This week’s top-rated XI from Europe’s main five leagues is dominated by La Liga. Six players from Spain’s top division take their place in the side, with Betis’ perfect start and another set of masterful performances from both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo catching the eye. Over in the Bundesliga, MGladbach continued to surprise many with another win in their pursuit of Bayern Munich, while strong home wins for both Chelsea and Newcastle supply us with two Premier League form players. It was a disappointing week for stand-out displays in Italy and France, though; just one of our XI comes from Serie A, while Ligue 1 fails to deliver any at all. Here’s a look at a trio of top performers:
Filip Daems, Borussia MGladbach. WhoScored rating 8.46
MGladbach’s impressive start to the Bundesliga campaign shows no sign of letting up, as a 1-0 home win over Nurnberg makes it four wins from their last five games. The game was far from the close encounter the 1-0 scoreline suggests - the hosts dominated play with 62% possession and fired off 18 shots to Nurnberg’s 5, with 9 on target compared to the visitors’ 1.
Despite the heroics of Alexander Stephan, who made 8 saves between the posts for the away side, Daems ensured MGladbach picked up all three points, slotting home a 75th minute spot-kick for the only goal of the game. MGladbach are the lowest scoring side in the Bundesliga top five and have now ground out three consecutive 1-0 wins and, with the forwards failing to find the net with any regularity, Daems’ spot-kick duties means he is the top scorer for his side so far, with all of his three goals coming from penalties.
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Nurnberg targeted Daems’ flank time and again; 52% of the visitors attacks came down their right but a brilliant defensive performance from the left-back nullified any threat; he made 6 tackles –the most of any home player- in addition to 2 interceptions and 3 successful aerial duels; as a result, Jens Hegeler, his direct opponent, made no offensive contribution to the game whatsoever and was subbed off on 78 minutes, with a lowly 5.96 rating.
As the player position map shows (above right), left winger Juan Arango (18) dropped back and helped Daems (3) deal with the visitors’ attacks and the left-back also played a part going forward, with 2 crosses and 2 successful dribbles as MGladbach stayed just two points behind pace setters Bayern.
Ramires, Chelsea. WhoScored rating 9.28
While much of the headlines were focused on yet another game on the Chelsea bench for Frank Lampard, Ramires produced a brilliant midfield performance to fully vindicate Andre Villas-Boas’ decision to omit the off-form Englishman.
Two goals in the 4-1 win over Swansea reflects the Brazilian’s growing influence on the Blues midfield and as this player position map (left) highlights, he played a significant attacking role in the victory. The 39th minute dismissal of Fernando Torres meant Chelsea didn’t quite control possession (50%) as much as expected, and as Raul Meireles (16) – Lampard’s replacement on the left of the midfield three - sat deep alongside John Obi Mikel (12), Ramires (7) continued to bomb forward and trouble the visitors throughout.
In a real all-action performance, Ramires had 5 of his side’s 14 shots, with 3 on target producing those 2 goals, and he also managed 3 successful dribbles- more than any Chelsea player for either category. His defensive work was key to breaking up Swansea’s attacks - 4 tackles and 3 interceptions are indicative of the work-rate demanded by his new boss.
What’s most pleasing for Villas-Boas is that this display is far from a one-off; Ramires is the second-top rated Chelsea player so far this season, with an average match rating of 7.48 indicating his form. He’s top for successful dribbles (2.7) and second for both shots (2.2) and tackles (3.2), demonstrating a series of top-class performances as Chelsea evolve under the leadership of their Portuguese manager.
Demba Ba, Newcastle United. WhoScored rating 10.
The summer signing from West Ham opened his goal account in style at the weekend. Ba had really struggled to make any sort of impact prior to the 3-1 win over Blackburn - he had managed a total of 1 shot over his previous four appearances for Alan Pardew’s side, but the visit of Steve Kean’s strugglers presented the perfect opportunity for Ba to make his mark.
Leon Best has been Newcastle’s stand-out forward up till now and both he and Ba fired off 4 shots apiece in the win- while all Best’s efforts were off target, however, Ba had 3 on target, finding the net with all of them. As the player position map (right) highlights, Best (19) played slightly deeper of the two front men, with Ba (20) benefitting from his striker partner’s ability in the air. Best won 7 aerial duels, providing plenty of knock-ons for Ba, and he also made 4 key passes, with Ba supplying 2 in comparison.
As the furthest forward, Ba had less touches (30) than any Newcastle player and also made just 17 passes over his 74 minutes on the pitch, but his eye for goal proved decisive. It was just as well for Pardew’s side that their new boy was in form - the home side had 15 shots at goal, with only 4 on target over the entire game. Another win, though, takes undefeated Newcastle up to 4th in the table.
