UEFA Champions League 250: Ranking the Top 250 Footballers After Matchday 2
Daniel Tiluk@@danieltilukFeatured ColumnistOctober 17, 2016UEFA Champions League 250: Ranking the Top 250 Footballers After Matchday 2
As the UEFA Champions League group stage enters its third week, many of the world's best footballers—just returned from an intense international break—are awaiting Europe's pre-eminent competition to recommence.
Before they take the pitch, however, one piece of business remains from Matchday 2: ranking the 250 best performers at their respective positions.
Some major names were missing in action (such as Barcelona's Lionel Messi, for example), but their absences provided opportunities for others. Some players gave their clubs great back-to-back performances, while others failed to recapture their form from the first matchday.
Now hitting its proverbial stride, Bleacher Report is attempting to determine the best Champions League footballer on a matchday-by-matchday basis.
The usual suspects always lurk, but sometimes lesser known, or even unknown, footballers can shock our collective consciousness and arrive from nowhere. In that sense, Bleacher Report is taking a holistic approach: breaking down each position, finding the outstanding footballers therein and grading each according to his output.
With 250 players to start—from the 32 qualified clubs in the group stage—competition for places is tough, but there's enough room for thorough investigation and critique. Each player is evaluated by your slightly biased but mostly fair author, who will bring you player grades based on the action after every round of matches.
Before presenting the second set of grades for the 2016/17 Champions League, though, a reminder of the methodology is in order.
Methodology
- 30 goalkeepers
- 20 right-backs and right wing-backs
- 20 left-backs and left wing-backs
- 40 centre-backs
- 60 defensive, central and attacking midfielders
- 25 right midfielders, right-wingers and right-sided forwards
- 25 left midfielders, left-wingers and left-sided forwards
- 30 strikers and centre-forwards
Footballers are graded on a series of four key attributes in their respective positional roles. Using a grading scale, starting at zero and going up to anywhere from 10 to 25, the system is based on the most recently completed matchday—reaching a maximum of 100 points.
The 250 players are divided into positions and ranked against/with their contemporaries:
Obviously no system is perfect, and there are flaws with every conceivable methodology, but giving each group of players its own unique grading system—rather than throwing every footballer into the same equation—should offer a truer end result from matchday to matchday.
One set of grades will have no connection with the next. Nor will one's domestic form bear any weight in Champions League proceedings. If a player is injured but is given time on the pitch, that is disregarded. If a player plays for under 45 minutes—no matter his effectiveness—he will be removed from the pool in order to offer a fair two-half representation.
Grading is a subjective process. We all have things we notice and things we appreciate more than others; in that respect, no ranking is ever definitive. There's always the comments section for discussions, rebuttals and suggestions.
Lastly, in the event of ties, we simply ask: "Who do we think had a better game?" The winner gets top billing.
Goalkeepers
- Petr Cech, Arsenal: rested/benched
- Kevin Trapp, Paris Saint-Germain: rested/benched
- Salvatore Sirigu, Sevilla: rested/benched
Champions League defences were slightly more resolute during the second group-stage fixtures.
Despite conceding one less clean sheet, there were 50 goals scored in the first group-stage matchday, compared to the 46 scored two weeks later.
Sevilla's Sergio Rico was arguably the top performer of the second round. Hosting Olympique Lyonnais, the Spanish shot-stopper logged four saves and kept a clean sheet against the French contingent. On the other side was Lyon's Anthony Lopez, who gave a similarly great performance, with five saves, but a Wissam Ben Yedder goal in the 52nd minute gave Jorge Sampaoli's side the three points.
Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur was close second to Rico, with 81 percent distribution. The Frenchman was instrumental to Spurs' efficient play from the back. Bouncing back from his performance against AS Monaco, Tottenham's captain finding his form against CSKA Moscow was key.
Defending Premier League champions Leicester City have earned back-to-back clean sheets, and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was vital to that effort against FC Porto, as the English titleholders moved top of Group G.
David Ospina took charge of Arsenal's No. 1 duties once more, as Petr Cech was rested by manager Arsene Wenger. It seems the Gunners' back-up goalie has taken complete charge of the job in the Champions League—something he was not able to do in 2015/16.
