Brits Abroad: Loftus-Cheek shines while Dier makes full Bayern debut
Harry Kane moved four goals clear in the race for the European Golden Boot on Saturday in a game in which Eric Dier made his full Bayern debut. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the star English player on the continent, excelling in AC Milan's 2-2 draw with Bologna, while Djed Spence and Ainsley Maitland-Niles put in sub-par displays.
In the first of a weekly series, WhoScored take a look at the performances of English players across Europe over the weekend.
Bayern Munich bounced back from their shock 1-0 loss to Werder Bremen with back-to-back wins over Union Berlin and Augsburg. Harry Kane bagged his 23rd league goal of the season in the 3-2 victory over the latter on Saturday, netting with one of three shots. While not a memorable performance by any stretch, Kane's strike ended a two-game goalless run as Bayern ended the weekend two points off league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
In the absence of Kim Min-Jae and Dayot Upamecano, Eric Dier made his full debut for Bayern following his arrival from Tottenham. Bayern may have shipped twice at Augsburg but Dier was on hand to pick out a teammate with ease, returning a 94.5% pass success rate from his 55 attempted passes. The 30-year-old also made four clearances and one interception to return a WhoScored rating of 6.32.
While AC Milan were unable to hold out for the all the spoils at the weekend, conceding a late Riccardo Orsolini penalty to share the spoils with Bologna, Ruben Loftus-Cheek did enough to secure the player of the match award in the eventual 2-2 draw. Loftus-Cheek hit the back of the net with both shots and was unfortunate not to add an assist having made three key passes.
Jadon Sancho - Borussia Dortmund
Back to Germany now and while Jadon Sancho was unable to directly contribute to a Borussia Dortmund goal in their 3-1 win over Bochum, the on-loan forward was still a handful for Die Blauen as he completed four dribbles and made one tackle. An additional key pass saw Sancho return a WhoScored rating of 7.04.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens - Borussia Dortmund
Remaining at Signal Iduna Park, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens replaced Donyell Malen with 20 minutes to play and made a solid impact from the bench as evidenced by a WhoScored rating of 7.10. The teenager chanced his luck where possible against Bochum, mustering four shots, and completed two dribbles in a fine cameo.
10-man Lille were held to a 0-0 draw at Montpellier on Sunday with Angel Gomes putting in a fairly solid display in midfield. Lille's numerical disadvantage hindered their chances of securing all the spoils but Gomes still found a teammate with all but one of his 54 attempted passes at the Stade de la Mosson, and made two tackles and interceptions combined in the stalemate.
Even as Rizespor fell to a 4-0 loss at Fatih Karagumruk, Jonjo Shelvey still returned a respectable WhoScored rating of 6.71. The 31-year-old made 14 accurate long balls as he sought to set his side on the frontfoot, while Shelvey also made one key pass and one dribble prior to his 83rd-minute withdrawal.
Djed Spence was taken off at the break in Genoa's eventual 2-1 win over Lecce. Spence struggled in possession prior to his half time withdrawal having found a teammate with 66.7% of his 12 passes. The on-loan full-back was dispossessed once, too, in a fairly forgettable display.
Lyon came close to pulling off an impressive comeback on Friday night but their efforts were in vain as they eventually fell to a 3-2 home defeat to Rennes. Ainsley Maitland-Niles played 89 minutes in the loss, during which he completed two dribbles and made two tackles to return a WhoScored rating of 6.43.
