Brits Abroad: Henderson makes Ajax debut as Kane scores again
Brits Abroad returns to take a look at how the British players fared on the continent. This weekend, fans witnessed Jordan Henderson make his Ajax debut, Harry Kane continue his fine Bundesliga form, Lewis Ferguson shine to maintain Bologna's surprise top-four push in Serie A and Jude Bellingham do all he could for Real Madrid in Sunday's Madrid Derby stalemate.
Jordan Henderson made his long-awaited Ajax debut following his January arrival from Al-Ettifaq and earned a WhoScored rating of 6.44 for his troubles. With Gareth Southgate in attendance, the England boss will have seen the 33-year-old put in another solid showing in possession as Ajax held Eredivisie leaders PSV 1-1 on home turf as Henderson found a teammate with 91.7% of his 60 passes at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Another week, another Harry Kane goal. The England captain put in a man of the match showing as Bayern came from behind to beat rivals Gladbach 3-1. Kane's 24th league goal of the season came from one of six shots, while one key pass and one dribble saw the 30-year-old return a WhoScored rating of 7.87.
Featuring alongside Matthijs de Ligt once more, Eric Dier earned a WhoScored rating of 7.20 against Gladbach. Dier made one clearance off the line in Saturday's victory and found a teammate with 93.2% of his 88 attempted passes in a solid rearguard display from the January arrival.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens - Borussia Dortmund
Deputising for the injured Jadon Sancho, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was unable to help his side to all the spoils as Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw by Heidenheim on Friday night. The 19-year-old mustered four shots in total at the Voith-Arena, and made two tackles, but it wasn't enough to break the Heidenheim resolve.
Bologna ended a four-game winless run in style as they eased to a 4-2 win over lowly Sassuolo with Lewis Ferguson key. The Scottish midfielder earned the player of the match award having scored with one of two shots and he was unfortunate not to add an assist having made three key passes in a performance that saw him yield a WhoScored rating of 8.17.
Sticking with the game at the Renato Dall'Ara, Josh Doig may have worked hard off the ball in Sassuolo's 4-2 loss at top-four chasing Bologna, making five tackles and one interception, but the Scot struggled when on the ball having found a teammate with just 56% of his 25 passes. Factor in his booking in the loss and the 21-year-old returned a WhoScored rating of just 6.44.
After back-to-back player of the match performances, Ruben Loftus-Cheek dropped a clanger as AC Milan came from behind to beat Frosinone. The 28-year-old was hooked on the hour mark having failed to create a chance, make a tackle or complete a dribble. In addition, Loftus-Cheek also returned a 66.7% pass success rate in a showing to forget.
Remaining in Italy, Genoa fans will have witnessed Djed Spence put in a much-improved performance following last week's sub-par showing. Playing on his favoured right side, Spence returned a WhoScored rating of 7.08 as he got forward well, completing two dribbles. The on-loan wing-back also made one tackle, one clearance and one interception to help Genoa to a point.
Real Madrid were forced to settle for a point at home against rivals Atletico on Sunday night as Marcos Llorente's late strike ensured the spoils were shared at the Bernabeu. Jude Bellingham did all he could to help his side to victory against Atleti having fired off three shots and created four goalscoring chances. Three dribbles and two tackles saw the 20-year-old earn a WhoScored rating of 7.43 in the stalemate.
After last week's 4-0 mauling at Fatih Karagumruk, Rizespor extended their home unbeaten run to three games with a 0-0 draw with Konyaspor, a game in which Jonjo Shelvey returned a WhoScored rating of 6.95. Shelvey was unfortunate not to register an assist having made three key passes, all the while firing off two shots, while an additonal 10 accurate long balls capped another solid display.
Lille gave their top-four hopes a boost with a comfortable 4-0 win over Clermont Foot on Saturday. Angel Gomes provided his fourth assist of the season in the victory, providing for Jonathan David to open the scoring in the 10th minute, which came from one of three key passes. Gomes was also on hand to make three tackles before his withdrawal midway through the second half.
