There’s no surprise in seeing Lionel Messi top the charts for Most Man of the Match displays this season; the little Argentine has been awarded the honour a fantastic 22 times from only 29 starting appearances for a never-ending series of world-class performances. A glance further down the list sees just two other players who have been awarded Man of the Match on more than 10 occasions; Paris St Germain’s Nenê and Arturo Vidal of Bayer Leverkusen, with 13 and 11 respectively.
Although not exactly household names in the vein of Messi, both, nevertheless, have sustained such a consistency of performance over the 2010/11 season that we feel it’s worthwhile analysing their games to see just why Nenê and Vidal have stood out from the crowd.
The left winger in PSG’s typical 4-4-2 formation, Nenê is the club’s top scorer; he’s netted 14 of his side’s 50 league goals so far, making him seventh highest in the league overall. Nenê’s Shots per game also ranks him top for the team, with an average of 2.7 attempts every match.
With 3.03 Key Passes per game he is also the team’s most creative player; not only is that figure twice any of his team mates but, put into perspective, Barcelona’s Xavi has averaged 2.38 Key Passes per game thus far, which should give fair indication to Nenê’s capabilities.
Sitting in fourth place in the league, it’s clear that when PSG triumph, it’s pretty much a given that Nenê is at the heart of all things good. Top of the team for Successful Dribbles, with 1.8, and for Crosses, with 3 per game, it’s little wonder he’s the most-targeted player in Antoine Kombouare’s side, being Fouled 3.6 times per game.
The winger’s stats in the recent 3-1 home win over Valenciennes illustrate his role within the team; Nenê saw more of the ball than any other PSG player, with 76 Touches, as the side looked to him for inspiration. The season may be starting to wind down, but Nenê’s recent displays have upped a gear; the last four games have brought 1 goal, 3 assists and 2 Man of the Match performances as he finishes the campaign with a flourish. It’s at home, though, that Nenê tends to save his best for; 9 of his 13 Man of the Match awards have came in front of his own fans.
With an average of 7.63 per match, he’s the best-rated player in Ligue 1 by a considerable distance.
The Chilean is best-suited to a defensive midfield berth but his adaptability has seen him play further forward in the middle and even at right-back, in Leverkusen’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. A look at his displays across the board suggest Vidal is the beating heart of the side currently sitting second in the Bundesliga.
Vidal’s stats show just how strong the defensive side of his game is; a fantastic average of 4.4 Tackles and 2.6 Interceptions per game is considerably higher than any team mates. When it comes to Fouls, he’s right in the thick of the action, too; not only is he Leverkusen’s Most Fouled player (3.8) but he dishes it out more than any of his side, averaging 2.2 per game.
Vidal has been just as good going forward as he has in repelling opponents. The Chilean is top scorer for Leverkusen, with 10 goals from his 29 appearances so far; with just 1.2 Shots per game, he’s clearly got a clinical finish.
Then there’s the Passing stats; Vidal has 9 Assists this season, highest in the team. Only Renato Augusto has made more Key Passes for the side, with 1.96 to Vidal’s 1.71; somewhat understandable, given that the Brazilian is an attacking midfielder. The Accuracy of Vidal’s passing (84%) is yet another stand-out feature of his game, with only centre-half Manuel Friedrich (85%) marginally better.
Like Nenê, Vidal is finishing the season stronger than most, picking up 1 goal, 1 assist and 3 Man of the Match awards in his last five league games as Leverkusen chased Dortmund all the way in the title race before Jurgen Klopp’s men finally claimed the title last weekend. With 6 Man of the Match displays at home and 5 awarded on the road, Vidal shows a week-in, week-out consistently high level of performance, regardless of match location.
An average of 7.55 makes Vidal second top of the Bundesliga ratings, with only the much sought-after Nuri Sahin’s 7.67 keeping him off top spot.
