Nothing is perfect in football. No footballer is also perfect. French publication L’Equipe always follow this truth while rating a player’s performance in a match. There are very few instances when they have given a full 10 rating to a player.
There are only 10 times, L’Equipe have to give 10/10 to a player’s performance:
Oleg Salenko vs Cameroon (1994) [Russia 6-1 Cameroon]
Russian forward Oleg Salenko was the very first player to receive a perfect rating from L’Equipe in senior football. He scored 5 goals against Cameroon to beat them by 6-1 margin in the 1994 World Cup. He is the only player to receive this feat in the biggest stage of football.
Lars Windfield vs Nantes (1997) [Aarhaus 1-0 Nantes]
Goalkeepers are often very much underappreciated. But L’Equipe gives the credit to the goalkeeper as well. Danish side Aarhaus faced French side Nantes in a second leg tie in the European competitions.
Lars Windfield’s heroic performance forced L’Equipe to give him a perfect rating.
Lionel Messi vs Arsenal (2010) [Barcelona 4-0 Arsenal]
Talking about a perfect rating, it is evitable that Lionel Messi will be there.
Lionel Messi scored all 4 goals to beat Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals. His brilliant display in that match makes him the third person to get a 10/10 performance.
Lionel Messi vs Bayer Leverkusen (2012) [Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen]
What is quite impossible for some of the players, it is too easy for Lionel Messi. He is the only player who appears twice on this list.
He scored five goals in that match which made him the first player to score 5 goals in a match in the UEFA Champions League.
Robert Lewandowski vs Real Madrid (2013) [Borussia Dortmund 4:1 Real Madrid]
Robert Lewandowski is one of the finest strikers of these generation.
He silenced the Santiago Bernabeu by scoring 4 goals agains Real Madrid and joined this elite list. Although he failed to win the Champions League that season with Dortmund, but in 2020 he has won the European title with Bayern Munich.
Carlos Eduardo vs Guingamp (2014) [Nice 7:2 Guingamp]
Some people faces problem to score a goal in a match while some players score 5 goals in a single match.
Carlos Eduardo did the same thing in the 7-2 thriller against Guingamp and joined this list.
Neymar vs Dijon (2018) [Paris Saint Germain 8:0 Dijon]
For some people he is the best player ever after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But that is a debatable matter.
But he became the 7th player on this list after his brilliant performance against Dijon in which he scored 4 goals.
Dusan Tadic vs Real Madrid (2019) [Ajax 4:1 Real Madrid]
Dusan Tadic played a vital role to knock out Real Madrid from the 2018-19 Champions League and Ajax became the first team to eliminate them after three seasons of glory.
Tadic scored a goal followed by two assists to secure the victory for the Dutch side in Spain.
Lucas Moura vs Ajax (2019) [Tottenham Hotspur 3:2 Ajax]
Another UEFA 2018-19 Champions League classic. Spurs visited the Netherlands to face Ajax after losing the first leg 1-0. In the second leg, they conceded 2 early goals. They need 3 goals without reply to beat Ajax to play their first-ever European Final.
Then Lucas Moura stepped up with his brilliant hat-trick. He scored the last goal in what was the last kick of the match. He deservedly earned a 10/10 from L’Equipe for that late heroics.
Serge Gnabry vs Tottenham Hotspur (2019) [ Bayern Munich 7:0 Tottenham Hotspur]
Serge Gnabry scored four on his return to London. Bayern Munich thrashed Tottenham in their own ground by 7-0 in the 2019-20 Champions League group stage match.
Gnabry’s brilliant performance made him the 10th player of this ‘Perfect Performance’ list.
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