UEFA unveil the Champions League Team of the Week and two hat-trick heroes lead the way
The first Champions League week of the season delivered goals, drama and statement wins, and now UEFA has crowned its standout performers with the official Team of the Week.
Details: The Champions League Team of the Week for Matchday 1 features Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) in goal; Brown (Fenerbahce), Pau Torres (Aston Villa), Marc Bartra (Como) and Sergino Dest (PSV) in defense; Martin Baturina (Como) and Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) in midfield; and an attack of Ferran Torres (PSG), Ermedin Demirovic (Stuttgart), Raphinha (Barcelona) and Michael Olise (Bayern Munich).
The selection tells the story of a spectacular opening matchday. Ferran Torres and Demirovic both walked away with the match ball after scoring hat-tricks: the Spaniard led the line as PSG smashed six past Slovan Bratislava, while the Bosnian powered Stuttgart's rout of Viking. Olise earned one of the highest ratings of the week as Bayern demolished Bodo/Glimt 5:0, a night that also saw Harry Kane score for the eighth Champions League game running. Raphinha ran the show as Barcelona thrashed Feyenoord, and Odegaard made the cut after captaining Arsenal to a gritty 1:0 win away at Napoli. Between the posts, Courtois was unbeatable as Real Madrid edged Inter in the heavyweight clash of the round. Perhaps the most romantic picks belong to Como: Baturina and Bartra both feature after the Serie D dreamers, in the Champions League just seven years after playing in Italy's fourth tier, ran riot on their debut in the competition. Add in Dest's display for PSV, Pau Torres marshalling Aston Villa's back line and Brown starring in Fenerbahce's historic return to the tournament, and you get a team with eleven players from eleven different clubs.
It's worth noting that Ferran Torres and Ermedin Demirovic are also among the nominees for the Champions League Player of the Week award, with the winner to be announced by UEFA in the coming days.
Reminder: Champions League wrap: Bayern and Como run riot, Lens edge Prague thriller, United cruise.
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
