101 Great Goals returns after another exhibition of top-class performances on the continent to bring you the European Team of the Week from the weekend.
Fans of Serie A will still be on a high after some of the results that transpired in Italy over the last few days, with no bigger talking point than Udinese’s 4-0 home trashing of José Mourinho’s AS Roma which featured another superb outing from Tottenham Hotspur FC summer signing and current Udine loanee Destiny Udogie.
AC Milan’s tifo ahead of the Milan derby 😅 pic.twitter.com/phooLb58qi
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 3, 2022
Cremonese bagged a valuable point at home against Sassuolo in a nil-nil draw at the Stadio Giovanni Zini with the help of on-loan shot-stopper Ionut Radu, while Portuguese starlet Rafael Leão helped AC Milan secure all three points in the Derby della Madonnina against hated city rivals Inter Milan.
Elsewhere, Barcelona and Real Madrid kept the pace at the top of the La Liga table, with each side featuring French internationals in the team of the week here, while a certain former Austrian international sent a reminder that maybe Manchester United was not entirely incorrect to target him earlier this summer.
Here is the European Team of the Week for September 2-5.
📰 Table Of Contents
- 1 GK: Ionuț Radu (Unione Sportiva Cremonese)
- 2 RB: Roberto Pereyra (Udinese Calcio)
- 3 CB: Jules Koundé (Futbol Club Barcelona)
- 4 CB: Emanuel Aiwu (Unione Sportiva Cremonese)
- 5 LB: Destiny Udogie (Udinese Calcio)
- 6 CM: Lazar Samardžić (Udinese Calcio)
- 7 CM: Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid Club de Fútbol)
- 8 RW: Florian Kainz (1. Fußball-Club Köln)
- 9 LW: Rafael Leão (Associazione Calcio Milan)
- 10 CF: Karl Toko Ekambi (Olympique Lyonnais)
- 11 CF: Marko Arnautović (Bologna Football Club 1909)
GK: Ionuț Radu (Unione Sportiva Cremonese)
Cremonese earned their first point of the 2022-23 Serie A season after gaining promotion to the Italian top flight when they came second in Serie B last term, with Romanian shot-stopper Ionut Radu putting in a top-class performance against Sassuolo on the back of seven saves and a shut out in a 0-0 affair.
Ionuț Radu in Cremonese’s 0-0 draw 🆚 Sassuolo 🇮🇹:
⏰ 90 mins
⭐️ 8.6 rating & MOTM
🦵 48 touches
🧤 7 saves (5 inside box), 2/2 runs out
🎯 25/35 (71%) passes cmp
🚀 5/15 long balls#Cremonese #Inter #SerieA pic.twitter.com/LWKzPJxNTx— Romanian Football (@RoFtbl) September 4, 2022
RB: Roberto Pereyra (Udinese Calcio)
A commanding performance capped off by a great team goal: Roberto Pereyra 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷 @Udinese_1896 pic.twitter.com/dMOIqPCdKn
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) September 4, 2022
CB: Jules Koundé (Futbol Club Barcelona)
French international Jules Koundé has settled into life nicely at Barcelona since his arrival from Sevilla this summer, and repaid the club’s faith against his previous employers with a two-assist effort in a 3-0 win while playing right-back (yes, we shoe-horned him in here).
⚠️ | QUICK STAT
Jules Koundé has tonight recorded two assists in a single match for the first time in his career — he’s also recorded as many assists tonight as he did in his previous 78 LaLiga appearances combined.
Feeling right at home in Seville. 😏#SevillaFCBarca pic.twitter.com/kG1gyPs5P3
— Sofascore (@SofascoreINT) September 3, 2022
CB: Emanuel Aiwu (Unione Sportiva Cremonese)
Austrian starlet Emanuel Aiwu made the massive jump from Rapid Wien to newly promoted Cremonese this summer and has already repaid the faith shown in him after – along with Ionut Radu – he put in a top-class defensive performance to help the club earn its first Serie A point in over two-decades.
Another interesting under-the-radar transfer: Emanuel Aiwu to SK Rapid Wien. Mobile, aggressive right-sided defender, solid in the air and on the ball. Deserved step up within Austria after two-and-a-half seasons as a starter at Admira. Still just 20 years old.
