Paris Saint-Germain defeated Galatasaray 1-0 at the Türk Telekom Stadium on Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the group stage of UEFA Champions League this season. The match wasn’t quite up to the performance we saw against Real Madrid on Matchday 1, but the performance of two players, in particular, stood out.
For those who watched the match, you probably wouldn’t pick Thomas Meunier as a player to name in any starting XI that encompasses all of the players in the Champions League. But, here we are. For the second consecutive week, the Belgium international is included in the fantasy-inspired squad. He may not have scored as many goals as Serge Gnabry or created as many shots on target as Robert Lewandowski, but statistically, Meunier was one of the most valuable defenders in fantasy and thus receives the accolades.
🔝 This week's top-scoring XI 🙌
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— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 3, 2019
Meunier wasn’t the only player being mentioned among the Champions League best. In his “Champions League Best XI, ESPN.com writer Nick Miller included Marco Verratti in his lineup. The Italian, who miraculously escaped a very physical game without picking up a yellow card, impressed Miller who wrote that “it was a solid job well done by the Parisians, and at the heart of it was their Italian string-puller Verratti, who held the team together in Istanbul and also should have registered a magnificent assist, with a fantastic pass down the left that set Angel Di Maria free, only for the Argentine to fluff the finish.”
Paris Saint-Germain returns to Champions League action on October 22 for Matchday 3 in a surprise battle with Club Brugge who currently sits in second place in Group A. It will be a return to his former club for Meunier, so it’s possible he could look to impress once again and remain in the fantasy starting XI. The game also signals the return of Neymar Jr. who will be coming off his two-game suspension. Along with the Brazilian will likely be a healthy Kylian Mbappé, so expect to see more PSG players receive Champions League honors.
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