Team of the Week: Alexander-Arnold and Son among the weekend's best
Here's our latest Team of the Week of the 2023/24 campaign.
Goalkeeper
Ricardo Velho (SC Farense) - 9.7
Ricardo Velho has been one of the best goalkeepers in Portugal this season, and was more impressive than ever in his side's 1-1 draw with Benfica.
He made a remarkable 13 saves against the reigning champions, including nine from shots taken inside the box, to prevent four expected goals.
Defenders
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 8.8
Another creative force found in defence at the weekend was Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose ventures into midfield played a big part in Liverpool's comeback against Crystal Palace.
Often moving into the centre of the pitch to dictate play, he had 115 touches - the second most of any player - and made six key passes to help his side move to the top of the Premier League.
Ricardinho (Voluntari) - 9
Ricardinho was excellent at both ends of the pitch in Voluntari's surprise 2-1 win over Romanian heavyweights Rapid Bucharest.
The right-back scored one of his side's goals and set up the other, while also making five tackles and five interceptions.
Fredrik Aursnes (Benfica) - 9.1
One of the most versatile players in the world right now, midfielder-by-trade Fredrik Aursnes slotted seamlessly into the Benfica backline as he so often does at the weekend.
His side didn't win thanks to the aforementioned goalkeeper but did have a huge amount of chances, and Aursnes set up plenty of them, getting one assist and making five key passes in total.
Midfielders
Rodrigo Gomes (Estoril) - 9.7
20-year-old Rodrigo Gomes is beginning to emerge as one of the most exciting talents in Portugal, and has more people than ever talking about him thanks to his performance in Estoril's 4-0 win over Chaves.
Playing as a wing-back, he was simply unstoppable going forward, scoring two goals and setting up the other two as he tormented the opposition with his overlapping runs for 90 minutes.
Nene (Jagiellonia) - 9.4
Over in Poland, the standout player of the weekend was Portuguese midfielder Nene, who led second-placed Jagiellonia to a crucial 4-2 win over fourth-placed Rakow.
With the match level at 1-1, he took matters into his own hands, setting up one goal with a glorious cross before scoring two himself in the space of less than 20 minutes.
Stephen Eustaquio (Porto) - 9.2
A player that you may remember from last year's World Cup, Canadian playmaker Stephen Eustaquio claimed his first two assists of the season in Porto's 3-1 win over Casa Pia.
On both occasions, he found himself with the ball wide inside the penalty area and played the perfect square pass for a team-mate to tap in. He also made three further key passes and three tackles, winning six duels in total.
Marek Havlik (Slovacko) - 10
We don't pick a player of the week, but if we did, it would probably be Marek Havlik.
The attacking midfielder moved onto double figures for the season by scoring four of his team's five goals in their 5-2 thrashing of Bohemians to get a perfect 10 from our ratings system. The second of those goals, a long-range strike, was an absolute stunner too.
Forwards
Tigran Barseghyan (Slovan Bratislava) - 9.6
30-year-old Armenian Tigran Barseghyan was on fire in Slovan Bratislava's 6-0 thrashing of Podbrezova on Saturday afternoon, playing a big part in three of the first four goals.
The winger set two up in seven minutes before then converting a penalty six minutes later. He now has seven goals and seven assists in the Slovakian league this season.
Aleksandar Cavric (Slovan Bratislava) - 9.9
The only man that played as big a part in that win was striker Aleksander Cavric, who the opposition defence weren't able to handle throughout the 78 minutes that he played.
After putting his team 2-0 up with a cool finish, he won the penalty that was scored by Barseghyan before winning and scoring one himself.
Son Heung-min (Spurs) - 9.6
Some Spurs fans would have feared the worst heading into the match with Newcastle given the poor form their side was in, but Son Heung-min made sure that they went home happy.
Before scoring the fourth of their four goals from the spot, the South Korean set up the first and second in almost identical fashion, taking on Kieran Trippier with a lovely piece of skill before playing a perfect ball across the box on both occasions.
