European Team of the Week | Jan 24-30

Another week of action has not failed to impress across the top leagues on the continent as the Bundesliga and Serie A in particular served-up multiple high-scoring affairs to keep die-hard supporters and neutral fans alike well entertained.

Milan lose 5-2 to 16th-place Sassuolo at home.

Their sixth straight game without a win 😳 pic.twitter.com/Of3Yp8ey1u

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 29, 2023

In perhaps what was the result of the weekend, Italian international forward Domenico Berardi led Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio to a massive 5-2 away win at the San Siro against holders AC Milan to condemn the champions to consecutive defeats that saw them surrender four goals or more in back-to-back for the first time in the club’s 123-year history, while Austrian international Karim Onisiwo made 1. FSV Mainz 05 history during their own 5-2 win over relegation-threatened VfL Bochum in a Rhine-Ruhr clash that highlighted all the action in Germany.

Countless other individual performances deserved high praise, but, as always, we cannot highlight them all. Here now is 101 Great Goals’ European Team of the Week.

GK: Michele Di Gregorio (Associazione Calcio Monza)

AS Monza banked one of the best possible results they could have hoped for this season in a massive away upset when they traveled to Turin to come away with a 2-0 win against an under-water Juventus side, with shot-stopper Michelle Di Gregorio registering eight saves and a clean sheet that sees Monza sit on a six-match unbeaten run in Serie A while sitting in mid-table, now ahead of Juve after their points deduction.

RB: Jordan Lotomba (Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice)

Swiss international right-back Jordan Lotomba continues to push for national team recognition since his arrival at OGC Nice two summers ago and may soon build on his 7 caps with the upcoming Euro 2024 qualification cycle after a superb defensive performance in Nice’s 1-0 home win against LOSC Lille.

🇫🇷 | #Ligue1UberEats
Avec 8 duels remportés lors du match contre Lille (victoire 1-0 de l’OGC Nice), Jordan Lotomba est le joueur qui a gagné le plus de duels sur la pelouse. À ce rythme, il ne va pas tarder à connaître sa 8ème sélection. pic.twitter.com/S9yXzobD7Q

— KMedia (@KMedia_ch) January 29, 2023

CB: Danilho Doekhi (1. Fußballclub Union Berlin)

Dutch center-back Danilho Doekhi continues to take Berlin by storm in what was another top-level performance by the 24-year-old former Vitesse Arnhem standout, scoring in the capital derby against Hertha BSC at the weekend on the back of his two-goal performance the previous week. His influence at the back is a key reason why Union is in the hunt for an unexpected top-four finish while pushing Bayern for Bundesliga honors.

🇩🇪 Union Berlin brought in Danilho Doekhi on a free this summer.

Since then he has 6 goal contributions in 9 games in the Bundesliga, including a goal in the Berlin Derby.

He’s won 70% of his defensive duels. 60% aerial duels.

Not bad for a centre-back. Top recruitment. pic.twitter.com/AMTcIZtXvQ

— Bence Bocsák (@BenBocsak) January 29, 2023

CB: Igor Zubeldia (Real Sociedad de Fútbol)

2⃣0⃣0⃣ Partidos de Txuri-Urdin.

🔵⚪ Zorionak, Igor! 🔝 #WeareReal | #AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/ZEJnJISwqR

— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) January 29, 2023

LB: Marcos Acuña (Sevilla Fútbol Club)

Sevilla earned a vital 3-0 win at home this past weekend during a season that has been riddled with frustration and questions surrounding the club’s future, with the strong result against bottom outfit Elche in Andalusia coming in large part due to the performance of left-back Marcus Acuña who showed his influence on both sides of the ball while also directly contributing to two goals on the night.

🔟 | THAT WAS PERFECT!

