A regular feature on our website is the Talent Radar Young Players Team of the Week with the best young players compiled into an XI from across Europe’s top seven leagues. You can read this for all details on Talent Radar, who is eligible under it and what else we publish within this feature.
[Max. Age Limit: 22 years old on match-day for outfield players, 23 years old for goalkeepers]
Most major leagues across Europe had some marquee fixtures this weekend – Atletico Madrid hosted Barcelona in Spain, while old rivals Liverpool & Manchester United clashed in England. In Italy, the Milan derby was the highlight on Sunday, slightly shadowing the Roma-Napoli game the previous day. In Germany RB Leipzig took on league leaders Dortmund while over in France, champions Monaco were away to Lyon making for some enticing weekend football action.
Thomas Strakosha continues his fantastic start to the season with another top performance for Lazio – this time away to Juventus in a 2-1 win. The Albanian was kept extremely busy, as expected, and ensured the defending Italian champions got their first loss at home in two years with a 97th minute penalty save from Paulo Dybala. This is his third Team of the Week appearance out of seven so far this season – a testament to his brilliant start to the season as he currently leads our Keeper Rankings.
Real Madrid’s Achraf Hakimi made his second successive appearance in our Team of the Week, in what was his second successive start for Real Madrid’s first team. The teenager had a solid outing in a rather difficult 2-1 away win over Getafe, settled by a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal. Dani Carvajal’s injury was a big blow to the defending Spanish and European champions, but Zinedine Zidane as shown his faith in the young Moroccan full-back.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Davinson Sanchez also made his second successive appearance in our Team of the Week as he looks to defend his Talent Radar Defender of the Season crown. The Colombian was crucial in his side’s first home league win of the season, beating Bournemouth 1-0. He’s partnered, like the previous week, by Maximilian Wober who helped Ajax to a comfortable 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam. The Austrian won an impressive five aerial duels in a dominating performance. His inclusion means we’ve retained three of the four defenders from our Team of the Week #6 from before the International break.
The change from that side is the inclusion of Spaniard, Jose Gaya, who incidentally was the Talent Radar Defender of the Season in the 2014-15 season. The 22-year-old helped his side to a win over Real Betis in an exciting game that featured nine goals, with the away side winning 6-3. Gaya got himself an assist in a result that sees the fallen giants rise to second in the table.
Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez takes his place in central midfield after playing a vital role in his side’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona. The Spaniard opened the scoring in the 21st minute, with a fantastic shot from outside the box. Unfortunately for him, Luis Suarez equalised eight minutes from time; but the 22-year-old is certainly becoming an important big game player for the capital club. PSV Eindhoven’s Gaston Pereiro, who played a more deeper role, partners Saul in midfied. The Uruguayan was instrumental in ensuring his side avoided a shock defeat away to VVV Venlo. With the score at 2-1, the 22-year-old cut inside from the right and got a perfectly placed shot to the far post, before scoring a second with his head late on after a mix up with the opposition defenders to confirm a 5-2 victory.
It’s the Manchester City show for the next three spots as Pep Guardiola’s men turned on the style (again) in a massive 7-2 victory over Stoke City. Raheem Sterling scored one and set up two to book his place on the right wing; Leroy Sane’s goal and assist secured his spot on the opposite side. Gabriel Jesus kept his form up with a brace and took his place up front. The current Premier League leaders have now scored twenty-nine goals in eight game, helped by their young trio.
Swansea’s Tammy Abraham completed the Team of the Week #7’s puzzle with his spot up top with Jesus. The 20-year-old scored a brace in his side’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield – both goals ultimately laid on a plate for the Chelsea loanee to finish from.
Read all our Talent Radar Team of the Week articles here
