Team of the Week: Bellingham shines for Real Madrid and Davies takes the plaudits
With all of Europe's top leagues underway, here is our second Team of the Week for the 2023/24 season.
Goalkeeper
Stole Dimitrievski (Rayo Vallecano) 8.5
Dimitrievski has started the season in fine form for Rayo Vallecano with two clean sheets out of two in their opening LaLiga games. The North Macedonian proved once more he is a underrated shot-stopper, making seven saves in his side's 2-0 victory over newly-promoted Granada.
His consistent performances seem to be paving the way for a transfer, with Sevilla heavily linked with him.
Defence
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) 9.3
All the spotlight in Bayern Munich's opening Bundesliga game of the season was on Harry Kane's debut, but it was Davies who shone brightest in the reigning champions' 4-0 win over Werder Bremen on Friday night.
The Canadian defender set up two goals - one for Kane and the other for Mathys Tel - showing his peak fitness after creating the second goal in the 94th minute. Alongside this, Davies had eight key passes with a near 90% pass completion rate.
Ivan Marcano (Porto) 8.4
A captain's performance from Porto's Spanich centre back Marcano - resolute at the back throughout, he stepped up late on to head in Goncalo Borges' cross to earn his side a 2-1 victory over Farense.
The only blemish for Marcano on the day was a yellow card during added time for unsportsmanlike conduct - not something that will worry Marcano too much after his match-winning header.
Ethan Pinnock (Brentford) 8.3
Playing one of your cross-town rivals is always a big game for any London club, so it would have given Brentford fans much delight to take the bragging rights over Fulham, beating them 3-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The stand-out performance from the Bees was at the back with Pinnock, making two interceptions and six clearances at the back to help his side keep a clean sheet. He also had two key passes, showing his influence across the pitch.
Stenzel Pascal (Stuttgart) 8.8
An explosive start to the season for Stuttgart, who recorded a barnstorming 5-0 thrashing at the expense of Bochum in their Bundesliga opener. At the forefront of the victory was Pascal, who helped add the gloss to the hammering, assisting goals four and five.
The first was a precise cross and the second a beautifully weighted through ball that gave Serhou Guirassy the perfect opportunity to slot home the final goal of the game.
Midfield
Adrien Rabiot (Juventus) 8.1
Rabiot may not grab all the headlines at Juventus - although he does give it a good go - and it could have been a familiar feeling for the central midfielder over the weekend as Dusan Vlahovic scored one and set up another in their side's 3-0 success against Udinese.
But Rabiot scored one himself and was solid in the middle of the park, making four tackles and two interceptions to give him the highest rating of the game and set his Juventus side on the right path after a turbulent summer off the pitch.
Eduard Lowen (St Louis City) 9.4
Across the Atlantic Ocean in MLS, St Louis and Austin played out a thrilling 6-3 with central midfielder Lowen at the heart of the game for the Missouri side.
The German created three of his side's six goals and also hit the bar from range in the first half. The pick of the bunch was the first, a lovely, floated free-kick that found the head of Tim Parker, who made no mistake from 10 yards.
Luis Rioja (Alaves) 9.1
Back to Europe and to LaLiga, where Alaves and Sevilla served up a seven-goal thriller of their own on Monday night.
Rioja got the game started with a bang, rifling home an effort from outside the box in the eighth minue for Alaves before setting up two of his side's other three goals in their 4-3 win.
It was the Basque Country's side first win in the Spanish top flight since promotion last season and they have Rioja to thank for those three points.
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 9.4
Remaining in Spain, and Bellingham is already showing why he was valued so highly by Real Madrid over the summer having been transferrred for around 103 million euros.
The English star lit up Almeria in a way that normally takes a player some time to get to that level - for Bellingham, it's taken two weeks.
In their second game of the season, he led from the front, arriving late in the box and running from deep to score both goals before providing the pass for Vinicius Junior to finish off the game. It was a 3-1 win for the Madrid side, and they had Bellingham to thank for that.
Solly March (Brighton) 9.1
It may be August, but March has sprung into life already at the start of the season. Already a stalwart in the side, he once again showed his worth as his Brighton side dismantled Wolves 4-1.
In a pretty chaotic nine-minute period, Brighton went through the gears, going from 1-0 up at the break to 4-0 up 10 minutes later.
March scored two of those - both may have been close-range finishes but, March showed pace and strength to get onto the end of the ball and supply the finish. Not only that, his defensive play can't be sniffed at too, showing what a vital cog he is for the Seagulls.
Forward
Luuk de Jong (PSV) 8.8
PSV struggled early on against Vitesse before roaring back in the second half and De Jong had a big part to play with that.
The striker has been a calming prescence up top for the Dutch side, scoring 14 goals in 24 starts last season, and beginning the new campaign with a goal and a cheeky assist to show why he still has a lot to play for despite spells away from his home nation that have not bear the fruit he would have wanted.