At the bottom of the rankings, both Celtic's Craig Gordon and Manchester City's Claudio Bravo suffered from being in an unexpected but thrilling 3-3 contest. Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Borussia Monchengladbach's Yann Sommer were not entirely convincing during their clash, and one of the latter's mistake allowed the Catalan giants to take the victory.
Grading Scale
Hand: Handling (graded out of 25)
Pos: Positioning (graded out of 25)
Kick: Kicking (graded out of 25)
Saves: Saves (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Hand | Pos | Kick | Saves | Ovr |
1 | Sergio Rico | Sevilla | 23 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 89 |
2 | Hugo Lloris | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 88 |
3 | Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid | 22 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 87 |
4 | Anthony Lopez | Olympique Lyonnais | 23 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 87 |
5 | Kasper Schmeichel | Leicester City | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 86 |
6 | David Ospina | Arsenal | 22 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 85 |
7 | Alphonse Areola | Paris Saint-Germain | 21 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 84 |
8 | Manuel Neuer | Bayern Munich | 20 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 83 |
9 | Keylor Navas | Real Madrid | 19 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 80 |
10 | Rui Patricio | Sporting Lisbon | 20 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 79 |
11 | Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 78 |
12 | Fabricio | Besiktas | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 75 |
13 | Tomas Vaclik | FC Basel | 19 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 75 |
14 | Roman Burki | Borussia Dortmund | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 74 |
15 | Arkadiusz Malarz | Legia Warsaw | 17 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 73 |
16 | Robin Olsen | Copenhagen | 19 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 73 |
17 | Iker Casillas | FC Porto | 17 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 71 |
18 | Artur Rudko | Dynamo Kiev | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 70 |
19 | Danijel Subasic | AS Monaco | 19 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 70 |
20 | Ludovic Butelle | Club Brugge | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 68 |
21 | Marc-Andre ter Stegen | Barcelona | 16 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 67 |
22 | Vladislav Stoyanov | Ludogorets | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 67 |
23 | Pepe Reina | Napoli | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 66 |
24 | Yann Sommer | Borussia Monchengladbach | 16 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 63 |
25 | Soslan Dzhanaev | FC Rostov | 15 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 63 |
26 | Craig Gordon | Celtic | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 62 |
27 | Jeroen Zoet | PSV Eindhoven | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 61 |
28 | Claudio Bravo | Manchester City | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 61 |
29 | Bernd Leno | Bayer Leverkusen | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 56 |
30 | Igor Akinfeev | CSKA Moscow | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 52 |
Notable Omissions
Right-Backs and Right Wing-Backs
- Rafinha, Bayern Munich: rested/benched
- Kyle Walker, Tottenham Hotspur: rested/benched
- Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus: not in Champions League squad
Finishing seventh after Matchday 1, Dani Alves gave Juventus a man-of-the-match performance and takes top spot after Matchday 2. Scoring and assisting against Dinamo Zagreb, the Brazil international contributed to 50 percent of the Old Lady's goals in their 4-0 drubbing the Croatian champions.
Just behind the former Barcelona star is Bayer Leverkusen's Lars Bender. Not playing his club's first Champions League match at right-back, the Germany international made 12 tackles in 90 minutes. His defensive contribution was not enough to earn three points against AS Monaco but helped the German outfit remain unbeaten.
Serge Aurier and Lukasz Piszczek, from Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund respectively, were two of the best defensive contributors on Matchday 1, but the right-backs failed to repeat their previous performances.
Elsewhere, the north London-based duo of Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur) and Hector Bellerin (Arsenal) were solid, Spurs beating CSKA Moscow and the Gunners easily handling FC Basel. Premier League peer Luis Hernandez (Leicester City) was similarly strong for manager Claudio Ranieri in his side's victory over Porto.
Bayern Munich's Philipp Lahm missed the Bavarians' first Champions League fixture, but the venerable captain featured in a losing effort for head coach Carlo Ancelotti's men against Atletico Madrid. Juanfran, the German's opposite number, was his usual, reliable self—providing his stringent manager, Diego Simeone, with the requisite defensive solidarity to combat one of Europe's most potent offensive clubs.
