Rant Sports Team of Week includes Di Gregorio, Bentaleb & Minteh
Team Of Week Includes Premier League Difference Makers
We are way past the mid season in European football and the top 5 leagues are gradually taking shape with title contenders and relegation strugglers.
Premier League leaders Liverpool maintained their lead with a 2-1 win at Anfield while Barcelona, on Monday, capitalised on Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid’a dropped points to regain La Liga top spot.
In Germany, Bayern Munich managed to hold Bayer Leverkusen to a goalless draw in a top-of-the-table clash to maintain their eight-point gap.
Paris Saint-Germain are still unbeaten in the French Ligue 1 with a 10-point lead above second-placed Marseille and Napoli still lead Serie A table despite playing a 2-2 draw with Udinese as closest rivals Inter Milan bowed to a 1-0 loss at Juventus.
Rant Sports has reviewed this weekend’s action and we have selected our Team of the Week from the top 5 leagues.
Rant Sports Team of Week
Goalkeeper
Michele Di Gregorio
The Italian goalkeeper was key to Juventus’ 1-0 win against Inter Milan on Sunday with his brilliant saves between the sticks.
Di Gregorio’s influence was evident in the solid defensive showing of Thiago Motta’s men who limited Inter to just two shots on target which were saved by the no. 1.
Thanks to his consistency, Juventus have reportedly triggered the purchase option to make the goalkeeper’s deal permanent from Monza, and he leads the Team of Week.
Defenders
Yankuba Minteh
The Gambia star delivered a man-of-the-match performance in Brighton’s 3-0 thrashing of Chelsea in the Premier League.
From his dazzling runs on the right flanks to dribbling skills to his eye for goal, Minteh showed how complete a player he is.
He was unarguably the most lively player at the Amex Stadium on Friday.
Dayot Upamecano
In a match where Bayern Munich failed to live up to expectations, Upamecano was simply outstanding against Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
The 26-year-old was at the center of the Bavarians’ defence on Saturday and his clinical tackles were enough for Vincent Kompany’s side to avoid defeat and share the spoils.
Virgil van Dijk
The Dutch captain produced another spectacular performance at Anfield on Sunday as Liverpool beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1.
Van Dijk proved that he is not slowing down as Liverpool intensify their hunt for the Premier League this season.
From registering the most clearances against the Wolves to having the most headed clearances in the game, Van Dijk was outstanding.
Djed Spence
The English defender put in a huge shift at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, by making an impact from the back in Spurs’ 1-0 win against Manchester United.
Spence showed great pace and physicality on the flanks, which limited his opponents Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui.
It was indeed an eye-catching display from the 24-year-old which earned him the Man of the Match award.
Midfielders
Mikel Merino
The Spaniard succeeded in his makeshift position at Arsenal on Saturday, coming off the bench to steer the Gunners to a hard-fought 2-0 win.
In a contest Arsenal had no striker, Merino was drafted in to replace Raheem Sterling in the 67th minute and his positioning in the closing stages of the game made a huge difference, and earned him a Team of the Week spot
Dan Ndoye
Ndoye starred for Bologna in their Serie A encounter against Torino over the weekend.
He was influential in the middle of the park and he scored a brace that powered Bologna to a 3-2 win.
The 24-year-old has now scored five goals in the Serie A this season and his latest contribution helped Bologna stretch their unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions.
Nabil Bentaleb
Just like a star actor making a cameo appearance in a movie, Nabil Bentaleb returned to competitive football in style on Sunday – eight months after he was put into an artificial coma for cardiac arrest.
Introduced in the 76th minute in Rennes, Bentaleb went on to inspire Lille to a 2-0 win by breaking the deadlock in the 80th minute which opened the floodgates for Chuba Akpom to grab the second.
Forwards
Giorgos Masouras
The Olympiacos loanee turned up for VFL Bochum at the most crucial time with a quickfire brace against Borussia Dortmund.
Masouras dazzled for Bochum to hand them a rare 2-0 win against Dortmund and to boost their fight against the drop.
His goals in the 33rd and 35th minutes were enough for Bochum to secure their third win of the season.
Omar Marmoush
No better way to herald your arrival in the city of Manchester with a 15-minute hat-trick in the Premier League.
Marmoush, the Egyptian Prince, stamped his authority in England by putting his name on the scoresheet in style.
His hat-trick propelled City back to winning ways in the English after their capitulation at Arsenal a fortnight ago.
Mika Biereth
The Danish striker who joined Monaco from Swedish club Sturm Graz in January made a commanding statement with his second Ligue 1 hat-trick on his fifth appearance.
Biereth was in lethal form as Monaco registered the biggest win in Europe this weekend with an emphatic 7-1 triumph over Nantes in the French top-flight.
The 22-year-old inspired Monaco to come from behind after conceding an early goal and he scored the equalizer just before the break in the 44th minute.
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