In the past week, I watched 11 games in 3 continents:
At the back, TP Rehenesh and Massamba Lô Sambou (NorthEast United) earn their spots for commanding displays in NorthEast United's 3-0 defeat of Indian Super League leaders Chennaiyin. Naryan Das (FC Goa) was brilliant as Goa beat Kerala by the same scoreline, attacking ferociously, and his teammate Romeo Fernandes on the right of midfield just missed out on joining him in the team. But Grégory Arnolin makes the cut, thanks to his strength in marshalling the backline. The final member of this defence is not from the ISL, Pablo Zabaleta one of the men who turned things around for Manchester City in the Champions League, although his performance was nowhere near as important as that of his Argentine compatriot Sergio Agüero. Agüero right now is the sharpest out-and-out striker in world football. In supporting him, I chose Francesco Totti, who nearly inspired AS Roma to a win on a freezing cold night in Russia. Totti wasn't on fire, but was clinical, and sat in all the right places.
In a feature I hope to reprise on Tuesdays from now on, the reason being that the weekend round of fixtures now often finishes on a Monday evening, I have selected the 11 players (and 5 substitutes) that lit up the week that ended on the Monday night just gone:
In midfield, I picked James McArthur (Crystal Palace) and Leonardo Ponzio (River Plate), two players who made their sides tick in tricky away ties. McArthur's substitution into Palace's away game at Swansea completely changed the complexion of the match; Ponzio's calm passing and tracking back allowed River to overcome their biggest rivals, Boca, and progress to the final of the Copa Sudamericana. For wingers, I picked Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), who made Borussia Dortmund's poor showing in North London look even poorer.
Substitutes: Marcelo Barovero; Leonel Vangioni; Leonardo Pisculichi (all River); Sambou Yatabaré (Guingamp); Manucho (Rayo).
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