Grading Scale
Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)
Off: Offence (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Tac | Pas | Dis | Off | Ovr |
1 | Dani Alves | Juventus | 21 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 93 |
2 | Lars Bender | Bayer Leverkusen | 25 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 91 |
3 | Kieran Trippier | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 24 | 21 | 22 | 88 |
4 | Hector Bellerin | Arsenal | 20 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 87 |
5 | Juanfran | Atletico Madrid | 23 | 20 | 23 | 18 | 84 |
6 | Daniel Schwaab | PSV Eindhoven | 22 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 83 |
7 | Sergi Roberto | Barcelona | 18 | 23 | 19 | 22 | 82 |
8 | Mariano | Sevilla | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 80 |
9 | Dani Carvajal | Real Madrid | 19 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 79 |
10 | Peter Ankersen | Copenhagen | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 76 |
11 | Lukasz Piszczek | Borussia Dortmund | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 75 |
12 | Luis Hernandez | Leicester City | 18 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 74 |
13 | Philipp Lahm | Bayern Munich | 18 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 72 |
14 | Serge Aurier | Paris Saint-Germain | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 70 |
15 | Paulo Zabaleta | Manchester City | 16 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 68 |
16 | Nelsinho | Benfica | 17 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 66 |
17 | Mario Fernandes | CSKA Moscow | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 64 |
18 | Timofei Kalachev | FC Rostov | 19 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 63 |
19 | Andrea Raggi | AS Monaco | 15 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 60 |
20 | Miguel Layun | FC Porto | 14 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 59 |
Notable Omissions
Left-Backs and Left Wing-Backs
- Marcelo, Real Madrid: injury
Filipe Luis has been world's football's most consistent left-back for the past four seasons. Despite an interesting but title-winning campaign with Chelsea in 2014/15, the Brazil international maintained his level, and since returning to Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid last summer, Luis has continued his stellar form.
Tasked with slowing down the right side of Bayern Munich's opulent attacking talent, the 31-year-old defender was magnificent. Hardly found out of position—and always ready to get his team moving forward—the Brazilian is an invaluable member of Group D's early leaders.
Luis' counterpart was someone many feel is the world's most talented left-back, David Alaba.
Capable of playing multiple positions, the Austrian seems most comfortable at left-back, even though some might argue he is more effective in central midfield. Against Atletico Madrid, the young Munich star was one of Ancelotti's better performers, but his efforts were not enough.
Keeping with the Madrid theme, veteran Real Madrid defender Marcelo was unavailable, so Danilo stepped in for manager Zinedine Zidane. A right-back by trade, Danilo was decent for the Spanish giants in an emergency left-back capacity. Playing Borussia Dortmund's bevy of attacking talent, however, "decent" was not enough to help Real secure three points.
Arguably the surprise of this Champions League matchday was Ludwig Augustinsson. FC Copenhagen's young left-back found two assists against Club Brugge and helped keep his club's first clean sheet of the group stage. Should Augustinsson's performances continue, the Swede's employers could start receiving some fairly impressive offers for him.
