Ligue 1 champion Mbappe extends lead atop U21 player form rankings

It seemed like Kylian Mbappe’s status as the most in-form player aged 21 and under in Europe’s top five leagues in our player form rankings was under threat last week, but the Paris Saint-Germain champion had other ideas on Sunday. Here we run down the top-10 most in form youngsters in the continent's major leagues.

10. Marcus Thuram (Guingamp) - 7.33 weighed rating

Marcus Thuram kicks off the top-10 most in-form players aged 21 and under. The 21-year-old has only scored once in his last six league appearances but was one of very few positives in Guingamp’s 3-1 defeat to Marseille at the weekend. Thuram finished the loss on Saturday as Guingamp’s highest WhoScored rated player and was denied goals in successive games by the frame of the goal.

9. Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace) - 7.34 weighted rating

Aaron Wan-Bissaka did his reputation no harm with another impressive outing at the weekend, though it wasn’t enough to prevent a slight fall in weighted rating over his last six league starts. The Crystal Palace right-back made more interceptions (eight) than any other Premier League player in gameweek 35, as the Eagles secured a shock win away to Arsenal on Sunday. Wan-Bissaka’s WhoScored rating has only dipped below 7.00 in one of his last six league appearances and the reason behind his decrease in weighted rating is due to the fact his performance against Brighton (8.08) no longer falls within the bracket for consideration.

8. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 7.39 weighted rating

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s position in the U21 Player Form rankings has improved by one place after another influential performance for Liverpool at the weekend. Jurgen Klopp’s side responded to Manchester City’s win against Tottenham with their own victory over Cardiff on Sunday but they had to work hard for their three points. Liverpool didn’t break the deadlock until the 57th-minute from a smartly worked set-piece, which Klopp later revealed the players came up with at half-time. Alexander-Arnold supplied the ball from which an unmarked Georginio Wijnaldum lashed home. Alexander-Arnold now has eight assists in the league this season and two of those have come in his last three appearances.

7. Richarlison (Everton) - 7.40 weighted rating

Richarlison is a new entry in the top-10 after helping Everton blitz Manchester United 4-0 on Sunday. Richarlison opened the scoring with his third goal in his last six league matches and set the tone for what was a very dominant performance from the Toffees. The Brazil international had six shots against the Red Devils despite only spending 51 minutes on the pitch - a joint best in a Premier League game this season.

6. Ibrahim Sangare (Toulouse) - 7.41 weighted rating

Despite an increase in weighted WhoScored rating, Ibrahim Sangare is a non-mover in our U21 Player Form rankings. Toulouse held Lille to a 0-0 draw on Sunday afternoon that meant PSG secured the Ligue 1 title without having to kick a ball. Sangare didn't have much of a chance to show his attacking abilities, instead forced to do a lot of defending against Lille, but the 21-year-old helped his side gain a valuable point against the league’s second best side. Sangare won five aerial duels, won four tackles and interceptions combined and made two clearances on Sunday.

5. Ismael Bennacer (Empoli) - 7.43 weighted rating

Despite losing 4-2 at home to SPAL at the weekend, Ismael Bennacer can be happy with his individual display. The 21-year-old finished up as Empoli’s highest WhoScored rated player in the defeat and has impressively finished four of his last five league matches with a pass success rate above 90%. The Empoli midfielder’s all-action displays over the qualifying period have enabled him to move up three places from last week in our U21 Player Form rankings.

4. Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig) - 7.44 weighted rating

Bundesliga side RB Leipzig made it five league wins on the spin with a 2-1 win away to Gladbach at the weekend. Leipzig are now in a commanding position to secure third place in the league and can soon start planning for next season. Ibrahima Konate should be a fixture in their long-term plans given his displays in this campaign. The 19-year-old turned in another impressive performance at the weekend and his WhoScored rating has dropped below 7.00 just once in his last six league games. Unfortunately for the teen, he remains unmoved in our player form rankings from last week. 

3. Merih Demiral (Sassuolo) - 7.47 weighted rating

Sassuolo defender Merih Demiral is one of just two players in the U21 Player Form rankings to suffer a decrease in weighted rating. Sassuolo extended their unbeaten run to four games at the weekend but have now drawn three in a row after a 1-1 draw away to Udinese on Saturday. Sassuolo have all but secured their top-flight status for another season and Demiral has played an integral part in their up-turn in form. The 21-year-old has not only excelled at the back but he has scored two goals and picked up a WhoScored man of the Match award in his last four league appearances.

2. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) - 7.66 weighted rating

Jadon Sancho has moved up one place in our U21 Player Form rankings after netting his 11th league goal of the campaign in Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 triumph away to Freiburg on Sunday. The England international has now scored three goals in his last two league outings and played a direct hand in six goals in as many league appearances. The 19-year-old’s WhoScored rating has dipped below 7.50 in just one of his last six league games and his strong finish to the season is helping Dortmund push Bayern Munich all the way for the Bundesliga title.

1. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 7.99 weighted rating

After missing the chance to wrap up the Ligue 1 title against Strasbourg, Lille and Nantes, PSG ended up requiring Lille to drop points in order to seal the deal ahead of their encounter with Monaco on Sunday night. PSG were never in danger of blowing their enormous lead but it was a relief for the club that they could celebrate against Monaco rather than let any more doubt creep in. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick against his former club to bring up 30 league goals for the season. The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach that milestone in a single campaign in one of Europe’s top five leagues since Ronaldo managed the feat for Barcelona in 1996/17.

QUALIFYING RULES

Only ratings taken from each player’s last six league matches are considered, weighted chronologically, with the most recent match carrying greater importance 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.