— Scouted Football (@scoutedftbl) September 2, 2021
LB: Destiny Udogie (Udinese Calcio)
Italian youngster Destiny Udogie looks set for big things moving forward and has shown why Tottenham secured his services this summer before sending him back on loan to Udinese, with the left-back putting in another excellent shift while adding a goal – his second – to put himself as joint-top of the club’s goalscoring chart this season.
10 – Destiny #Udogie (7 goals, 3 assists) is only one of the two defenders to have been involved in 10+ goals in the Big-5 European Leagues since the start of 2022, alongside David Raum (10). Arrow.#UdineseRoma pic.twitter.com/Q3RlOeiHNP
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 4, 2022
CM: Lazar Samardžić (Udinese Calcio)
Once linked with serious interest from Bayern Munich before being snapped up by RB Leipzig, German U21 international Lazar Samardžić arrived in Udinese this summer as another young player looking to utilize a club reputed for its youth development. A goal in his first start for his new club will go a long way to boost his confidence.
Lazar Samardzic vs Roma:
⏰️ 64 minutes
⚽️ 1 goal
🔑 2 key passes
📊86% passing accuracyEverytime he starts he makes an impact. pic.twitter.com/LV4vnl0fdP
— Serbian Football (@SerbianFooty) September 4, 2022
CM: Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid Club de Fútbol)
In what was arguably one of the best performances seen anywhere in Europe thus far this season by a central midfielder, French international Aurélien Tchouaméni has already helped Real Madrid move past Casemiro, no doubt playing a key role in the Brazilian’s departure to Manchester United this summer.
Aurélien Tchouaméni’s game by numbers vs. Real Betis:
100% aerial duels won
89% pass accuracy
91 touches
16 duels won
10 final third entries
7 tackles
7x possession won
6 aerial duels won
4 interceptions
2 fouls won
0 fouls committedWhat a performance. 👏 pic.twitter.com/kuqkJ6JTbj
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 3, 2022
RW: Florian Kainz (1. Fußball-Club Köln)
Austrian winger Florian Kainz was absolutely brilliant for 1.FC Köln at the weekend in the club’s 4-2 away win against VfL Wolfsburg, with a goal and two assists putting him at the center of it all for Steffen Baumgart’s still-undefeated (2-3-0) Die Geißböcke.
🔎 | FOCUS
Florian Kainz put on a show as 1. FC Köln recorded a 4:2 win away to Wolfsburg:
👌 59 touches
⚽️ 1 goal
🎯 4 shots/2 on target
🅰️ 2 assists
🎁 3 big chances created
🔑 4 key passes
💨 3/7 successful dribbles
⚔️ 8/14 duels won
📈 9.7 SofaScore rating👏👏#WOBKOE pic.twitter.com/03uY71MEqV
— Sofascore (@SofascoreINT) September 3, 2022
LW: Rafael Leão (Associazione Calcio Milan)
Now one of the leading lights on the red and black half of Milan, Portuguese star Rafael Leão continues to win over the hearts and minds of the I Rossoneri faithful after bagging two goals and adding another assist to help guide the club to an early-season win over bitter rivals Inter Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.
🤩 @RafaeLeao7: simply stunning 🤩#ACMilanIsForever #MilanInter #SempreMilan
Brought to you by @BitMEX pic.twitter.com/a5jcAExjtx— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 3, 2022
CF: Karl Toko Ekambi (Olympique Lyonnais)
A brace from Cameroonian forward Karl Toko Ekambi headlined a brilliant performance by Olympique Lyonnais in a 5-0 thrashing of SCO Angers, with the club now looking at a chance to jump level with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table should they win their match in hand.
𝙑𝙪 𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚
L’ouverture du score de 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝗸𝗼-𝗘𝗸𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶 face à Angers 🔥
présenté par OOGarden pic.twitter.com/R4ucuG4HWp
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) September 5, 2022
CF: Marko Arnautović (Bologna Football Club 1909)
Many scoffed at the notion that Manchester United was linked with interest in veteran Austrian international forward Marko Arnautović this summer, but the former Stoke City and West Ham United striker bagged a brace in Bologna’s 2-2 draw at Spezia – including the equalizer – taking his season total to a Serie A-leading five goals.
🇦🇹 Bologna have scored 5 goals in Serie A so far, and Marko Arnautovic has scored every single one.
Talk about a carry job 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cgIQXw8Ep8
— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) September 4, 2022