European Team of the Week: Magical Mane Links Up with Cristiano Ronaldo

Sadio Mane is WhoScored.com’s European player of the week.

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The Senegal international bagged the quickest hat-trick in Premier League history in Southampton’s 6-1 trouncing of Aston Villa on Saturday, with his three goals coming in the space of just two minutes and 56 seconds. Mane also completed three successful dribbles and played three key passes—one of which led to Graziano Pelle’s goal late on—in a thoroughly enjoyable attacking display.

Republic of Ireland international Shane Long also features after his spectacular showing for Saints at the weekend. The game will be remembered for Mane’s quickfire treble but Long was in impressive form to bag a first-half brace and provide the assists for two of Mane’s three goals. Three key passes, three tackles and three interceptions contributed to Long’s perfect WhoScored.com rating of 10, with the 28-year-old crucial in Saints’ continued pursuit of a European spot.

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Mounir Obbadi features in midfield after an impressive showing in Verona’s 2-1 win over Empoli on Sunday. The 32-year-old provided the assist for Vangelis Moras’ equaliser from his one key pass for the home side, but it was his performance off the ball that really stood out. The experienced Moroccan made 16 tackles in the victory, more than any other player has managed in a single match in Europe’s top five leagues this season, further accentuating his statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of "tackling."

Obbadi is partnered in the middle of the park by Sevilla star Vicente Iborra. A 2-1 win over Almeria has given Unai Emery’s side a chance of sneaking into the top four in Spain’s top tier, with Iborra netting twice in the victory for Los Rojiblancos. Three key passes and 11 aerial duels won helped the Spaniard gain a WhoScored.com rating of 9.39, which was enough to secure him the Man of the Match award.

Hakan Calhanoglu comes into the side in attack after a match-winning display of his own. Bayer Leverkusen secured a 2-0 win at Hoffenheim’s expense on Saturday, with Calhanoglu opening the scoring for the hosts before turning provider for Stefan Kiesling in the victory. The Turkey international has made a name for himself as one of the best set-piece specialists in world football, and this quality was evident on Saturday with his goal, his sixth in the league direct from a free-kick, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo partners the Turk in attack. The Real Madrid ace had a helping hand in each of Los Blancos’ four goals in their 4-1 win at Espanyol on Sunday, netting a hat-trick and providing the assist for Marcelo’s strike late on. Ronaldo played three key passes and made two successful dribbles in the victory, while three of his four shots on target found their way past Kiko Casilla. Barcelona may have won the title on Sunday, but the Portuguese attacker is maintaining his quest to end the season as Europe’s top goalscorer having now netted an astonishing 45 league goals this term.

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Jordan Amavi features at left-back, continuing to astound in Ligue 1. The 21-year-old played a crucial role for Nice in their 2-1 win over Lens, netting the equaliser for his side, but he could have had more than one, having twice struck the woodwork in the victory. Amavi also made nine interceptions and won nine aerial duels, which contributed to his WhoScored.com Man of the Match award.

Ligue 1 counterpart Rod Fanni features in the team at right-back following a commendable display in Marseille’s 4-0 thumping of Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Fanni netted L’OM’s second goal in the victory, though it was his defensive work that won him praise. A majority of Lille’s attacks came down their left (35 per cent), but the 33-year-old was up to the task of countering the threat, making four tackles and six interceptions.

Nikola Maksimovic features at the heart of the defence following his Man of the Match showing in Torino’s 2-0 win over Chievo. Two assists contributed to Maksimovic’s WhoScored.com rating of 9.72, while one tackle, 10 interceptions and six clearances ensured Torino came away from the encounter with a clean sheet and all three points.

Omer Toprak partners Maksimovic in defence and completes the backline this week after his clean-sheet-attaining display against Hoffenheim. Six tackles, five interceptions and 14 clearances ensured the visiting side were unable to properly test Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno, with Toprak central to their resolute defence.

Palermo shot-stopper Stefano Sorrentino rounds off the XI following a notable outing in a 1-0 win at Cagliari. The home side needed a win to improve their chances of staving off relegation but were regularly denied by Sorrentino, who made seven saves and one cross claim as Palermo ended their four-match winless run at the Stadio Sant’Elia.

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

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