Author of the first big opportunity of the match, on a long and floating shot, he finally equalized for his team on the hour mark with a left-footed strike after having erased his direct opponent with a superb feint. In Germany, his transfer for €300,000, excluding bonuses, is now seen by some supporters as a theft, in the good sense of the word.
Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa) : 8,5/10
In the weekend’s summit match against Arsenal, the captain of the Red Devils was everywhere. “Tielemans perceives situations that other players do not, often playing as if he had eyes in the back.”even says Birminghan Live. Between physical impact, riot of energy, technique and serenity, he delivered a great performance at the right time.
Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) : 7/10
Injured during the last two matches of the Gunnersthe one who was in great shape before his short stint in the infirmary returned directly to his best level. Well placed at the far post, he only needed seven minutes of play, after his rise at the break, to equalize following a ball not very well repelled by Emiliano Martinez.
Short of pace, he did not even finish the match, replaced a few minutes from the end of the match by Gabriel Martinelli. Asked about this decision, Mikel Arteta justified himself to the BBC. “We knew he was coming back from injury, and he felt something again. That’s why we had to replace it.”he explained.
Faster than De Bruyne, close to Hazard: Leandro Trossard enters the history of Belgian football
Jérémy Doku (Manchester City): 7/10
As usual, the left winger made the opposing defense dizzy. If he was not decisive, he often pushed back the Sunderland defense. His consistent performance could have taken a different turn if his curling shot, after clearing his direct opponent, had not found the post.
Amadou Onana (Aston Villa) : 7/10
So important in the duels and in the midfield battle, the former Everton player put in a nice overall performance, only missing two small passes. The only downside: he was guilty of the loss of the ball which led to Arsenal’s equalizer. Fortunately for him, the victory snatched on the wire by the Villa’s probably saved him from having nightmares.
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) : 6/10
What a frustrating encounter for the Merengue goalkeeper. At first, he was hardly involved but still did what he had to do. But Real’s second half looked like a circus. Coming up at the break, the surprising Swedberg first opened the scoring with a marvelous technical gesture that Courtois could only see (54th).
Abandoned by his defense, while Real was reduced to nine at the end of the match, Courtois ended up being erased by the same Swedberg who was able to double the lead by entering the goal with the ball, no less. If the goalkeeper will have nothing to regret about his performance in itself, he will undoubtedly keep a lot of frustration within him.
Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta): 6/10
If he was not decisive, CDK was a real threat for Hellas Verona this weekend. On the side of La Déa, it must still be said that he was the player to try his luck the most, to touch the most balls in the opposing area, to successfully complete the most dribbles and to compete in the most duels.
Deliberately, he did not go far from the Grail, but the opposing goalkeeper was able to repel his attempt right on the line, preventing him from equalizing. More prominent than his attacking comrades present from the kick-off, he would still have missed a little something to be fully satisfied with his meeting.
Michy Batshuayi (Frankfurt): 5.5/10
Cruel weekend for Batsman. Starting for the first time since April 20, the Belgian striker did what he could. Weaned from the ball, he still had a big chance, but his shot hit the crossbar. Worse: he had to be replaced during the break, after receiving a blow to the foot. According to his coach, Dino Toppmöller, Batshuayi is not expected to return to the field before Christmas.
Ameen Al-Dakhil (Stuttgart) : 5,5/10
Taking a quick yellow card when you’re a defender is never a good idea. If he was not subsequently excluded, the former Saint-Trond seemed handicapped by this prospect against Bayern Munich. Like the rest of his team, he was generally overwhelmed by the opposing power. Badly placed on the first goal, he was marking Harry Kane on the fifth and could not prevent him from planting his third goal of the day.
Arthur Theate (Frankfurt): 4/10
This is called a debacle. By conceding six goals on the Leipzig pitch, Eintracht once again proved that its defense was crumbly, much too crumbly. This weekend, it even became the worst defense in the elite despite its position in the first half of the rankings.
Well installed in the starting eleven, Theate was unable to save his team from the doldrums. Certainly not helped by his teammates, he sometimes seemed lost, not knowing what to do. On either occasion, his positioning did not help his team avoid another goal. Without him being particularly guilty, he cannot be completely exonerated. “Still better than many of his teammates, but far from good. However, it is precisely players like him who make the difference.”summarizes it Frankfurter Rundschau.
