UEFA Conference League 2024/25: Every Performance of the Week winner
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
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From Noah to Fiorentina to Larne, we look back at every Performance of the Week from the league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Conference League.
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Thrilling performances and stunning results helped emerging talents and teams come to the fore in the inaugural league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
The most impressive from each matchday earned recognition in the Performance of the Week vote, powered by Laufenn, which celebrates the table-turning upsets, the record-breaking victories and the statement wins from those league phase sides who are daring to dream.
UEFA.com revisits every Performance of the Week winner so far.
Matchday 1: Noah 2-0 Mladá Boleslav
Only the second Armenian side to feature in the group or league phase of a major UEFA club competition, Noah made quite the impression on their tournament debut. "We controlled the game from the first minute," beamed Portuguese coach Rui Mota after the 2-0 win in Yerevan. He had reason to be pleased – Noah had more possession (55% to 45%), more attempts (25 to 15) and generated more expected goals (1.84 to 0.95) than their opponents. Second-half strikes from Matheus Aiás and Virgile Pinson ultimately propelled them to a landmark win and Performance of the Week honours.
The eye-catching victory will remain a source of pride for Noah, even after their elimination at the league phase stage. "We are not just playing football; we are playing for our nation, our pride, our homeland and our tricolour flag, striving to elevate the name of Noah in the world of football," said captain Hovhannes Hambartsumyan.
Matchday 2: Víkingur R. 3-1 Cercle Brugge
Víkingur became the first Icelandic club to win a league or group phase game in a men's European competition, overcoming an early setback and a missed penalty to make history against a Cercle Brugge team who had won their opening fixture 6-2. The Belgian outfit continued those goalscoring exploits as Kazeem Olaigbe gave them a 16th-minute lead, but Víkingur remained unfazed. "We played out of their press and created chances, so we never doubted that another chance was going to come," said midfielder Gísli Gottskálk Thórdarson.
Ari Sigurpálsson curled in the equaliser barely a minute later and Víkingur went ahead when Danijel Djan Djuric, having struck the crossbar with his spot kick in the first half, finished confidently in the second. Gunnar Vatnhamar’s header then sealed the odds-defying success as Víkingur – ranked 226th in UEFA's five-year club coefficient – bested 147th-placed Cercle Brugge.
Matchday 3: APOEL 2-1 Fiorentina
APOEL earned their first victory of this league phase in some style, with what was their first win against Italian opponents in UEFA competition at the fifth attempt. Left to contemplate Fiorentina's first loss of the campaign, visiting coach Raffaele Palladino praised the clinical display of the Cypriot club. "These matches are decided by moments – they defended in a low block and hurt us with two counterattacks," he said. Indeed, APOEL triumphed despite having just 35% possession and applying 64% of their pressures in their own half. They registered ten shots to Fiorentina's 15.
The hosts took a 37th-minute lead in Nicosia as Anastasios Donis finished off a flowing team move and David Abagna doubled the advantage before half-time. Fiorentina pulled one back through Jonathan Ikoné in the 74th minute, but a resilient APOEL defence denied them an equaliser. "In the second half we almost never played, they broke the rhythm," conceded Palladino.
Matchday 4: Mladá Boleslav 2-1 Real Betis
A comeback win over Real Betis gave Mladá Boleslav their first ever Conference League points, instilling much-needed confidence in the Czech side. It was a victory that upset the odds too, 166th-ranked Mladá Boleslav deservedly defeating the visitors despite trailing them by 116 places in UEFA's five-year club coefficient. Andreas Brännström's men generated 2.9 expected goals to Real Betis' 1.19 in a showing that midfielder Patrik Vydra deemed their "best of the season", one bringing a renewed determination to "fight to progress in Europe".
Giovani Lo Celso's curling free-kick put Betis in front on 17 minutes, but the hosts hit two second-half goals in quick succession for a turnaround triumph. For Vydra, scorer of the decisive second, there was a sense of personal redemption after his key penalty miss in the Matchday 2 loss to Lugano. "In the back of my mind that feeling was still there," he admitted.
Matchday 5: Fiorentina 7-0 LASK
Fiorentina roared into the knockout phase with their largest ever European win, bettering the 6-0 scoreline they managed against Čukarički in the 2023/24 Conference League season. "We went into the game with a great attitude," said forward Riccardo Sottil, who continued his fine goalscoring form with two strikes. "I'm finding continuity again, but I want to do more."
Jonathan Ikoné, Amir Richardson, Rolando Mandragora, Filip Stojković (own goal) and Albert Gudmundsson joined Sottil on the scoresheet, prompting Palladino to herald the arrival of the "right team chemistry". Indeed, Fiorentina dominated the stat sheet, attempting 23 shots, ten of which were on target, while limiting LASK to seven attempts overall and three on target. As well as a club record, the 7-0 victory was also the second biggest in Conference League history – only Chelsea's 8-0 success over Noah eclipsing the seven-goal margin.
Matchday 6: Larne 1-0 Gent
Northern Ireland's first ever representatives in UEFA club competition proper, Larne finished their league phase campaign on a positive note after losing their opening five fixtures. "We were determined to bow out of this competition with heads held high and I think we have done that and then some," said coach Gary Haveron. "There is no better way to get momentum than beating a European powerhouse." The UEFA coefficient data reinforces Haveron's statement, with Gent's coefficient ranking of 48 placing them 149 positions higher than Larne on 197. Larne did it with just 26% possession, too.
Tomas Cosgrove, who put pen to paper on a new deal earlier in the day, was a fitting hero on the night, his 74th-minute finish sparking delight at Windsor Park. "I would run through a brick wall for the club," the Larne captain said before the campaign. "It is a community – half of us are never away from the training ground." The triumph also lifted Larne from the bottom of the league phase table and ensured that no side would end their campaign without tallying a point.