European Team of the Week: Lionel Messi and Neymar Are Simply Unstoppable

For the second week running, Lionel Messi is WhoScored.com’s European player of the week. The Argentine secured his third consecutive WhoScored.com man of the match award in La Liga in Barcelona’s 6-0 thumping of Elche after landing yet another 10-out-of-10 rating. Messi bagged a second-half brace and provided two assists in an outstanding attacking performance. The 27-year-old also played four key passes and completed two successful dribbles in the win over the relegation candidates.

Christophe Mandanne partners Messi in attack this week on account of his impressive showing in Guingamp’s 3-2 win over Lorient. The 29-year-old registered the assist for Claudio Beauvue’s opener before getting on the scoresheet with 20 minutes remaining. Mandanne’s goal came from one of his three shots on target, while his assist was one of the three key passes he played in the victory.

Brazilian Neymar features in the XI this week on the back of his memorable outing for Barcelona at the weekend. The attacker netted a second-half double, one of which came following a silky one-two with Messi, and provided the assist for Pedro’s goal late on. The young Brazil international also completed a commendable three successful dribbles in the win, while his ball retention was a particular highlight, having found a teammate with 94 percent of his 50 attempted passes.

La Liga counterpart Pablo Sarabia features on the opposite flank after his match-winning display on Monday night. Sarabia provided the assist for Álvaro Vázquez’s first-half equaliser, before netting the winner five minutes from time as Getafe secured their first league win in 10 at the expense of Celta Vigo. Having also played three key passes and made two interceptions in the victory, Sarabia was more than deserving of the WhoScored.com man of the match award.

Whoscored.com

A Ligue 1 central midfield pairing this week includes the experienced Julien Ferét. The 32-year-old had a helping hand in each of Caen’s goals in their 4-1 away win at Rennes on Sunday. Ferét became the first player in Ligue 1 this season to register three assists in a single league match and managed to get his name on the scoresheet with five minutes of the encounter remaining, which contributed to his WhoScored.com rating of 9.50.

Impressively, Ferét’s three assists came from just three key passes, hinting that the chances he created for his teammates were of the highest standard. The midfielder also managed to play three accurate through balls in the victory, in what was an impressive showing in the middle of the park for Patrice Garande’s side.

Youngster Morgan Sanson partners Ferét in midfield. The 20-year-old registered a second-half assist for Lucas Barrios’ late goal in Montpellier’s 4-0 win over Nantes, with that coming from just two key passes. Sanson offered an effective offensive threat from deep, completing six successful dribbles in the victory. Furthermore, the Montpellier ace also exhibited the defensive side of his game, having made four interceptions, three clearances and one tackle in the fixture.

Javi López comes in at right-back in the team of the week this week. The 29-year-old turned out a commendable defensive showing for Espanyol in their comprehensive 3-0 win over Almeria. López made five tackles, four interceptions and seven clearances to ensure Espanyol came away with a clean sheet, along with all three points.

Fernando Bustamante/Associated Press

Daniel Congré features at left-back. Congré ensured goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren was rarely troubled in the victory over Nantes, making five tackles, five interceptions and four clearances to help Montpellier to victory. The 29-year-old also won two aerial duels to help guarantee any aerial threat from Nantes was quickly thwarted.

Gerard Piqué stars at centre-back following his performance for Barcelona against Elche. The Spaniard opened the scoring for the Primera División giants and was able to instigate attacks from the back over the 90 minutes, having found a teammate with 88 percent of his 75 attempted passes, reinforcing his WhoScored.com strength of "passing." Having made three tackles, one interception and seven clearances, Piqué was on hand to repel any Elche attack.

Romain Genevois partners Piqué at the heart of the defence in WhoScored.com’s European team of the week. The Nice centre-back opened the scoring in the 2-1 win over Marseille, further denting L’OM’s title charge. From a defensive perspective, Genevois performed admirably, making five tackles, two interceptions and nine clearances, with his defensive exploits all the more commendable when taking into consideration centre-back partner Kevin Gomis received his marching orders in the 53rd minute. However, the 27-year-old’s experience shone through as he helped Nice to victory on Friday night.

Johnny Placide completes the highest-rated XI in Europe this week. The shot-stopper put in a man of the match performance in Reims’ 0-0 draw with Lens, making an impressive seven saves, including two in quick succession late on as the hosts secured a much-welcomed point following back-to-back league defeats.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team rankings.

You can follow all the scores, statistics and live player and team ratings with the new free-to-download WhoScored iOS app.