Mesut Ozil, Javier Hernandez, Ivan Rakitic lead the UCL Team of the Week

Matchday 3 in the UEFA Champions League has
been and gone. Which 11 players made andor
Baresi Best XI?
Goalkeeper: Starting his first Champions League
game for Arsenal, Petr Cech pulled off some
hugely difficult saves to play a key role in
securing the London side's supreme 2-0 win over
Bayern Munich. The pick of them was a brilliant
stop against Robert Lewandowski, but the Czech
was solid throughout. Plus, the fact a Manuel
Neuer error at the other end proved the
difference in the game only emphasises the
importance of Cech's display.
Right-back: Always on top of Cristiano Ronaldo,
occasionally a little too abrasive but very rarely in
trouble, Paris Saint-Germain's Serge Aurier had
an exceptional game in their 0-0 draw with Real
Madrid. He was key to keeping that clean sheet
intact and keeping the Portuguese quiet, while
also proving one of the French side's best
attacking threats. A fine performance.
Centre-back: Apart from one error, which did
not prove to be costly, Dynamo Kyiv's Yevhen
Khacheridi marshalled Diego Costa so
dependably in the Ukranian side's 0-0 draw with
Chelsea. The 28-year-old repeatedly got his body
in the way, or offered a timely interception.
Centre-back: Dimitris Siovas was assuredly
solid for Olympiakos in what might end up a
crucial 1-0 away win at Dinamo Zagreb. He cut
out every Croatian attack, but also played the ball
from which Brown Ideye hit the winner. A
complete defensive display from a player who sets
the tone for a side that look like surprise Round of
16 qualifiers.
Left-back: On a great night for Malmo, Swedish
under-21 international Pa Kanote put in a fine
defensive performance to stifle Shakhtar Donetsk
in a shock 1-0 win. The full-back made three
impressive tackles in particular and offered drive
on the left flank.
Midfield: Ivan Rakitic didn't start for Barcelona
away to BATE Borisov, but offered two finishes in
a 2-0 win of which Lionel Messi himself would
have been proud. One was a powerful precise
drive from distance, the other a sumptuous close-
range clip. That attacking input itself only
emphasises the Croatian's increasingly influential
role in dictating the play of the whole team.
Midfield: It was not just that Miralem Pjanic
scored a sensational free kick in Roma's
remarkable 4-4 draw at Bayer Leverkusen, since
the Bosnian supremely hitting a set-piece has
now become so routine. It was the overarching
way he ran the Roma attack, also assisting
Daniele De Rossi for two goals. Pjanic is a player
coming into his own.
Midfield: Not for the first time, Daniele De
Rossi led Roma by example. On this latest
occasion, he inspired their incredible comeback
with a brace of goals to make it 2-2. Around all of
that, he was his typical battling self and the
nature of the second goal was as symbolic as it
was significant, as the captain effectively forced it
over the line. He forced Roma to an incredible
draw, admirably complementing Pjanic's poise.
Forward: Long before Mesut Ozil secured
Arsenal's win over Bayern with a close-range finish
to make it 2-0, the German playmaker helped set
the foundation of the performance. Arsene
Wenger's side began to disrupt Bayern's usual
rhythm by refusing to exhaust themselves
chasing the ball all over the pitch, and only
pressing near their own goal, before seeking to
swiftly release a rampaging attack. Ozil offered
the pace that so troubled Bayern, while also
linking things together. Along with Santi Cazorla,
it was the German's passes that so often pushed
Pep Guardiola's side back. Ozil forced a fine save
from Manuel Neuer early on, and eventually beat
him by the end. A standout display.
Forward: It says much that Manchester City only
won their group game with Sevilla after the
Spanish side's manager Unai Emery made the
surprising decision to substitute Yevhen
Konoplyanka because, until then, he had been
occupying too much of the home side's attention
and generally running the game. Although the
rationale is to make the team more defensively
sound, it overlooks the indirect defensive role that
an attacker like Konoplyanka serves. Merely by
virtue of his magic talent, he pins the other side
back and ensures they can't throw so much
forward. On Wednesday he scored the game's
opening goal and, had the stayed on the pitch,
Sevilla might have come away with more than a
narrow 2-1 defeat.
Forward: Javier Hernandez seems to have
finally rediscovered his nose for goal since moving
to Germany and scored twice in Bayer
Leverkusen's remarkable 4-4 draw with Roma.
The first was a penalty but the second was an
opportunistic rebound after a brilliant turn to set
up an initial shot that was saved. Even more
encouraging was the way the Mexican's running
and decision-making enhanced Leverkusen's
pressing game.


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