Only one Premier League star has been named in the Champions League team of the week after a busy few days at Europe’s premier football tournament.
There has been much talk about the opening round of the tournament, with many supporters expressing their views on the new format of the competition.
The new ‘Swiss’ model has been met with some criticism from fans, with players such as Manuel Akanji, Alisson and Rodri recently voicing concerns over the already crowded fixture list.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing start for Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, who both drew 0-0 with Internazionale and Atalanta respectively.
Aston Villa returned to Europe’s premier competition for the first time in 41 years and Unai Emery’s side returned with a bang as they secured a 3-0 victory over Young Boys.
Manchester City started their Champions League season with a 0-0 draw against Internazionale
Arsenal also failed to win the opening match, as Atalanta drew 0-0.
Aston Villa returned to European competition with a 3-0 win over Young Boys
Despite this, no Villa or Arsenal players were included in Sofascore’s team of the week, with the Man City defender being the only Premier League star to make the cut for their team of the week, with a score of 8.7 out of 10.
Gvardiol was a striking presence on Wednesday evening, stopping a number of dangerous attacks from Internazionale with a number of clever interceptions.
He is part of a three-man defence that also includes Celtic’s Liam Scales and Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, who scored 8.1 and 8.0 respectively.
Further down the pitch, it’s no surprise to see a host of Bayern Munich players in the XI of the Week following their 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Joshua Kimmich, who scored an 8.7 for his controlled performance against the Croatian side, plays in midfield alongside Celtic’s Arne Engels.
Engels, who joined Celtic for £11million this summer, was the star of the show, exuding class in midfield and scoring against Slovan Bratislava.
Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise are also both included in the team of the week, with the former Crystal Palace player scoring twice against Zagreb.
Harry Kane was the best player this week, with a flawless 10/10 for his performance against Dinamo Zagreb
Josko Gvardiol (right) is the only Premier League player included in the squad
Celtic’s Arne Engels (right) scored 9.2/10 after his excellent performance against Slovan Bratislava
Michael Olise scored twice in Bayern Munich’s 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday
Antoine Griezman was given a 9.2 for his performance against RB Leipzig. The Atletico Madrid player scored and provided an assist for Jose Maria Gimenez to win the match 2-1.
Florian Wirtz is now in the winning position on the left after scoring twice in Bayer Leverkusen’s convincing 4-0 victory over Feyenoord on Thursday evening.
But the star of the week was none other than former Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who was given a high score of 10/10 for his performance against Zagreb.
The 31-year-old shone at the Allianz Arena, scoring four times in Bayern’s win, three of which came from the penalty spot.
With his first goal he broke Wayne Rooney’s record as England’s top scorer in Champions League and European Cup history, with 33 goals in 45 games.
Antoine Griezman scored and provided an assist in Atletico’s 2-1 win over Leipzig
However, Harry Kane has been crowned this week’s best player after scoring four times for Bayern
Kane took home the signed match ball after helping himself to four goals in Bayern’s 9-2 win
“When you have a conversation with Wayne Rooney it means you’re doing something right,” Kane said after the match, according to The Independent.
‘He’s one of the best English players and one of the best players that has been in the game. It’s a great achievement.’
