Football Express News presents you with the European Team of the Week, which features Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin and Manchester United’s Ander Herrera.
It was a weekend of undiluted action from games across Europe as teams charged towards league titles, European places and starve off the threat of relegation.
It was also a weekend of breathtaking goals, especially from the English Premier League. Once again, I present the team of the week.
G.K– Asmir Begovic (Stoke City): The only reason why Stoke didn’t lose by a wider margin is all down to Begovic’s exploits on the day. His double save off Juan Cuadrado’s efforts was brilliant.
R.B– Hector Bellerin (Arsenal): WOW! That was my reaction after seeing Bellerin’s goal and overall performance against Liverpool. However, the young Spaniard was lucky to have completed the game as he should have been sent off for the foul on Raheem Sterling that led to the Liverpool penalty.
C.B– Jeremy Mathieu (Barcelona): Before the game against Real Madrid, Mathieu had not scored for Barcelona. Right now, he has two goals in his last two games. The French man is not just finding the back of the net, he’s becoming an important member of the Barca defence.
C.B– Marquinhos (P.S.G): Our centre back pairing this week is a goalscoring one. The Brazilian continues to grow under the guidance of Thiago Silva and is looking worthy of every penny that was spent to get him from AS Roma.
L.B– Benoit Tremoulinas (Sevilla): Sevilla are having an impressive 2015 and are huge favourites for the Europa League. One of the players who’s played his part is Benoit and he posted another impressive performance against Athletic Bilbao.
M.F– Lee Cattermole (Sunderland): I was going to have Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin in the team of the week, until I saw the Tyne-wear derby. Cattermole was simply outstanding!
M.F– Patrick Hermann (Borussia Monchegladbach): Hermann is currently unplayable at the moment. Not only did he get another goal, his fourth in three games, he led his team to dominate Hoffenheim away from home in a convincing 4-1 win. Germany have another special player on their hands.
M.F– Ander Herrera (Manchester United): When Louis Van Gaal gives you a kiss at halftime, you’ve definitely done something right. Herrera was United’s best player against Aston Villa and deserved his brace, the first of his club career.
F.W– Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid): Scoring five goals in a game. automatically gets you into any team of the week.
F.W– Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): Another of Real’s star performers on the day, Benzema took his two goals well.
F.W– Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal): Arguably Arsenal’s player of the season, Sanchez was unplayable against top four chasers, Liverpool. The Chilean’s goal was a beauty, taking his tally to 13 league goals.
Player of the Week: Cristiano Ronaldo
Team of the Week: Arsenal
Coach of the Week: Laurent Blanc (P.S.G)