Champions League Team of the Week: Raphinha, Vinicius Junior join Auston Trusty among star performers

Three Games down in the Champions League league phase and the comPetition is beginning to take shape. England's top four occupy spots between one and nine in the battle to skip the knockout round while France is proving to be a surprisingly effective presence with two undefeated sides in Brest and Monaco. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Real Madrid are on the up but big names such as Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig will feel the pressure on them.

Here's our pick of the best individual performers from round three of the league phase:

GK: Mattia Perin, Juventus

Even when the ball sat up nicely for El Bilal Toure eight yards from goal, you couldn't entirely convince yourself that Mattia Perin's goal was going to be breached. The 31-year-old had been in incredible form for the preceding 91 minutes, culminating in the magnificent save from Enzo Millot's spot kick, not the sort of subpar effort that goalkeepers usually manage to parry. Ultimately Juventus asked too much of Perin, who ended the game with nine saves and that one agonising late concession. 

CB: Wilfried Singo, Monaco

I could tell you this is about Wilfried Singo's really impressive numbers for ball progression, 16 progressive passes and the same number of carries. The passing stood out for all the right reasons, 18 of them going into the attacking third from the man on the right-hand side of the back three. Crvena zvezda hardly troubled the French side unduly either but three clearances and a tackle aren't to be sniffed at. Every week I say this, we don't pick defenders for goals. I'd love to say I've remained steadfast in that regard.

But let's just watch that absolute howitzer again, shall we?

CB: Jeff Chabot, Stuttgart

To look at most of the statistics, advanced or otherwise, you would have thought Stuttgart had pulverized Juventus territorially much as they did in terms of xG. That was not quite the case. The visitors certainly tilted the pitch in their favor but Thiago Motta's side still had 17 penalty box touches, 105 in the final third. That's plenty to work with but the diligence and discipline of Jeff Chabot and company meant Juventus, who rarely need much of an invitation to fritter away good positions, turned their territory into just seven shots, only two of which came in the box.

The last of those efforts -- Kenan Yildiz in the 75th minute -- went into Chabot, who also ended the game with three recoveries, four of four successful duels and three interceptions. Much of Stuttgart's best defending came higher up the pitch but when Juventus did get through, Chabot and his Stuttgart teammates held firm.

CB: Auston Trusty, Celtic

As Celtic doubtless suspected it would be, this was a backs-to-the-wall job in Bergamo, one done with a little bit of good fortune and all sorts of high-quality last line defending. No one typified that more than Auston Trusty, whose tally of 14 clearances was five higher than anyone else in this game week. Indeed only six players have made more clearances in a Champions League game since the start of the 2019-20 season (I think they call that "the CBS era"). Unsurprisingly, Pepe is one of them.

"Playing away in the Champions League against a top team like them is not an easy task but we were up for it," said Trusty. "We knew we could come here and get a point, more than one. That was our mindset. We showed that. We could have come here and won." That is perhaps a generous assessment from Trusty -- if Mario Pasalic had his shooting boots on this could have been another road defeat for Celtic. When you've played as well as the US international just did, though, a little overstatement can be forgiven.

RM: Achraf Hakimi, Paris Saint-Germain

The superstar quality may not be quite as abundant in attack as it once was but Paris Saint-Germain can still call on at least one game-changer in the form of Achraf Hakimi, who saved them from what would have been a troublesome second defeat in as many Champions League games.

Perhaps Walter Benitez should have done better, a lot better, with a shot that fizzed through his legs but Hakimi earned his good fortune in front of goal with an outstanding all-round performance. Only four players ended the round of Games with a higher expected possession value from their passes than the Moroccan, who ended the Game with four shots and two shot assists as well. All that and a strong performance in the duels, this was a superstar display when PSG needed it.

CM: Quinten Timber, Feyenoord

You'll see fewer better passes in the league phase than the driven ball through the Benfica lines that found Antoni Milambo charging into the box for Feyenoord's second goal. What was particularly impressive about Quinten Timber, however, was how he positioned himself to consistently make those sorts of passes. The 23-year-old's understanding of the space immediately around him ensures that midfielders who think they've got a chance of pressuring the ball are swiftly taken out of the play.