Marcos Acuña v Elche:

👌 124 touches
⚽️ 1 goal
🎯 2 shots/1 on target (0.14 xG)
🅰️ 1 assist
🎁 2 big chances created
🔑 5 key passes
👟 83/90 accurate passes
🦵 5 tackles
📈 10 Sofascore rating

Magical display by Sevilla’s left-back! 🔥#SevillaFCElche pic.twitter.com/Xu93s4u7nt

— Sofascore (@SofascoreINT) January 28, 2023

RM: Franck Honorat (Stade Brestois 29)

Stade Brestois have winger Franck Honorat to thank in large part after their vital relegation six-pointer against Angers at the weekend, with Brest coming away 4-0 winners at home while Honorat contributed a brace of assists as well as a goal to put the icing on the cake in what was a man of the match performance from the 26-year-old former French youth international. Brest now sits just outside the bottom three.

2022-2023 🇫🇷 Ligue 1 xAG Leaders

Neymar (7.9)
Benjamin Bourigeaud (6.7)
Florian Sotoca (5.6)
Lionel Messi (5.5)
Franck Honorat (5.3)
Enzo Le Fée (4.8)
Kylian Mbappé (4.5)
Branco van den Boomen (4.5)
Jonathan Clauss (4.1)https://t.co/BgYqONH60J

— ⚽ FBref ⚽ (@fbref) January 27, 2023

CM: Mattias Svanberg (Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg)

A shrewd signing by Wolfsburg in the summer, Mattias Svanberg has begun to show why Die Wölfe prized him away from Bologna when the Swedish international midfielder was instrumental in their big midweek result on the road against relegation-threatened Hertha BSC when Svanberg scored his first Bundesliga goal while also offering up a brace of assists in the 5-0 rout.

About last night! 🐺 #BSCWOB

First @Bundesliga_EN goal for Mattias Svanberg 👏 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/razO37yJld

— VfL Wolfsburg EN/US 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@VfLWolfsburg_EN) January 25, 2023

CM: Luis Alberto (Società Sportiva Lazio)

One of two key attacking catalysts during Lazio’s huge midweek result against AC Milan, midfielder Luis Alberto bagged a goal and added an assist for good measure against the champions while also completing 91% of his passes in a complete performance in front of home support at the Stadio Olimpico.

🇪🇸 @10_luisalberto scored from the spot vs Milan on Tuesday.

He is now two away from 50 goals in the Big-5 European leagues 👀 pic.twitter.com/4IiGltdGBo

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 27, 2023

LM: Mattia Zaccagni (Società Sportiva Lazio)

Italian international winger Mattia Zaccagni was at the center of it all when Lazio trounced holders AC Milan during their midweek clash on Tuesday, with a goal and an assist in a man-of-the-match performance against the Serie A giants as the 27-year-old continued his hot form during the current league campaign takin him to 8 goals in 17 appearances.

“He scores more goals and tackles in his own box.”@MikeGrella10 doubles down on picking Mattia Zaccagni over Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. 👀 pic.twitter.com/HMAqe2l84A

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 29, 2023

CF: Karim Onisiwo (1. Fußball-und Sportverein Mainz 05)

A hat-trick performance from 30-year-old Austrian international Karim Onisiwo helped Mainz get back to winning ways at the weekend in a 5-2 authoritative performance over relegation-threatened Bochum along the Rhine. The long-time Mainz striker now has more goal involvement than any other player in the club’s top-flight history.

48 – Karim Onisiwo scored his first hat-trick in the Bundesliga today and has now registered more goal involvements than any other Mainz player in the top-flight (48 – 29 goals, 19 assists), breaking Yunus Malli’s record (47 – 29 goals, 18 assists). Leader. pic.twitter.com/9TQ68dwkdu

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) January 28, 2023

CF: Domenico Berardi (Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio)

Struggling neutral favorite US Sassuolo put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone in Serie A after a superb away win against AC Milan at the weekend in a 5-2 thrashing of the holding league champions, with Italian international Domenico Berardi contributing a goal and four assists in a man of the match performance.

Domenico Berardi is the first player to provide three assists in a single Serie A game this season.

And he’s done it at the home of the defending champions. 😍 pic.twitter.com/UDKMll27q5

— Squawka (@Squawka) January 29, 2023

European Round-Up | Jan 24-30

Chelsea table €120m bid for SL Benfica’s Enzo Fernández in a record transfer move

Revealed: Manchester City’s stance on replacing João Cancelo following Bayern Munich loan