CL Trophy
CL Trophy
Match week 4 of the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 was spectacular. Paris Saint-Germain scored four times in the opening 17 minutes at Villarreal, the fastest four-goal start in Champions League history, and finished 6-0 winners to stay perfect on 12 points. Como were even more ruthless, beating Lens 9-1. Barcelona ended Aston Villa’s perfect European start with a 3-0 win, while Bayern Munich beat Atlético Madrid 2-0 away after successive draws.
Liverpool lost 3-2 at Fenerbahçe, ending their unbeaten run, while Real Madrid needed a 3-2 win at AEK Athens to avoid an upset, and Manchester United beat Roma 3-2 despite a late red card. The chasing pack now sits tightly behind PSG in the race for automatic Round of 16 places.
It’s interesting to compare the Champions League Team Of The Week XI from match week 3 to this edition
Goalkeeper and defenders
Goalkeeper: Matvey Safonov (Paris Saint-Germain)
Safonov kept a clean sheet in the 6-0 win and held every ball he claimed, a 100 per cent catch rate. He marshalled his box and commanded his defensive line, which denied Villarreal any route back into the contest after PSG’s early blitz.
Right-Back: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Hakimi completed 54 accurate passes and tracked the right flank relentlessly. He gave PSG security on that side while joining attacks at the right moments, which helped sustain the tempo of their record-breaking start.
Centre-back: Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain)
Pacho registered an assist and completed 63 passes at 92 per cent accuracy. He anchored the back line cleanly and progressed the ball from deep, which made him as valuable in possession as he was in protecting Safonov.
Centre-back: Marc-Oliver Kempf (Como 1907)
Kempf balanced defensive duties with a goal in Como’s 9-1 win at Lens. He dominated aerial duels and scored a thunderous header from a set piece, showing the same physical authority in both penalty areas.
Left-Back: Lucas Hernández (Paris Saint-Germain)
Hernández won two tackles and shut down the left channel, ending opposition overlaps before they could develop. His discipline anchored the clean sheet and gave Doué a secure base to attack from.
Midfielders
Midfielder: Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich)
Laimer disrupted Atlético’s structure throughout at the Metropolitano and capped a relentless display with a goal in Bayern’s 2-0 win. His work in front of the defence gave Bayern control, and his finish confirmed a result that ended two successive draws.
Midfielder: Nico Paz (Como 1907)
8 – Nico Paz leads all players for goal involvements in the @ChampionsLeague this season (3 goals, 5 assists). Only Raúl in 2002-03 and Neymar in 2016-17 have ever had more assists in their first four appearances of a single edition (6 each). Magic. https://t.co/SpSk28QrwH
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Paz scored once and created two more goals in Como’s historic win, dictating the tempo from central midfield. His output lifted him to the top of the competition’s assist charts, a remarkable return for a side new to the tournament.
Attacking Midfielder: Raphinha (Barcelona)
Raphinha scored twice and pulled apart Aston Villa’s defensive structure, ending the visitors’ perfect European start. His double, added to Yamal’s opener, secured a commanding 3-0 win at Spotify Camp Nou.
Forwards
Centre-forward: Tasos Douvikas (Como 1907)
Douvikas scored a hat-trick from open play, and his movement inside the box was the foundation of the treble. It made him the competition’s top scorer and anchored Como’s 9-1 win over Lens, the heaviest margin of the round.
Attacking Forward: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
Yamal opened the scoring against Villa with a record-breaking early strike, cutting in from the right. He now has four assists in the competition alongside his goal, and Villa never recovered from conceding so soon.
Attacking Forward: Matheus Cunha (Manchester United)
In the most improbable result of match week 4 given the form of Manchester United, the Red-Devils came back from 2-0 down at half-time with Matheus Cunha pivotal in the United fightback and ultimately their victory.
Cunha forced a penalty to start the United comeback which Bruno Fernandes converted on 58 minutes and then in the space of 8 minutes the Brazilian single handedly won the game with the equaliser on 83 minutes and then the winner from the tightest of angles on 86 minutes to complete the comeback.
The Brazilian did pick up his second yellow card and a red card and he cares which is something which has not been in evidence at Old Trafford much this season.
Who deserved the most recognition this week?
1 – Last night, Matheus Cunha became the first player in UEFA Champions League history to win a penalty, score a goal and be sent off in the same match. Rollercoaster. https://t.co/xoJrQhNydw
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Matheus Cunha must be recognised for his passionate display and brace of goals vs Roma showing that he has not downed tools as suggested by the likes of Gary Neville. Cunha was on fire and showed all the brilliance and conviction United have been missing across this winless streak. The Brazilian showed why he is a player who still has a high ceiling to reach with so much more to come from a versatile forward who should be playing in the Champions League.
Douvikas deserves the 2nd most recognition. A hat-trick in a 9-1 away win is rare enough, and his open-play finishing took him to the top of the scoring charts. Paz and Yamal supplied the creative returns, while Raphinha’s double ended Villa’s perfect start in Barcelona.
Safonov and PSG’s back four also merit credit, because a clean sheet in a 6-0 win rarely attracts attention. Kempf deserves a mention too, as a centre-back who scored in a nine-goal win, and Laimer’s decisive goal at the Metropolitano rewarded a midfielder who rarely takes the headlines.