The 10 Best Players of Champions League Matchday 2—Ranked

José Mourinho raised eyebrows when he left Arda Güler, Real Madrid’s best playmaker, on the bench against Roma. The Türkiye international could only sit and watch as his team went down 3–1 before an hour had even eclipsed on Wednesday.

Güler was promptly thrown onto the pitch and tasked with spearheading a comeback at the Stadio Olimpico. The 21-year-old answered the call in dramatic fashion, using his magical left foot to breathe life back into Los Blancos.

It was his expert ball from the corner flag that Endrick headed home to make it 3–3 in the 85th minute. Five minutes later, it was once again Güler’s sublime delivery—this time from the opposite corner flag—that Antonio Rüdiger buried to steal all three points.

It was a frustrating and embarrassing night for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The Cityzens faced off with defending cup holders Paris Saint-Germain and were quickly humbled after stringing together eight consecutive victories.

The silver lining for Enzo Maresca’s side was Erling Haaland. Without the Norway international, an already dreadful night would have turned downright humiliating.

When City were down for the count, Haaland leapt into action—literally. The No. 9 beat goalkeeper Matvéi Safónov with a powerful header to get the hosts on the scoresheet and then bagged his brace with a calm right-footed finish.

He honestly could’ve had a hat-trick if the crossbar didn’t deny another header. Haaland’s goals weren’t enough as City fell 4–2 to PSG, but he was the long bright spot for a team already under a microscope.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta rolled the dice against Lille on Tuesday and started a largely rotated side at the Emirates Stadium. The gamble did not pay off for the Spanish tactician, who was likely as underwhelmed as the sea of the red shirts in the crowd once the halftime whistle sounded.

Once Jurriën Timber broke the deadlock in the 64th minute, Arteta made a triple-change that included Bukayo Saka. The winger replaced Noni Madueke and instantly made his presence felt.

From the right wing, Saka picked out Eberechi Eze with a pinpoint ball that was slamming into the back of the net seconds later. Then, the England international got on the scoresheet himself, slotting home a cool strike to solidify Arsenal’s 3–0 win.

Champions League debutants Sabah picked up their first win in Europe’s premier club competition on Tuesday, defeating Slavia Prague 2–0. The hero in Baku? Stas Pokatilov.

The goalkeeper stood on his head to keep a clean sheet. He made six saves, becoming the first man across all competitions to blank Slavia Prague this season.

The 33-year-old faced 18 shots in a game the visitors tallied an xG of 2.14, yet he made sure they walked away without a single goal. Pokatilov earned a place in the official Champions League Team of the Week for his heroics between the posts.

In reality, this entire list can be full of PSG players after their dominant win over City. A few truly stood out, though, and one was Achraf Hakimi.

The right back so often earns the most praise for his efforts going forward, but he put on a defensive clinic on Wednesday in Manchester. Hakimi drew the unenviable task of keeping the electrifying Jérémy Doku quiet—and he did his job so well that the winger was hooked at halftime.

Hakimi was not fooled by any of Doku’s quick moves or cheeky footwork. He held his ground every time, inviting the 24-year-old to get by him one-on-one. The City man found no success against the fullback, who hardly broke a sweat locking down one of the Premier League’s best attackers.

No, it’s not 2016. Ross Barkley turned back the clock in tremendous fashion on Wednesday, playing like a man possessed in Aston Villa’s 6–0 win over Fenerbahçe.

The 32-year-old commanded Unai Emery’s midfield double pivot and left his mark all over the pitch. He set up Nicolas Jackson’s second goal in the 39th minute, converted a penalty after the restart and then made it 5–0 with a left-footed strike from the top of the box.

Barkley’s impressive outing would be further down this list had it come against tougher opposition. Still, his three goal contributions dished out a worthy reminder of the skill he so often displayed at Everton and Chelsea in the prime of his career.

Additional rest is doing Ousmane Dembélé a world of good. The Frenchman sat out of PSG’s Ligue 1 clash with Le Mans at the weekend, prolonging his return to club soccer to Wednesday night in Manchester.

By the 15th minute, he was already on the scoresheet, finishing off a sequence he started down the right with a simple header. Dembélé was once again at the heart of the action soon after Haaland pulled one back for City, diminishing any hope of a comeback for the hosts when he picked out Maghnes Akliouche through a swarm of sky blue shirts.

He wasn’t the only player in blue and red to tally two goal contributions on the night, but he was all over the pitch for the defending cup holders, shading a heat map like it was a watercolor painting. The way Dembélé leads the attack is why Luis Enrique’s men were able to put four past the Premier League-leaders.

There’s no one in the world playing like Lamine Yamal right now. The Barcelona phenom is a walking highlight reel, adding a new otherworldly trick to his arsenal nearly every time he laces up a pair of boots.

Yamal couldn’t find the back of the net in the Catalans’ 4–1 rout over Galatasaray, but his pair of brilliant assists was more than enough to earn him the Man of the Match honors.

Hansi Flick’s side went down the tunnel deadlocked at 1–1 and then the teenager took over the second half. Yamal lofted a pass onto the head of Fermín López, who easily headed home the team’s go-ahead goal. Then the winger faked a rabona, dribbled down the byline and found Anthony Gordon to make it 3–1 in the blink of an eye.

It was nothing more than a skills display in the second half from the newly crowned World Cup winner.

The final two spots on our list go to the hat-trick kings. Nicolò Tresoldi is up first after he found the back of the net thrice in Club Brugge’s chaotic 4–3 win over Inter on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old showed out for Germany’s U-21 side during the September-October international break and carried his form right to the Champions League. Tresoldi answered the call for his team every time it needed a big moment.

The forward opened the scoring against Inter with a successful penalty in the 30th minute. He then scored Brugge’s go-ahead goal after finishing off a great play from Carlos Forbs, beating his defender for pace to send the ball into a gaping goal.

Tresoldi made it 3–1 just 11 minutes later when he buried the rebound from Forbs’s saved shot. Brugge needed every one of his goals—and another from Romeo Vermant—to survive against Inter.

The pressure was mounting on Bradley Barcola. The blockbuster signing was without a single goal contribution in his first six games for Liverpool this season, adding to the team’s woes up top.

It felt like only a matter of time before a player of Barcola’s skill figured it out—and he did just that in Tuesday’s 6–3 win over LASK. The France international scored his first goal for the Reds ... and then his second and third.

Barcola rifled home a sublime first-time strike to open his Liverpool account and then bagged his brace 13 minutes later. He completed his hat-trick in the second half, using his speed to blow by his marker inside the box and get on the end of a tantalizing ball from Jeremie Frimpong.

LASK were hardly at the same level as Andoni Iraola’s men, but take away nothing from Barcola’s breakout performance.

Add us as a preferred source on Google