Player form rankings: Neymar leapfrogs Lionel Messi as Europe’s star man


As we prepare for Europe’s top club’s to go head-to-head once more with the return of the Champions League, we can also look forward to the continued battle for individual supremacy on the continent.

Here we look at those to rise and fall in the form rankings following the weekend’s matches, with a new leader to appreciate.

It is indeed Neymar that has overtaken former clubmate Lionel Messi atop the leaderboard when looking at each player’s average WhoScored.com rating over their last six league matches.

The Brazilian was the star man once again against Toulouse as PSG stretched their lead in Ligue 1 to 12 points, completing eight dribbles and hitting the woodwork twice in what was actually a relatively frustrating afternoon.

 

Player form rankings: Neymar leapfrogs Lionel Messi as Europe’s star man

 

Not nearly as frustrating as Messi and Barcelona endured against Getafe, however, drawing a blank having mustered a modest 12 attempts at goal, with four of those coming from the Argentine, who subsequently slips to second.

Eden Hazard climbed to third after a brace against West Brom, while Sergio Aguero shot up 18 places into fifth having bagged four in the rout over Leicester, with Marseille’s Florian Thauvin completing the top five.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s match-winning hat-trick against Real Sociedad moves him all the way up to sixth, just ahead of teammate Toni Kroos and Manchester City creator in chief Kevin De Bruyne, who took his league assist tally to 14 at the weekend with three more.

Elsewhere Luis Suarez and Iago Aspas complete the top ten despite falling five places apiece, while worryingly for Tottenham, who aren’t represented, there’s room for four Juventus players in the top 20 - more than any other side - ahead of their showdown in Turin.

 

 

+ In order to qualify players must have appeared in each of their sides last two league matches and started at least six of the last ten. The rating score is then calculated based on their last six league appearances over that time.

Player form rankings: Neymar leapfrogs Lionel Messi as Europe’s star man