Quarterly Report: Best players for each stat in Europe
Having elapsed the ten game mark, the majority of Europe’s top leagues are readying themselves for the hectic festive period in just over a month’s time. That said, there’s an awful lot to reflect on from the opening to each nation’s domestic season.For example, Juventus have stumbled at the starting blocks, while Chelsea’s cataclysmic opening has installed a question mark above the head of José Mourinho. Caen and Angers occupy third and fourth respectively in Ligue 1, while Bayern Munich have romped to a five-point lead at the top, in spite of Dortmund’s remarkable transfiguration under Thomas Tuchel in Germany’s top tier.Perhaps more eye-catching though are the individual performances we’ve seen over the past couple of months. With a quarter of the season surpassed, I’ve compiled a report of the continent’s most clinical players in each of the following departments: goals, assists, pass success, tackles, interceptions and saves, courtesy of WhoScored and Squawka. All players on this list have played a minimum of eight games so far this season.
#1 Goals: Robert Lewandowski (14)
You may recall that fellow Bundesliga favourite Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levels Robert’s impressive tally of 14 league goals so far this season but, having scored them in fewer appearances (11 as opposed to 12) the Pole pips Pierre to the post.
Lewandowski’s heroics this campaign can be summed up by his sensational five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg back in late September. With his team trailing 1-0 at the interval, the forward was implemented into the front-line by Pep Guardiola as a half-time substitute to inject more attacking impetus into the side and that’s exactly what they got.
Since then, Lewandowski’s been pretty much unstoppable, bagging a brace also in the 5-1 thumping of Borussia Dortmund last month and, with the attacking dynamics of Douglas Costa and Thomas Muller around him, the former Dortmund man has had an average shot accuracy of 71%, highlighting his prolific nature in front of goal.
Other Contenders: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (14), Jamie Vardy (12), Thomas Müller & Neymar (11)