European Team of the Week | 7-9 April

GK: Paul Bernardoni (Angers Sporting Club de l’Ouest)

Angers bagged just their third win of the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season but did so in stunning fashion after coming away with a 1-0 win in front of home support against top-five outfit Lille at Stade Raymond Kopa. Paul Bernardoni made five saves across a superb individual performance.

🏆 – Avec une moyenne de 8,7/10, @paul_bernardoni est votre Scoïste du match lors de #SCOLOSC (1-0) hier.

🥈 Justin Kalumba JR : 7
🥉 Halid Sabanovic : 6,8
🗣 Alexandre Dujeux : 7,7

📝 205 participants#AngersSCO ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/iuK7iB3mWM

— Incroyable SCO (@IncroyableSCO) April 10, 2023

RB: Sebastiano Luperto (Empoli Football Club)

A center-back by trade who has been slotted into right-back to compensate for other selections this week, Italian defender Sebastiano Luperto was at the heart of Empoli’s valuable point on the road against AC Milan during a 0-0 affair at the San Siro. Luperto made 12 clearances, 4 blocks, and won 5 aerial duels against the Serie A giants.

Il nostro Sebastiano Luperto nel #TeamOfTheWeek dell’ultimo turno di #SerieA by @SofascoreINT https://t.co/TUvfiz4ESA

— Empoli Football Club Official (@EmpoliFC) April 9, 2023

RCB: Yan Valery (Angers Sporting Club de l’Ouest)

Many Premier League fans will remember Yan Valery during his spell with south coast outfit Southampton, who is now plying his trade with Angers. The 24-year-old Tunisian international was superb in a back three for Les Noirs et Blancs during their shock win over Lille in front of keeper Paul Bernardoni.

Yan Valery 🇹🇳 vs LOSC 🇨🇵

💯 7/10 Note
🔋90 Min
🎯 16/24 Passes (67%)
⚽️ 1 Occas crée
🦶 54 Touchers
🔝1/2 Dribble (50%) + 2/3 Centres (67%)
↗️ 6 PDT
🔄 4/8 PL (50%)
➖️ 2 Pertes

🧨 4 Récup/6 Dégage/1 Inter
👊 5/9 Duels (56%) + 3/3 Tacles (100%)
💨 1/2 Aérien (50%)
⛔️ 1 Faute pic.twitter.com/kRNDtm2H6M

— Ahmedou TF 🇨🇦 🇹🇳 ⚽ (@ahmedouslim) April 8, 2023

LCB: Matthijs de Ligt (Fußball-Club Bayern München)

Now fully coming into his own at Bayern Munich after his move from Juventus, Dutch international center-back Matthijs de Ligt is regularly performing as advertised this season, with the former AFC Ajax academy graduate putting in a fantastic performance at the weekend against dark horse outfit SC Freiburg that included a wonder strike for the only goal of the match.

📊 Matthijs de Ligt vs. Freiburg:

90 minutes
110 touches
1 shot
1 goal
1 chance created
87/94 passes (93%)
3/5 long balls
2/3 tackles won
3/3 ground duels won
7/14 aerial duels won
4 clearances
1 interception
7 recoveries pic.twitter.com/7SrTtudxpG

— Bayern & Football 🏆 (@MunichFanpage) April 8, 2023

LB: Przemyslaw Frankowski (Racing Club de Lens)

Featuring on the left side of a four-man midfield, Polish international Przemyslaw Frankowski was one of the standout performers for Franck Haise’s Lens in a close 2-1 win over relegation candidates Strasbourg, bagging his third goal of the season across a credible performance that sees the club continuing to put pressure on PSG.

Bollaert lui va si bien 🏠

Et de 3⃣ réalisations pour Przemyslaw Frankowski cette saison en @Ligue1UberEats, toutes inscrites dans l’antre lensois !#FierDEtreLensois #RCLRCSA pic.twitter.com/Q8Ct5bKRxu

— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) April 8, 2023

RCM: Corentin Tolisso (Olympique Lyonnais)

Back where it all began, French international midfielder Corentin Tolisso scored a long-range thunderbolt for Olympique Lyonnais as part of a fantastic performance in all phases of play while being deployed as a defensive midfielder against Stade Rennais. His resurgence after returning to Lyon has been fantastic to watch in 2022-23.

☄ 𝑳𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆 de @CorentinTolisso lors de #OLSRFC 🔥🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/39lzLec0Eb

— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) April 10, 2023

LCM: Amadou Haidara (RasenBallsport Leipzig)

A week that ends perfectly👌🏾
Good energy , well done guys🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/KXUylokTKo

— Amadou Haidara (@doudouhaidara04) April 8, 2023

CAM: Florian Wirtz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball)

Bayer Leverkusen and German wunderkind Florian Wirtz is back at his best since his return from injury and has been in scintillating form for Xabi Alonso’s outfit as the key man for the Spanish tactician, once again showing his creative capabilities with a pair of assists against Eintracht Frankfurt to lead the club to its fifth win on the spin.

Florian Wirtz has only been back for 11 league games but has already reclaimed the title of best playmaker in the Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/DZU7LadZrl

— Stefan Bienkowski (@SBienkowski) April 10, 2023

RW: Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal Club de Fútbol)

Say it very quietly, but Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze has been one of the best wide-men anywhere in Europe across the 2022-23 campaign. A two-goal performance during a 3-2 upset win over Real Madrid saw the Villarreal man reach 22 goals+assists across all competitions, with many suggesting he has been just as good as Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka this term.

🇳🇬🔝 What an incredible performance by Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze (23) at the Bernabéu!

➤ 2 goals
➤ Most successful dribbles (6) in match
➤ 10/11 ground duels won

He has 22 G+A across all comps so far this season, great player. pic.twitter.com/jbrJFunCGE

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) April 8, 2023

LW: Mattia Zaccagni (Società Sportiva Lazio)

Roman outfit Lazio reminded Juventus of their new place in the new order of Italian football at the weekend during a 2-1 win over the Old Lady at the Stadio Olimpico. 27-year-old Mattia Zaccagni was chief to those efforts thanks to a goal and an assist, taking his season tally to ten and five while seeing him hit double-digit goals for the first time in his career.

Mattia Zaccagni is having the BEST season of his LIFE 📈

✅ Goal and assist today vs Juventus
✅ 10 goals + 5 assists in Serie A this season
✅ First season with 10+ goals in Serie A
✅ First Italian player to score 10 goals this season

The Azzurri is calling 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/lXBA4ERlNZ

— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) April 8, 2023

CF: Marcus Thuram (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

What the future holds for French international forward Marcs Thuram remains to be seen given his status as a free agent come the summer, but the son of legendary defender Lilian Thuram has been a vital piece for Gladbach once again this season and bagged a brace at the weekend in a 2-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg which sees him climb to joint-second in the Bundesliga goalscoring chart.

Marcus Thuram is still leaving on a free this summer.

▪️12 non-penalty Bundesliga goals this season 🎯
▪️7th in Bundesliga for NPG p90
▪️TOP for NPXG p90 ✅
▪️Still 25 years old 🇫🇷

He’s made himself an excellent, well-rounded forward this season. Sign him up 👍 pic.twitter.com/RbSPao15i7

— 𝔼𝕌ℝ𝕆 (@EuroExpert_) April 9, 2023