There were no major surprises on Matchday 1 of the Champions League, but there were some fine performances, such as PSG's solid 2-0 win over Dortmund, Barcelona's 5-0 attacking display against Antwerp, and Arsenal's 4-0 crushing win over PSV Eindhoven.

UEFA has racked its brains and selected the 11 players with the best performances in the first matches of the 2023/24 edition.

Unsurprisingly, goalkeeper Ivan Provedel, scorer of Lazio's equaliser against Atletico, is in goal.

In defence, we find PSG's Achraf Hakimi, who scored against BVB on Tuesday evening, and the very solid Salzburg duo of Strahinja Pavlovic and Aleksa Terzic, who were the main contributors to their team's 2-0 clean-sheet at Benfica.

In midfield, Champions League specialist Casemiro was named, thanks to his brace, despite Manchester United's 4-3 defeat at the Allianz Arena.

Alongside him are Brais Mendez, Real Sociedad's only scorer against Inter, and Martin Odegaard, who put in an outstanding performance against PSV with a splendid goal and an assist in the Gunners' 4-0 win.

On the wings, Porto's Brazilian Galeno is a logical presence, with two goals and an assist against Shakhtar, as is Tete on the other side, scorer of Galatasaray's equaliser against Copenhagen.

Finally, Joao Félix, who scored twice and set up another for Barcelona, and Salzburg striker Roko Simic, who scored and set up another in a fine win away to Lisbon, are up front.

Notable absentees include Jude Bellingham, who earned Real Madrid a crucial win against Union Berlin with a last-gasp winner, and players from Bayern Munich, who beat Manchester United.

September 21, 2023

Roko Šimič

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