Incredible Giménez and savior Raphinha: Dailysports' symbolic team of Champions League matchday 7

Football news 23 jan 2025, 05:14
Luis Torres Luis Torres Dailysports's expert
 Incredible Jiménez and savior Raphinha: Dailysports' symbolic team of Champions League matchday 7 x.com/FCBarcelona

The 7th matchday of the general stage of the Champions League took place on January 21-22.

Atalanta scored five unanswered goals against Austria’s Sturm Graz. Monaco narrowly defeated Aston Villa. The only goalless game of the round was Brugge vs. Juventus.

Bologna and Atletico pulled off comeback wins against German sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively. Liverpool secured their seventh consecutive win, while Stuttgart beat Slovan. PSV earned an away victory over Red Star Belgrade.

Barcelona snatched a dramatic win against Benfica in injury time in a nine-goal thriller, coming back multiple times from two-goal deficits. Leipzig defeated Sporting, while Shakhtar overcame Brest. Arsenal confidently beat Dinamo Zagreb, and Inter triumphed over Sparta Prague.

Real Madrid left no chance for Salzburg. Celtic beat Young Boys thanks to a late own goal. Milan proved stronger than Girona. PSG staged a comeback against Manchester City. Feyenoord sensationally routed Bayern Munich.

Here is the symbolic team of Champions League Matchday 7

Goalkeeper: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord)

For Feyenoord’s goalkeeper, the match against Bayern Munich was his Champions League debut. He immediately became a Rotterdam hero, keeping a clean sheet on his 27th birthday.

Justin made six saves, five clearances, and stopped five shots. He won all three aerial duels and even delivered a sharp pass.

Left-back: Irakli Azarovi (Shakhtar)

In the match against Brest, the 22-year-old Georgian recorded seven clearances, three tackles, and one interception. He completed 84% of his passes, including two sharp and two long passes, and one cross. Azarovi created a key chance for Eginaldo and earned the penalty converted by Sudakov.

Center-back: Wilfried Singo (Monaco)

The 24-year-old Ivorian made 18 clearances and two tackles against Aston Villa. Out of eight duels on the ground and in the air, Singo won five.

He scored the only goal of the match in the 8th minute, securing three points for Monaco. This was his second goal of the tournament.

Right-back: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)

The 26-year-old Uruguayan provided an assist for Real Madrid’s fifth goal against Salzburg. Valverde made six interceptions, blocked one shot, and completed a tackle. He created a goal-scoring opportunity and completed 91% of his passes, including two sharp ones. He also won two ground duels.

Right midfielder: João Neves (PSG)

The 20-year-old Portuguese was instrumental in PSG’s comeback against Manchester City. He completed 55 passes, including two sharp and one long. Neves won 10 of 15 ground duels and one aerial duel. Two of his dribbles were successful.

João also made seven tackles, one clearance, and one interception. In the 78th minute, he scored PSG’s pivotal third goal against Ederson.

Left midfielder: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

The 21-year-old Englishman had a 94% pass accuracy rate against Salzburg, delivering three sharp and three long passes. He created one goal-scoring chance, completed three successful dribbles, and won six of 10 ground duels.

He was fouled twice and also made one clearance and one tackle. Most importantly, Bellingham assisted Rodrygo twice, helping him score Real’s first two goals.

Attacking midfielder: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta)

The 23-year-old Belgian had an 83% pass accuracy rate against Sturm Graz, including one sharp and one long pass. He created a goal-scoring chance, scored a goal, and provided an assist. De Ketelaere has now contributed in four consecutive Champions League matches.

Left winger: Raphinha (Barcelona)

The 28-year-old Brazilian completed 48 passes against Benfica, including three crosses, three sharp passes, and two long passes. He made five successful dribbles, won seven of 13 ground duels, and one aerial duel.

Although Raphinha missed one goal-scoring chance, he provided an assist and, most importantly, scored two goals, including the match-winner for Barcelona. He has now scored eight goals in seven Champions League matches.

Right winger: Julián Álvarez (Atletico)

In the match against Bayer Leverkusen, the Argentine forward was the hero for Atletico, scoring two goals to secure the victory.

He also completed three of four dribble attempts, won six of eight ground duels, and delivered two sharp and one long pass. Álvarez has now scored six goals in seven Champions League matches.

Forward: Evangelos Pavlidis (Benfica)

In the first half against Barcelona, the 26-year-old Greek striker had three shots on goal, all of which ended in the back of the net. His hat-trick was one of the fastest in the tournament’s history.

Forward: Santiago Giménez (Feyenoord)

The 23-year-old Mexican played a key role in Feyenoord’s sensational rout of Bayern Munich. He opened the scoring in the 21st minute and completed his brace by halftime.
Giménez won four of five aerial duels, two of five ground duels, made three clearances, one interception, and one tackle. He also successfully beat an opponent in a dribble attempt.

Coach: Brian Priske (Feyenoord)

Despite being under threat of dismissal, the Danish coach led Feyenoord to the biggest surprise of matchday 7. Feyenoord confidently defeated Bayern Munich, one of the Champions League title contenders.

Excluding two setbacks, the Rotterdam club has scored at least three goals per game in European tournaments. This includes matches against Bayern, Manchester City, Benfica, and Girona.

Popular news
More news
Upcoming matches
All
Latest News
Sport Predictions
Daily Sports News, Predictions and Live Scores