The eight top football players in Europe

While most top divisions were in their second game week, the Bundesliga got underway on Friday night with more late-night drama involving Bayer Leverkusen. In other areas, the top teams in Europe scored a lot of goals, including a number of hat-tricks from both well-known and lesser-known players.

These are the best players from the second round of European fixtures.

8. Dusan Vlahovic

With back-to-back 3-0 wins to start the Thiago Motta era, Juventus handed Hellas Verona a soft defeat in their gameweek two encounter.

In a revamped Juventus squad, Dusan Vlahovic was the feature player, scoring a brace with a low shot in the first half and a penalty kick in the second half.

The Serbian striker was not able to add his name to a long list of hat-trick scorers this weekend, despite playing the whole game.

7. Achraf Hakimi

At the start of the 2024–25 season, Paris Saint–Germain quickly found their shooting form, scoring 10 goals in their first two games. A number of players dazzled in the French capital on Friday, when six of those came against Montpellier.

Achraf Hakimi was the star player, with Bradley Barcola scoring twice, Ousmane Dembele and summer recruit Joao Neves each picking up two assists.

In the rout, the Moroccan defender won 67% of his duels, took three shots, and finished with a game-high 113 touches in addition to scoring and providing an assist.

6. Viktor Gyokeres

Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting CP always plays the Primeira Liga on easy. He scored three goals in his first two games and then doubled his season total against Farense on Friday night with a masterful hat-trick.

First, there was a composed finish off a rebound; second, there was a precisely placed penalty; and third, there was a superb run and low left-footed strike that went past the Farense goalie.

The 2023–24 Primeira Liga top scorer has six goals in his first three games, which is not a terrible return.

5. Son Heung-min

Tottenham Hotspur’s carelessness cost them in their Premier League debut, but on Saturday, they atoned for their mistakes with a four-goal victory over Everton.

Talisman Son Heung-min excelled from the left wing and scored twice in the 4-0 rout in place of the injured Dominic Solanke.

His first goal was assisted by a careless play by Jordan Pickford, who lost possession of the ball and slid into an empty net. His second goal came from a left-footed shot towards the end of the game.

4. Jamie Gittens

The 20-year-old English winger Jamie Gittens is off to a great start in what may be a breakout season in 2023–2024. In Nuri Sahin’s debut appearance, he scored twice for Borussia Dortmund in their Bundesliga opener, coming off the bench.

Gittens completed a few of stepovers before cutting in and firing a strong shot past Kevin Trapp to start the scoring. It was a stunning strike.

During a counterattack in stoppage time, the young player scored his second goal of the game with a composed attempt that found the back of the net after driving 60 yards up the field.

3. Andrej Kramaric

For what seems like an eternity, Andrej Kramaric has been a constant goal scorer for Hoffenheim. He began 2024–25 with a hat-trick against recently promoted Holstein Kiel.

Two deft close-range efforts and a well-executed penalty meant that he has now scored 17.6% of the goals he scored for the German team this season.

He ranked second across the pitch in touches (67) and predicted assists (0.49), and he concluded the game with a game-high 11 touches in the opponent penalty box and four shots on goal.

2. Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland, the two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner, scored his eleventh hat-trick for Manchester City against recently promoted Ipswich Town on the opening day of his third season with the team.

The unrelenting shooter scored twice in the first 16 minutes, including a penalty kick and an own goal. In the last minute, he made a strong run to win the match ball from a distance.

Even though he only got 22 touches during the game, the powerful Norwegian harassed the Ipswich defense from the first to the last, causing them to lose 4-1. It was a harsh awakening for the defense.

1. Noni Madueke

Noni Madueke isn’t used to scoring hat tricks, while Haaland is. In an odd 6-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon, the winger scored his first three goals as a senior, with Cole Palmer setting him up for each of his goals.

Madueke has performed well in the first few weeks of the season despite rumors of a summer departure; he scored against Servette in Europe midweek. On the right flank, Chelsea has something special with the direct and quick winger.

After the game, Madueke described his relationship with Palmer as “he’s cold and I’m fire.” It’s difficult to disagree with that evaluation.