Grading Scale
Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)
Off: Offence (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Tac | Pas | Dis | Off | Ovr |
1 | Filipe Luis | Atletico Madrid | 24 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 96 |
2 | Ludwig Augustinsson | Copenhagen | 22 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 94 |
3 | David Alaba | Bayern Munich | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 90 |
4 | Benjamin Henrichs | Bayer Leverkusen | 24 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 89 |
5 | Christian Fuchs | Leicester City | 23 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 87 |
6 | Natanael | Ludogorets | 20 | 20 | 21 | 25 | 86 |
7 | Djibril Sidibe | AS Monaco | 21 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 84 |
8 | Faouzi Ghoulam | Napoli | 19 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 84 |
9 | Nacho Monreal | Arsenal | 20 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 81 |
10 | Danilo | Real Madrid | 19 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 80 |
11 | Patrice Evra | Juventus | 20 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 79 |
12 | Caner Erkin | Besiktas | 19 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 76 |
13 | Alex Telles | FC Porto | 17 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 73 |
14 | Sergio Escudero | Sevilla | 16 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 71 |
15 | Jordi Alba | Barcelona | 15 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 70 |
16 | Ben Davies | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 69 |
17 | Maciej Rybus | Olympique Lyonnais | 17 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 67 |
18 | Georgi Shchennikov | CSKA Moscow | 15 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 64 |
19 | Adama Traore | FC Basel | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 61 |
20 | Jetro Willems | PSV Eindhoven | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 58 |
Notable Omissions
Centre-Backs
- Mats Hummels, Bayern Munich: played 12 minutes
- Pepe, Real Madrid: rested/benched
- Samuel Umtiti, Barcelona: rested/benched
As the least attacking outfield players, central defenders usually defend their own goal; the Champions League's second round of group-stage matches, though, found a handful centre-backs celebrating offensive exploits.
Starting with the least of these, Mathias Jorgensen from FC Copenhagen scored against Club Brugge in the dying minutes as the Danish side slaughtered the Belgians 4-0 at home.
AS Monaco's Kamil Glik also scored a goal at the death against Bayer Leverkusen—down a goal, his late strike was worth a point for the Ligue 1 leaders. The former Torino centre-back unleashed a great strike to level proceedings—any centre-forward would have been proud of the Poland international's stunning effort.
Raphael Varane's goal against Borussia Dortmund put the Spanish giants ahead for 19 minutes in the second half, but Andre Schurrle's rocket leveled the fixture at 2-2. The 23-year-old Frenchman was not just a goalscorer, though. His ability to keep pace with lightning-quick centre-forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was imperative to shackling head coach Thomas Tuchel's explosive attacking force.
A centre-back goalscorer did capture three points for his side, however, Barcelona's Gerard Pique being the right man in the right place to beat Borussia Monchengladbach. Not having Messi available, the Catalan superclub was in desperate need of three points, and their long-serving defender popped up with a 74th-minute winner.
Pique is frequently subjected to heavy criticism, but more times than not, the 29-year-old has been great for Barcelona—their last UCL match being no exception.
Grading Scale
Def: Defending (graded out of 25)
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)
Off: Offence (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Def | Pas | Dis | Off | Ovr |
1 | Giorgio Chiellini | Juventus | 25 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 93 |
2 | Kamil Gilk | AS Monaco | 22 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 91 |
3 | Raphael Varane | Real Madrid | 23 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 91 |
4 | Shkodran Mustafi | Arsenal | 23 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 89 |
5 | Andrea Barzagli | Juventus | 24 | 21 | 23 | 20 | 88 |
6 | Marquinhos | Paris Saint-Germain | 23 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 88 |
7 | Gerard Pique | Barcelona | 21 | 22 | 20 | 25 | 88 |
8 | Toby Alderweireld | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 86 |
9 | Laurent Koscielny | Arsenal | 23 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 84 |
10 | Diego Godin | Atletico Madrid | 24 | 20 | 23 | 17 | 83 |
11 | Mathias Jorgensen | Copenhagen | 22 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 83 |
12 | Sebastian Coates | Sporting Lisbon | 22 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 82 |
13 | Jeremy Morel | Olympique Lyonnais | 21 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 80 |
14 | Leonardo Bonucci | Juventus | 20 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 80 |
15 | Jan Vertonghen | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 79 |
16 | Ruben Semedo | Sporting Lisbon | 22 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 77 |
17 | Stefan Savic | Atletico Madrid | 22 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 77 |
18 | Gabriel Mercado | Sevilla | 21 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 76 |
