EA FC 25 Team of the Week 21 Highlights: Top Performances And One Name They Missed

Another EA FC 25 Team of the Week has hit consoles and PCs around the world, and that means it’s once again time to look at some of the best performances that earned places on the team and, as usual, one name that really ought to have been there. Check out some of the amazing goals and assists that EA felt were worthy of special recognition below! 

EA FC 25 Team Of The Week 21 Highlights

Randal Kolo Muani’s Fresh Start

To say that Randal Kolo Muani’s time at PSG has been disappointing is an understatement. But a recent loan move to Italy seems to have jumpstarted the 26-year-old’s form. Now two games into his move to Turin, Kolo Muani already has Juventus and its fans thinking about making the temporary move permanent. Given 81 minutes in his debut the week prior, Kolo Muani kept the good times rolling in his first full match for the Old Lady against Empoli.

On brand for the topsy-turvy year that Serie A has experienced, Juve found itself trailing relegation-battling Empoli in the 60th minute before a few minutes of Kolo Muani turned the game on its head. His first goal came by showing strength on a ball over the top, beating the Empoli defense to cut in from the edge of the six and tuck home the tying score. Three minutes later, it was Kolo Muani again, this time giving Juventus a lead they would never relinquish by redirecting an outside-the-box strike from Timothy Weah into the corner of the net. The win saw Juventus keep pace with 4th-placed Lazio who hold the final Italian Champions League place, barring Serie A earning a bonus spot come the end of the year. 

Myles Lewis-Skelly’s Humbling Strike

The record of Arsenal’s Hale End Academy over the last decade is among the best in the world. In addition to a lucrative chain of Premier League-level players now filling half the roster at Fulham, Bukayo Saka has emerged as one of the best players on the planet, while this season has seen teenagers Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly put their stamp on the senior game. One thing Lewis-Skelly did not have going for him was a Premier League goal, and in a heated and crucial match-up with Manchester City, he changed that.

After fireworks in the first City-Arsenal match this fall — including a dust-up between Lewis-Skelly and scoring king Erling Haaland — the rematch proved to be less of a nail-biter as Arsenal capped a 9-4 aggregate day over City with a 5-1 win following the women’s 4-3 triumph earlier in the day. The highlight for Arsenal players and fans alike was Lewis-Skelly, who stepped up to score a beauty which put the game to rest (before mocking Haaland’s signature goal celebration). He’s a long way from earning his Emirates statue, but if the day comes, you can bet this game will be in the running for fans’ preferred pose.

Mariona Caldentey Kickstarting Gooners’ Great Day

While the Arsenal men had the decency to let Manchester City hang around until the second minute before taking the lead, the women were less kind. Mariona Caldentey got Arsenal’s dream day off to a cracking start in the opening minute of this WSL tie, pressing hard and high to dispossess the City defense just outside the box. Free in on goal, Caldentey made no mistakes in slotting the ball into the corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Arsenal would go on to double their advantage shortly thereafter, only to be pegged back, with the tying goal coming from last week’s Team of the Week entrant, and former Gunner, Vivianne Miedema. But Arsenal wouldn’t be denied, as Caldentey and her pressure were on the case. Again forcing a turnover, this time in midfield, Caldentey got the ball to Frida Maanum who quickly progressed it forward to striker Stina Blackstenius, before laying it back to a charging Caldentey. The Spanish midfield maestro picked out a Maanum run with a perfectly weighted pass into the box, and Arsenal were back in the lead. Performances like these, in games like these, are why Arsenal was so eager to bring Caldentey in this past summer.

Alexandru Mitrita Lights Up The Romanian League

I know, I know. Everybody is tired of hearing about the Romanian SuperLiga and would love a chance for some less-hailed leagues to get their due. Mitrita ensured there would be no keeping him off this list with the week he had. While Mitrita capped the week off with the only goal in a 1-0 win over Universitatea Cluj that helped solidify his Universitatea Craiova side in the top-six playoff places as the league nears its split, it was Craiova’s first outing where Mitrita secured his Team of the Week status.

Mitrita was a one-man wrecking crew against Poli Iasi at the weekend, having a part in three of his club’s goals as they eased to a 4-1 win. It is hard to pick out the better contribution as each was a dazzling display in its own right. He got things going with an inch-perfect cross from the deep wing, which in turn got nodded past the keeper. For number two, he looked to take things into his own hands, cutting in from the wing to curl one into the far corner. If fans thought they’d seen his best there, they were mistaken as his brace-completing tally was another stunner, receiving a ball over the top, finding a yard of space from his defender, then smashing the ball into the roof of the net from an acute angle to make the points secure, along with his place on this list.

Joan Garcia Gives Madrid A Real Headache

Anytime a team flirting with relegation sees one of Spain’s two titans come to town and leave with nothing, there’s a good chance the man between the sticks had a big part to play in that. And Espanyol’s 1-0 upset over Real Madrid was no exception. Vini Junior did succeed in breaching Garcia’s defenses early, only for the goal to be called back for a flagrant bit of roughhousing in the box before the shot from Kylian Mbappe. Madrid would not find the net again.

While the highlight of the performance came early in the second half with a stunning double save — first denying a Jude Bellingham strike from the top of the box, before getting back up quickly to get a piece of Mbappe’s attempted rebound finish — there were plenty of saves to go around. By the time the referee blew for the final whistle, Madrid had battered Espanyol to the tune of 77% possession and 21 shots, seven of them on target. None of those seven were good enough to beat the hands and feet of Garcia. A display like that against a team like Madrid is always going to have you in the discussion for a heap of game and weekly honors.

Who Was Overlooked? – Martijn Kaars (Magdeburg)

One of the great things about the EA FC roster of teams running so deep is the high number of potential leagues to pull from when seeking star performances. Look no further than the front line of this week’s team which included a forward from Saudi club Al-Nassr who posted a one-goal, one-assist performance, showing that truly anyone can make the side with a great week.

That will be news to Martijn Kaars, who was as dominant as one could hope for in a 2. Bundesliga match for FC Magdeburg. Taking on a Schalke side with a much bigger name (but much lower place in the table), Kaars gave the Schalke defense the runaround all night, finding his way behind the backline constantly. He got the game going with a pair of breakaway goals in the first half before putting it to bed in the second, first making the lead three by finishing off a tap-in, then adding a capstone by being sprung in behind for a third time. The outburst unsurprisingly saw Kaars move to the top of the 2. Bundesliga scoring charts, and his play has Magdeburg sitting third and in contention for a club-first promotion to the German top flight.

These were my favorite performances from this week’s Team of the Week entrants, but how about you? Is there a name who made the team you thought deserved a special shout-out or someone ignored by EA altogether who deserved a place?