Champions League Team of the Week: Spanish Stars Shine
UEFA’s first Champions League Team of the Week for the 2026/27 campaign has landed, and Spain’s fingerprints are all over it.
Three Spaniards make the cut after a breathless opening matchday: Marc Bartra, Pau Torres and Ferran Torres. They are joined by Barcelona’s captain Raphinha and Real Madrid’s returning giant in goal, Thibaut Courtois, to give La Liga and Spanish football a powerful early presence in Europe’s showcase XI.
Courtois back under the lights
At the back, the headline name is unmistakable. Thibaut Courtois, back on the Champions League stage at the Santiago Bernabéu, reminded Inter Milan exactly what he can do when the stakes rise. He faced eight shots, repelled seven of them, and anchored Madrid’s victory with the kind of authority that once made him the undisputed king of this competition’s goalkeepers.
UEFA’s Technical Observers Group, who selected the side, had an easy decision there.
In front of him, the back four features Sergiño Dest (PSV), Marc Bartra (Betis), Pau Torres (Aston Villa) and Archie Brown (Fenerbahçe). It’s Bartra and Torres, though, who steal the defensive spotlight.
Bartra and Pau Torres dominate both boxes
For Bartra, this is a reward years in the making. The report singles him out as Betis’ “defensive leader”, and he played like it in Lille. He marshalled the back line with what UEFA called “tactical maturity and dominance in the air” and then went far beyond routine defending, rising to score two headers that turned Betis’ long-awaited Champions League return into a statement win in France.
Pau Torres produced a different kind of masterclass. Lining up for Aston Villa against Club Brugge, he left fingerprints on every phase of the game. In his own area, he made eight clearances — more than anyone else on the pitch. Higher up, he became a playmaker in disguise, creating four chances and delivering two assists as Villa overpowered the Belgian side. A centre-back dictating both penalty areas is rare; Torres did exactly that.
Odegaard pulls strings, new names emerge
The midfield pairing in UEFA’s XI underlines the blend of star power and fresh faces that this season promises. Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal’s conductor, slots naturally into the “creative area” after another performance built on control and incision.
Alongside him, Martin Baturina of Como earns a place that will raise eyebrows beyond Italy. His inclusion signals UEFA’s eye for emerging influence, not just established names.
Raphinha and Ferran light up the forward line
Up front, the front four reads like a warning to every defence in Europe: Michael Olisé (Bayern), Ferran Torres (Paris Saint-Germain), Raphinha (Barcelona) and Ermedin Demirovic (Stuttgart).
Raphinha, now Barcelona’s captain, set the tone in a 5–1 demolition of Feyenoord. UEFA’s report underlines how he “led the press with impressive intensity,” hounding defenders and driving the team higher up the pitch. He constantly darted in behind to stretch the Dutch side, drifted between the lines to unsettle their shape, and crowned the night with two “magnificent goals”. It was the performance of a leader, not just a winger.
Ferran Torres, meanwhile, wasted no time announcing himself at PSG. Against Slovan Bratislava he delivered his first hat-trick for the French champions, but it was not just about the finishes. UEFA highlighted his “reactions in front of goal” and “excellent movement”, the kind that leaves defenders a step behind and ensures he “is in the right place at the right time”. For a new signing, there is no clearer way to grab Paris’ attention.
Olisé’s inclusion for Bayern and Demirovic’s for Stuttgart round out an attacking unit built on flair, pressing and ruthless end product.
A Spanish surge to open the campaign
Three Spaniards in the XI, a Barcelona captain leading from the front, and Real Madrid’s Courtois already deciding big nights again. The first Team of the Week does more than reward one-off displays — it hints at fault lines and power bases for the season ahead.
If this opening matchday is any indication, Spanish influence in the Champions League is not fading. It is regrouping, rearming and stepping back into the spotlight.