19 | Javier Mascherano | Barcelona | 21 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 74 |
20 | Nico Pareja | Sevilla | 20 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 74 |
21 | Erik Johansson | Copenhagen | 21 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 74 |
22 | Dusko Tosic | Besiktas | 21 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 72 |
23 | Omer Toprak | Bayer Leverkusen | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 71 |
24 | Robert Huth | Leicester City | 20 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 70 |
25 | Thiago Silva | Paris Saint-Germain | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 70 |
26 | Jemerson | AS Monaco | 20 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 69 |
27 | Wes Morgan | Leicester City | 21 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 67 |
28 | Matthias Ginter | Borussia Dortmund | 18 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 66 |
29 | Eder Balanta | FC Basel | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 65 |
30 | Yevhen Khacheridi | Dynamo Kiev | 17 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 65 |
31 | Nicolas N'Koulou | Olympique Lyonnais | 18 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 64 |
32 | Sokratis | Borussia Dortmund | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 63 |
33 | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid | 16 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 63 |
34 | Javi Martinez | Bayern Munich | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 62 |
35 | Nicolas Otamendi | Manchester City | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 61 |
36 | Jerome Boateng | Bayern Munich | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 61 |
37 | Jonathan Tah | Bayern Leverkusen | 16 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 60 |
38 | Andreas Christensen | Borussia Monchengladbach | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 59 |
39 | Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa | Olympique Lyonnais | 17 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 58 |
40 | Kalidou Koulibaly | Napoli | 17 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 58 |
Notable Omissions
Defensive Midfielders, Central Midfielders and Central Attacking Midfielders
- Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City: injured
- Casemiro, Real Madrid: injured
- Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich: played 21 minutes
Paris Saint-Germain's Marco Verratti was unfortunate to be red-carded against Arsenal on the campaign's first matchday, and UEFA deemed that disciplinary action harsh. European football's governing body rescinded the suspension and allowed the Italy international to play against Ludogorets Razgrad; he took advantage by giving PSG a man-of-the-match performance.
Flying around the pitch making challenges, winning possession and keeping his team on the proverbial front foot, Verratti—despite his diminutive, 5'5" stature—was head and shoulders above the rest and earned the top spot in Week 2's central-midfield rankings.
A close runner-up was Napoli's Marek Hamsik.
The Napoli captain was instrumental to his club's 4-2 victory over Benfica. Scoring once and passing at an 86 percent clip, the 29-year-old is the fulcrum of head coach Maurizio Sarri's Naples outfit. When he plays well, it normally translates to every sector on the pitch, and three points against the Portuguese champions seems evidence.
Manchester City duo David Silva and Fernandinho have different roles in manager Pep Guardiola's midfield, but each provided the Sky Blues with much-needed offence during an entertaining 3-3 contest with Celtic at Celtic Park. The importance of the absent Kevin De Bruyne's creativity from all areas cannot be overstated for Guardiola's men.
Tottenham Hotspur's Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli did enough to help their team beat CSKA Moscow but were not breathtaking.
Fellow Spurs midfielder Victor Wanyama, however, does seem to be finding his feet in north London. Bought from Southampton in the summer—reuniting with former boss Mauricio Pochettino—his UCL form will be crucial to Spurs having any measurable success moving forward.
Grading Scale
Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)
Pro: Production (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Tac | Pas | Cre | Pro | Ovr |
1 | Marco Verratti | Paris Saint-Germain | 25 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 97 |
2 | Marek Hamsik | Napoli | 22 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 96 |
3 | Santi Cazorla | Arsenal | 21 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 94 |
4 | Miralem Pjanic | Juventus | 20 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 93 |
5 | David Silva | Manchester City | 18 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 92 |
6 | Fernandinho | Manchester City | 24 | 23 | 19 | 25 | 91 |
7 | Thomas Delaney | Copenhagen | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 91 |
8 | Toni Kroos | Real Madrid | 21 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 91 |
9 | William Carvalho | Sporting Lisbon | 24 | 21 | 19 | 25 | 89 |
10 | Steven N'Zonzi | Sevilla | 23 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 89 |
11 | Gabi | Atletico Madrid | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 88 |
12 | Thiago Alcantara | Bayern Munich | 19 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 88 |
