Team of the Week: Rodrygo stars for Real Madrid as Malcolm makes the middle
Here's our latest Team of the Week of the 2023/24 campaign.
Goalkeeper
Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg) - 8.5
Wolfsburg have been quietly having a good season in the Bundesliga and in last weekend's 2-1 win over RB Leipzig they had captain Casteels to thank for the three points.
The Belgian goalkeeper pulled off eight saves from nine shots attempted - the only one he did not get to was Yussuf Poulsen's easy tap-in - and looked solid between the sticks as a marauding Leipzig frontline were unable to breach his defences. The xG numbers show just how good he was with the visitors expected to score 3.72 goals in the encounter, but only mustering one.
A crucial win for Wolfsburg, and Casteels was at the heart of it.
Defenders
Tiago Santos (Lille) - 9.1
If you look up the definition of rocket in the dictionary, you are likely to see the outline of Tiago Santos' right boot.
The full-back scored a thunderbolt in his side's 2-0 victory over lowly Lyon on Sunday night, sending his effort careering into the top corner just after the half-hour mark.
The expected goal of this shot was just 0.1, showing how well he had to strike it for it to find the net. Not only that, but Santos was part of a defence that kept a clean sheet, to keep Lille's unbeaten record that stretches back two months intact going into December and a run of games away from home unbeaten that goes back even further.
Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz) - 8.5
Despite missing out and not playing in Mainz's last league game as well as being sent off for Switzerland during the international break, Fernandes roared back this weekend for the relegation-threatened side in their 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim.
His assist was crucial for his side, who picked up just their eighth point of the season, and it wasn't half bad either. He picked out Marco Richter with a 40-metre through-ball, setting the winger in on goal to finish in style.
He also made an impact at the back with six tackles, three interceptions and four blocks to show that he is ready to make more of an impact for his side.
Alberto Dossena (Cagliari) - 8.6
Another defender who made an impact was Dossena in Cagliari's 1-1 stalemate with Monza on the weekend.
The centre-half bundled in a corner for the islanders in the 10th minute - his second goal in two games - before showing steel at the back with two tackles, two interceptions and three blocks.
He also had a high pass-completion rate, continuing his great run of form through the month of November, never dipping below a rating of seven across three games.
Mohammed Al Burayk (Al Hilal) - 9.3
Away from Europe, we have also seen some fine displays - none much better than Al Burayk during Al Hilal's crushing 9-0 win over Al Hazem in the Saudi Pro League.
The defender assisted Aleksandar Mitrovic for the game's opening goal of the game with a wicked right-footed delivery that left the Serbian with little to do but stab the ball home.
He then got on the scoresheet nine minutes from time - a rather fortunate finish that bobbled over the keeper from close range. But, they all count.
Midfielders
Staying with Al Hilal's demolition of Al Hazem, Malcolm also had a field day in front of goal. The central midfielder netted three times for his side, two coming within three minutes of each other, before he completed his hat-trick in the 85th minute.
Four wins in five has been a nice uptick in form for the Dutch side and they had Haye's composure from the spot to thank for much of their 3-0 success over Sittard at the weekend.
He scored twice, interestingly his first and second goals of the league campaign.
He was also good away from close range, completing all of take-ons successfully as well as completing 82.6% of his passes.
Kenneth Taylor (Ajax) - 8.9
Staying in the Netherlands, Ajax's turbulent season still shows no sign of calming down, however, there was something to smile about for the Amsterdam giants over the weekend with a 5-0 pumping of Vitesse.
Taylor - a product of Ajax's youth system - was at the heart of the things. He notched an assist in the first half, before getting his third goal of the season with a lovely finish late on. The Dutch international showed great feet to find space in a congested box before firing home the final goal of the game.
Forwards
Hulk (Atletico-MG) - 8.7
He may be on the farewell tour of his career, but Hulk is still producing on the pitch.
In the last two weeks for Atletico-MG, the 37-year-old has produced ratings of 9.3 and 8.7, scoring twice and assisting another two.
This weekend, during a 3-0 victory over Gremio, his reaction times were still sharp as he got onto the end of a deflected pass before firing past Gremio's stopper and rounding off another great weekend for the striker, which included a rather fun celebration of 400 career goals.
Odion Ighalo (Al Wehda) - 9.1
Back to Saudi Arabia, and we catch up with former Watford and Manchester United striker, Odion Ighalo, who netted a hat-trick for Al Wehda in their 3-1 win over Al Khaleej.
It broke a streak of more than two months without a goal for the Nigerian, and just 447 fans were in attendance for this effort. But, it's doubtful he will mind in what was his second hat-trick of the season. Ighalo seems to be the definition of streaky so far this season.
Rodrygo (Real Madrid) - 9.1
Following on from his perfect 10 rating before the international break, Rodrygo backed it up with a 9.1 rating in Real Madrid's comfortable 3-0 victory over Cadiz, scoring twice and assisting another.
The Brazilian's best effort came in the 13th minute, picking the ball from Jude Bellingham's feet, finding space running away from goal before picking out the top corner of the Cadiz goal. A fine finish from a player really finding his feet in Madrid's frontline. His second wasn't too bad either.
