Europa League Team of the Week XI

We’re through with the first leg of the Europa League last 16 – with just 13 goals scored across eight games, we’ll be expecting much more entertainment in the second leg.

Despite the lack of drama, we saw some big wins for Aston Villa, Panathinaikos and Porto – but who were this week’s best individual performers?

GK: Elías Ólafsson

Elias Olafsson had plenty of work to do at the City Ground, but he was equal to everything that Nottingham Forest could throw at him.

All in all, the Icelandic international made a total of six saves against Forest – he played a crucial role in their famous away win.

RB: Zakaria El Ouahdi

Zakaria El Ouahdi was the star of the show when Genk took on SC Freiburg, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win.

Not only did El Ouahdi score the game’s only goal, he also put forth some vital defensive work to ensure that Freiburg remained at arm’s length.

CB: Pau Torres

Pau Torres has been the subject of criticism as of late – even we’ve been guilty of this. However, he silenced the critics with a monolithic display against LOSC Lille.

Aston Villa’s Premier League form may have dropped off, but they managed to keep their Europa League dreams alive – making a series of clearances and blocks, Torres was outstanding against Lille.

CB: Carl Starfelt

Former Celtic centre-back Carl Starfelt couldn’t keep a clean sheet for Celta Vigo against Lyon, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.

Celta came under heavy pressure from the French giants, especially so after Borja Iglesias was sent off. Winning plenty of aerial duels, Starfelt will be highly disappointed to have so little to show for his herculean efforts.

LB: Lucas Digne

Lucas Digne’s defensive prowess has often been called into question, but there could be no complaints regarding his display against Lille.

He defended his flank diligently, putting in some excellent tackles – he picked up a yellow card late on, but this didn’t dissuade us from including him in our XI.

CM: Philip Billing

A former Premier League star with Huddersfield Town and Bournemouth, Philip Billing came back to haunt one of England’s biggest clubs when FC Midtjylland defeated Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Billing marshalled the midfield like the experienced professional that he is. He made Forest’s midfielders chase shadows as he moved the ball around the pitch, making a number of tackles along the way.

CM: Amadou Onana

Amadou Onana controlled the midfield against Lille with an iron fist. With 61 completed passes, no midfielders in Villa’s team saw the ball more than he did.

He also hit the bar and was unlucky to not find the back of the net – after a mediocre campaign, Onana will look to build upon this.

RW: Federico Bernardeschi

Federico Bernardeschi was back to his brilliant best against AS Roma – at the age of 32, he tormented their back line all night long down the right flank.

Not only did he make some fantastic progressive runs down the wing, he also put in some solid defensive work – he had a 100% tackle success ratio after the game was over.

AM: Emi Buendia

Emi Buendia wasn’t pitch-perfect against Lille, but he displayed excellent character to keep working hard even after missing a volleyed chance from inside the area.

He raced on a long punt down the pitch, making a clever flick-on to allow Ollie Watkins to score the only goal of the game.

LW: Endrick

At Real Madrid, many thought Endrick’s star would fizzle out – nevertheless, he showed that he is still one of the best young players in the world against Celta Vigo.

Lyon were 1-0 down as the match entered its endgame, only for Endrick to pop up in the 87th minute to net an equaliser.

ST: Lenny Joseph

Ferencváros continued their historic Europa League run with another win – this time, they had Sporting Braga in their sights.

With a goal and an assist to his name, Lenny Joseph was indisputably the man of the match – how far can Robbie Keane’s men go?