Euro-Star: Rising star Simons shines as RB Leipzig down lowly Gladbach

 

Euro-Star returns to take a look at the best rated non-Premier League appearance from the weekend's action across Europe. We put a vote to our X followers to determine who we at WhoScored write about this week and having taken a look at performances by Viktor Gyokeres, Deniz Undav and Vinicius Junior in the past, we return to the Bundesliga for the latest installment. 

 

Xavi Simons is the focus this week after his standout display in RB Leipzig's 2-0 win over Gladbach having claimed 60% of the voting, easing past David Neres, Angel Correa and Tobias Lauritsen. 

 

Simons turns 21 in April, yet despite his age; the Dutchman has already endured a whirlwind career. A product of Barcelona's famous La Masia academy, Simons signed for PSG in 2019. With a raft of superstars ahead of him in the pecking order, the young attacker moved to PSV in 2022, penning a five-year contract, though PSG inserted a €6m release clause in his contract, triggering that clause last summer before sending the Netherlands international on loan to RB Leipzig. 

 

The German side is proving the ideal team for Simons to continue his development, where he has garnered a WhoScored rating of 7.60. His performance against Gladbach over the weekend was his best rated in a Bundesliga match as he earned a rating of 9.72. 

 

Simons has been in rampant form of late having been directly involved in a goal in seven of his last eight league outings for RB Leipzig. The youngster netted his sixth Bundesliga goal of his career in the victory over Gladbach, finding a way past Moritz Nicolas with one of four shots. To say Simons was a nightmare for the Gladbach defence would be a huge understatement. Indeed, the on-loan Dutch forward would have had an assist to his name were it not for his teammates' profligacy having made three key passes on home turf. 

 

 

The Gladbach backline will have been glad to see the back of Simons after he completed five dribbles and made four tackles in Saturday's victory, with the RB Leipzig star not only gliding past the opposition markers with ease; but working hard to win the ball back too. His was a performance of the highest standard as Simons seeks to realise his immense potential. 

 

Next up for Simons and RB Leipzig is a trip to defending champions Bayern Munich. The Bavarian powerhouse are looking to bounce back following a forgettable week that saw them lose to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen and suffer a first leg Champions League defeat at the hands of Lazio. Now eight points off the pace at the top of the table following the shock 3-2 loss at Bochum, the welcome of an in-form Simons is not what FC Hollywood will have wanted as they look to the fixture list.

Euro-Star: Rising star Simons shines as RB Leipzig down lowly Gladbach