Ange-Yoan Bonny scored on his Inter debut, but that achievement pales in comparison to what he did on his first start, and he leads the way, accompanied by other stars, in this week’s nomination of top performers from Europe’s top five leagues.
Top Performers of the Weekend in the Top 5 Leagues
English Premier League: Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth
Antoine Semenyo is up there as one of the best players in the Premier League this season, and after his Player of the Week performance in Bournemouth’s win over Fulham, there is emerging debate over whether anyone has been as good as him.
The Ghanaian was directly involved in all three goals in the 3-1 comeback win, scored a brilliant solo goal to level scores eight minutes after his side went down, and set up Justin Kluivert for 2-1 six minutes later.
He completed his brace in the final minute of added time to take his goal involvement in seven Premier League games this season to nine, only behind Erling Haaland, who has ten.
Spanish LaLiga: Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior is having a fine start to the season, and his brace against high-flying Villarreal on Saturday evening stood out as his best game so far.
The Brazilian was the star of the show as Real Madrid sealed a 3-1 win to reclaim their status as LaLiga leaders, following Barcelona’s humiliating defeat at Sevilla later on Sunday.
After a dominant first half produced no goals, Vinicius opened the scoring with a beautiful individual effort two minutes after the restart, picking up possession on the left and driving past a couple of challenges before finding the top corner.
He converted a penalty won by himself in the 69th minute to double the host’s advantage, taking his goal involvements in LaLiga this season to nine (five goals, four assists) in eight matches, seven of them starts.
Only Kylian Mbappé, with eleven, who assisted the first and scored Real Madrid’s third on the night, has more goal involvements than the Brazilian in the league this season. For this weekend, there’s no better candidate for LaLiga Player of the Week.
Italian Serie A: Ange-Yoan Bonny of Inter
A massive 61 minutes for the young French striker on his first start for Inter in Serie A, as he was directly involved in all four goals in a 4-1 victory over Cremonese at San Siro.
The 21-year-old, who signed for the club he supported since childhood, had scored after coming on as a late substitute on his debut against Torino in the opening week. This time, he set up Lautaro Martinez for the opening goal after just six minutes.
He then scored himself with a near-post header from Federico DiMarco’s cross later in the half to double Inter’s advantage, before repaying the favour by setting up the Italian for 3-0 five minutes before the hour mark.
Ange-Yoan Bonny sealed his Serie A Player of the Week crown by teeing up Nicolo Barella for 4-0 to complete his hat-trick of assists just before coming off to a standing ovation, before the visitors grabbed a late consolation.
German Bundesliga: Luis Diaz of Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich continue to win, and it was Luis Diaz at the heart of things during their latest victory, with involvement in all three goals in a 3-0 win away at Frankfurt before the international break.
The summer signing from Liverpool continues to dazzle in the German top-flight, taking his goal involvement to nine after six games, a number only second to his teammate Harry Kane, who has five more.
Diaz opened the scoring 15 seconds in, sliding home Serge Gnabry’s low cross at the back post, before setting up Harry Kane for 2-0 five minutes before the half-hour mark.
He sealed the win on the counter six minutes from time with a ferocious shot that kissed the upright on its way in, earning him the crown as Bundesliga Player of the Week while Bayern Munich extended their lead at the summit to four.
French Ligue 1: Anthony Lopes of Nantes
An unusual recognition for a goalkeeper, but this is well deserved by Anthony Lopes, who stood his ground against Brest to ensure a toothless Nantes came away with a point before the international break.
The Portuguese made five saves, including four from inside his box and two diving stops to keep Brest at bay. Despite conceding an expected goals tally of 1.77, he came away with his second Ligue 1 assist of the season.
His reward was a crucial point for his team, who had zero shots on target, and a deserved Player of the Week nomination, beating Marseille’s Matthew O’Reilly and several players from Strasbourg.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
