Form rankings: The second best player in Europe right now that you’ve never heard of
While the man that has reclaimed top spot in the player form rankings in Europe’s top five leagues is no stranger to the position, but it’s fair to say the closest challenger to pole right now is one many won’t have heard of.
It’s Neymar that is back at the summit having returned to the PSG side with his 11th league goal of the season against Bordeaux - that’s now six goals and three assists in his last six appearances - but Nimes midfielder Teji Savanier is on the Brazilian’s heels.
The 26-year-old has been influential to the newly-promoted outfit’s impressive start and since returning from a five-match ban - during which his side picked up just two points - he’s been keen to make up for lost time.
The Frenchman may only have two goals and three assists to his name this season but his stats indicate that Savanier is an accomplished all-rounder in the middle of the park. In six matches since returning to the side the dynamic playmaker has fired off 18 shots, created 15 chances and completed 12 dribbles, whilst also winning 18 tackles, 14 aerial duels and producing 12 interceptions.
In that spell his lowest WhoScored.com rating was 7.69 and his consistency and exceptional contribution with and without the ball won’t go unnoticed ahead of the transfer window should he continue in the same vein.
Elsewhere last week’s leader Thorgan Hazard drops to fourth, while Frankfurt striker Sebastien Haller remains third and Iago Aspas rockets up to fifth. The Spaniard scored both Celta goals in a 2-0 win over Huesca, the second of which was a stunning solo strike to become only the second LaLiga player to reach double figures for the season.
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— Eleven Sports (@ElevenSports_UK) December 3, 2018
Take another look at former #LFC man, Iago Aspas, scoring his second goal of the game for Celta Vigo 😳
He's now scored 10 goals in #LaLiga this season 👏 pic.twitter.com/xSiMtnIwBG
Raheem Sterling (sixth) and Cristiano Ronaldo (ninth) both fall from last week’s top five despite scoring at the weekend, with Kylian Mbappe qualifying for the leaderboard for the first time all season having now played six of PSG’s last eight matches. The teenager is now the outright top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues, bagging his 12th of the season in the 2-2 draw with Bordeaux, and is straight in at seven.
There are new qualifiers in the top 20 in the form of Bernardo Silva (13th), Brais Mendez (14th) and Guido Carrillo (20th). Meanwhile the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Jose Campana, Gaetan Laborde and Wahbi Khazri all climbed onto the leaderboard, with the latter all the way up to tenth after a starring role in Saint-Etienne’s convincing win over Nantes.
QUALIFYING RULES
Only ratings taken from each player’s last six league matches are considered, weighted chronologically, with the most recent match highest and so on. To qualify each player must have featured in their side’s last league game and started at least six of the last eight available.
