UCL’s 3 best players of the day: Minamino joins Vini Jr. and Juve’s unsung hero

AS Monaco FW Takumi Minamino

Takumi Minamino didn’t score a goal as spellbinding as Wilfried Singo (seriously, if your team needs a center back, you should look this guy up), nor was he as active as 22-year-old standout Maghnes Akliouche.

But when it comes to pure efficiency, Minamino stood above everyone else, finishing two “gimme” chances with ease while recording an assist of his own. Minaminio was in the right place at the right time, putting on a clinic in positioning while making smart interplay and creating multiple chances for his teammates.

With Monaco dominating the ball and so many of his teammates itching to take defenders on, Minamino was smart about taking up central positions away from his teammates in positions where a goal would be possible.

Without those keen instincts, which he showed all the way back when he was a prospect at RB Salzburg to earn a move to Liverpool, he would not have been in the situation to have scored twice anyway.

Minamino is a great example of the importance of working smart, and his Monaco were rewarded with a 5-1 romping of Red Star Belgrade, which is nothing less than they would have expected as Ligue 1 title contenders this season.

Real Madrid LW Vinicius Junior

There is no question at all that Vinicius Junior was the best player of the Champions League action on Tuesday night, scoring a hat trick in one half as the catalyst for Real Madrid taking down Borussia Dortmund, once again, 5-2 in a rematch of last season’s Final.

But unlike the Final, Dortmund put up much more of a fight against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, getting off to a 2-0 lead with a rapid-fire double at around the half-hour mark.

Real’s much maligned defense straightened out in the second stanza, while Vinicius dazzled with his hat trick, along with five dribbles completed for the comeback kings of the Champions League.

In addition to asserting himself as the best player in the Champions League in today’s action, Vinicius Jr. made yet another statement that he is the best player in world football right now.

Even on another team with two other generational talents in Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius is the one with the heart and consistency to always come up with the difference-making plays in the biggest matches.

Juventus GK Mattia Perin

Juventus were completely overwhelmed against Bundesliga upstarts Stuttgart, falling 1-0 due to a well-taken late goal from El Bilal Toure. However, Juventus would have lost by at least three if it were not for Mattia Perin, who is the most underrated goalkeeper in the world right now.

Perin is legitimately one of the best keepers in Serie A, and he honestly has consistently been in that bracket for the last few seasons, whether starting games for Genoa or Juventus.

Overshadowed by Wojciech Szczesny, Perin is now the unquestioned No. 1 and one of the finest shot-stoppers around, as he made four or five legitimate goal-saving parries in the defeat.

Juve were down to 10 men at one point after Danilo’s second yellow, and the scoreline would have truly reflected the extent of their embarrassing performance had it not been for Perin’s heroics.

He provided a goalkeeping performance essentially on par with the attacking display we witnessed from Vinicius Jr. in Real Madrid’s win over Dortmund, such is the praise Perin deserves for making nine saves, including six from within the penalty area – and, of course, one splendid penalty stop.

It’s too bad Perin couldn’t spare all of the Bianconeri’s blushes, but, concerningly, that should clue you in to how much more Thiago Motta needs to do in order to return the Old Lady to its previous status as a threat in the Champions League.

Hopefully, sooner rather than later, Perin gets his due as a top keeper.