CM: Tijani Reijnders, Milan

Two goals in 10 minutes sealed a crucial win for Milan and spoke to the profound qualities of Tijani Reijnders, an under-appreciated star in Serie A at the moment. The pair of rolled finishes from just inside the box spoke to Reijnders' impressive sense of space, applied further forward on this occasion than the Dutch international might usually expect.

"For me, it's pretty much the same," he said after the win. "I played a bit further forward and focused on finding more space near the goal. Generally, I prefer to play a bit deeper so I can be more involved in the game."

LM: Miguel Gutierrez, Girona

Girona's first win was typified by the cut and thrust of Miguel Gutierrez, who spent much of the 2-0 win over Slovan Bratislava bombing on with abandon. When you're trying to break down a low block there are few things more valuable than late-arriving midfielders and defenders who can get shots up. That's just what Girona got from Guiterrez, whose well-placed strike in the 42nd minute broke Bratislava's resolve. "As well as the goal, his attacking contribution stood out throughout," said UEFA's technical observer panel of Gutierrez's impressive display.

RW: Raphinha, Barcelona

On Monday, I wrote that Raphinha might be the continent's best creator this season. No regrets there, but perhaps even that was underselling the Brazilian. On Wednesday, he took it upon himself to create and score. Of course, he had a helping hand in his brilliant first-half brace but the swagger with which he breezed away from first Manuel Neuer, then Dayot Upamecano reflected a player whose sense of self-worth has been utterly revived by Hansi Flick. 

Indeed Raphinha would be the perfect figurehead for the revival of Barcelona if it weren't for all those pesky La Masia kids who already look ready to take on the world. The 27-year-old, a borderline pensioner in this side, speaks to the other side of this Barcelona revival, a player who seemed destined for the scrapheap given new impetus by Flick. Even when they were winning La Liga titles under Xavi, everything seemed so heavy. There is a lightness to the Catalans. They could float to the Champions League title.

And yes, before the deluge in my notifications, Raphinha was more left-winger than attacking midfielder tonight. He has played that role quite a lot this season so I think we can bend the rules. Anyway three of the best performers in the Champions League this week were Brazilian left wingers. What would you have me do?

LW: Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid

It's something of a pity that any moment of individual brilliance by a top player must now be viewed not for what it is but how it ties into a Ballon d'Or campaign, all the more so when the prizes for last season have not been awarded. Still, you can see why talk immediately drifted in that sort of direction after Vinicius Junior's demolition of Borussia Dortmund in the second half. It's the sort of thing the best player in the world ought to do: spot that his team is in a hole and proceed to airlift them out of it.

Beyond even the two late goals to earn himself a hat trick, Vinicius was on a one-man mission to turn the tide in Madrid's favor. No one carried the ball further in the second half, and in the first 15 minutes, he was a vital cog of his side's ball progression. Then came those goals at the death, Emre Can's swift conclusion that he wasn't going to keep pace with Madrid's No. 7 one of those moments that immediately feels destined for folklore. There was an aura to those two goals, something to put you in mind of Brazilian Ronaldo in the close control at such explosive speed, the finishes laser-guided beyond the reach of the goalkeeper.

ST: Takumi Minamino, Monaco

We haven't had two players from the same team in a team of the week so far this season. If any team merits that change it is unbeaten Monaco, who so ruthlessly put Crvena zvezda to the sword. Adi Hutter's side are one of just two across Europe's top five leagues without a defeat to their name and you wouldn't bet against that ending any time soon, particularly with Takumi Minamino and Breel Embolo forming such an effective partnership.

Minamino started the rout in Stade Louis II with a run so well timed even he wasn't sure if he was onside. His second showed no less impressive poaching instincts as well as the interplay between the Japan international and Embolo, something which doesn't exactly scream good news for Folarin Balogun. Then again, if Hutter is getting three shots, two chances created, a goal and an assist from Minamino, he won't much mind.