 22, 2023

CF: Olivier Giroud (Associazione Calcio Milan)

He may be 36 and on the final legs of what has been a massively underrated career at club level, but French striker Olivier Giroud is still coming up with the goods in key moments, with a first hattrick for AC Milan coming at the weekend to help the Italian giants remain on course for a top-four finish.

Olivier Giroud has his first hat-trick in Milan colors! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/cTSlGFVTZH

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 20, 2023

LF: Sébastien Haller (Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund)

In what remains arguably the greatest feel-good story of the season, Ivorian striker Sébastien Haller bagged a key brace at the weekend to help Dortmund put one hand on their first Bundesliga title in a decade after beating his battle with serious illness that kept him out until January.

Sebastien Haller’s journey? “It’s a miracle.”

Coach Edin Terzic breaks down the 3-0 win at Augsburg which puts Borussia Dortmund within one victory of the Bundesliga title. @ESPNFC pic.twitter.com/ju6dBHwY19

— Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) May 21, 2023