Team of the Week: Super-sub Messi leads the way with perfect 10 performance
As always, we have used our internal player rating system to select the team. The ratings are drawn from key statistics such as goals, assists, tackles and key passes. Here is our latest Team of the Week:
Goalkeeper
Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest) 8.2
The standout goalkeeper from around the world's best domestic leagues in the latest round of fixtures was Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels.
The 32-year-old kept out all seven shots that he faced against Crystal Palace to give his side three points that moved them into the top half of the Premier League table
Defence
Yeimar Gomez Andrade (Seattle Sounders) 8.4
The MLS regular season wrapped up over the weekend and one of the 18 sides progressing to the playoffs are the Seattle Sounders. Seattle's final regular season clash saw them draw 1-1 with the Portland Timbers despite losing a man in the second half.
Their key player was Colombian centre-back Yeimar Gomez Andrade who scored the opening goal with a well-directed header before putting in a defensive shift to hang on for a point after Portland levelled the scores.
Willi Orban (RB Leipzig) 9.5
By some distance, the best defender across the world's top leagues last weekend in terms of player rating was RB Leipzig's Willi Orban. The Hungarian international scored his side's second in their 2-0 win over Mainz but shone in all departments.
Over the course of the match, Orban made nine clearances, blocked three shots and made six tackles, all while maintaining a pass accuracy of 83% from the heart of the Leipzig defence.
Willian Pacho (PSG) 8.3
When Paris St-Germain signed Ecuadorian defender Willian Pacho from Eintracht Frankfurt for €40million, it didn't make too many headlines such was the low profile of the player compared with some of PSG's other recruits.
However, the 23-year-old centre-back has quietly gone about his business in the French capital and has impressed in Ligue 1. At the weekend, he assisted Bradley Barcola's goal in PSG's 4-2 win over Strasbourg as well as making six clearances, five tackles and four interceptions.
Midfield
Inaki Williams (Athletic Club) 9.1
Of the two of Athletic Club's Williams brothers, Nico has been making more of the headlines in recent months after a superb summer at the Euros. However, his older brother Inaki is still a star in Bilbao and he was a difference-maker for the Basque club on Saturday as they beat Espanyol 4-1.
Ghana international Inaki scored two first-half goals in two minutes as Athletic raced into a 3-0 lead in the opening half-hour against the side from Barcelona.
Danilo Cataldi (Fiorentina) 9.0
Fiorentina produced the standout result in Serie A over the weekend when they spanked 10-man Lecce 6-0 on Sunday. Both Danilo Cataldi and Andrea Colpani scored braces for the Florence-based side.
The two Italian midfielders starred and both notched ratings of 9.0 but Cataldi got into our team ahead of his club-mate thanks to the quality of his goals, the second of which was a deliciously curled free-kick into the top corner.
Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras) 9.6
The player of the weekend in Brazil was Palmeiras midfielder Raphael Veiga. The Brazil international scored a hat-trick as his side defeated Juventude 5-3 to keep pace with Serie A leaders Botafogo, who they trail by just one point in the standings.
It wasn't just Raphael Veiga's goalscoring that caught the eye; he completed four key passes and won six duels in a complete display.
Ibrahim Osman (Feyenoord) 9.2
Ghana might be in all sorts of trouble these days on the international stage but they certainly do not lack talent as a country. Ibrahim Osman is the second Ghanaian to make our team this week thanks to his eye-catching performance for Feyenoord in their 5-1 thrashing of Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie on Saturday.
Not only did Osman score early on in the big win, he also assisted his side's third goal. His goal was a peach; cutting in from the right with pace, he beat a couple of defenders before lashing the ball into the net. On loan at Feyenoord from Brighton, don't be surprised to see Osman lighting up the Premier League one day.
Forwards
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) 10
Who said he was finished? Lionel Messi starred in MLS on the weekend once again as Inter Miami not only smashed the New England Revolution 6-2 but also wracked up the highest points total in MLS history. Miami ended the regular season with 74 points, narrowly edging the Revolution's 2021 mark of 73 points.
Messi didn't start the match but came on just before the hour mark with the scores level at 2-2. It's safe to say he then stole the show, scoring a hat-trick and assisting the other to make it 6-2. Incredible impact. Messi's teammate Luis Suarez was unlucky to miss out on our team this week after grabbing two goals and two assists of his own and a rating of 9.0.
Wout Weghorst (Ajax) 9.2
A second super-sub makes our frontline this week in the form of Ajax's towering striker Wout Weghorst. The marksman came on just before the hour as well for the Amsterdam side in their match with Heracles on Sunday.
Similarly to Messi, when Weghorst came on it was 2-2... but not for long. He scored within minutes of entering the fray before adding a second from the spot to seal a dramatic 4-3 victory.
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) 9.1
Another week, another Harry Kane hat-trick in the Bundesliga. The Bayern Munich man scored all three of his goals against rivals Stuttgart in the second half on Saturday as the Bavarian giants won 4-0 to stay on top of the pile in Germany.
Those three goals lifted Kane's tally for the league season to eight from seven matches, on top of his five assists. You really do run out of words to describe Kane's ruthless efficiency in front of goal. Last season he notched 36 in the Bundesliga alone. At his current rate, he'll be aiming to match if not better that total.