13 | Anderson Talisca | Besiktas | 20 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 87 |
14 | Gonzalo Castro | Borussia Dortmund | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 87 |
15 | Danilo Pereira | FC Porto | 24 | 20 | 19 | 24 | 87 |
16 | Hernanes | Juventus | 23 | 21 | 19 | 23 | 86 |
17 | Mario Gotze | Borussia Dortmund | 18 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 86 |
18 | Tiemoue Bakayoko | AS Monaco | 22 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 85 |
19 | Davy Propper | PSV Eindhoven | 20 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 84 |
20 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid | 19 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 84 |
21 | Adrien Silva | Sporting Lisbon | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 83 |
22 | Mesut Ozil | Arsenal | 17 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 82 |
23 | Daniel Amartey | Leicester City | 22 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 82 |
24 | Mahmoud Dahoud | Borussia Monchengladbach | 20 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 81 |
25 | Nir Bitton | Celtic | 19 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 81 |
26 | Andrea Iniesta | Barcelona | 17 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 80 |
27 | Sami Khedira | Juventus | 22 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 80 |
28 | Ilkay Gundogan | Manchester City | 19 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 80 |
29 | Atiba Hutchinson | Besiktas | 20 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 79 |
30 | Arturo Vidal | Bayern Munich | 21 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 79 |
31 | Ivan Rakitic | Barcelona | 20 | 19 | 17 | 22 | 78 |
32 | Granit Xhaka | Arsenal | 20 | 20 | 17 | 21 | 78 |
33 | Luka Zuffi | FC Basel | 19 | 19 | 18 | 22 | 78 |
34 | Sergio Busquets | Barcelona | 20 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 76 |
35 | Victor Wanyama | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 75 |
36 | Kevin Kampl | Bayer Leverkusen | 19 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 75 |
37 | Andre Almeida | Benfica | 19 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 73 |
38 | Tolgay Arslan | Besiktas | 19 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 73 |
39 | Benjamin Verbic | Copenhagen | 17 | 17 | 17 | 22 | 73 |
40 | Scott Brown | Celtic | 20 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 71 |
41 | Hakan Calhanoglu | Bayer Leverkusen | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 70 |
42 | Danny Drinkwater | Leicester City | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 70 |
43 | Jorginho | Napoli | 18 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 69 |
44 | Corentin Tolisso | Olympique Lyonnais | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 67 |
45 | Christian Eriksen | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 65 |
46 | Thiago Motta | Paris Saint-Germain | 17 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 64 |
47 | Dele Alli | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 63 |
48 | Maxime Gonalons | Olympique Lyonnais | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 62 |
49 | James Rodriguez | Real Madrid | 13 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 62 |
50 | Serhiy Rybalka | Dynamo Kiev | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 61 |
51 | Andreas Guardado | PSV Eindhoven | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 60 |
52 | Julian Weigl | Borussia Dortmund | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 59 |
53 | Charles Aranguiz | Bayer Leverkusen | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 58 |
54 | Pontus Wernbloom | CSKA Moscow | 15 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 58 |
55 | Oliver Torres | FC Porto | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 57 |
56 | Marcelinho | Ludogorets | 12 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 55 |
57 | Christian Noboa | FC Rostov | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 55 |
58 | Timofei Kalachev | FC Rostov | 12 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 54 |
59 | Franco Vazquez | Sevilla | 14 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 53 |
60 | Anicet | Ludogorets | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 53 |
Notable Omissions
Right Midfielders, Right-Wingers and Right-Sided Forwards
- Lionel Messi, Barcelona: injured
- Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich: played 31 minutes
With Barcelona's Messi sidelined through injury, not having the world's (just about consensus) best footballer available left a vacancy atop the midfield's right side, both for his manager, Luis Enrique, and these Champions League rankings.
The man filling Messi's boots from the first round—as the top right-sided player—is Arsenal's Theo Walcott. It might be an aberration, but the England international was splendid against FC Basel for the north Londoners.
Manager Arsene Wenger for around the past half-decade had been trying to make Walcott a centre-forward, but with that mission now Alexis Sanchez's, maybe that pressure being lifted has unleashed the 27-year-old's clinical nature; playing without too many expectations might be just what the Gunners attacker needed.
Trailing Walcott closely are three of his fellow Premier League stars. Raheem Sterling, Erik Lamela and Riyad Marhez gave great accounts of themselves for Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City respectively.
Among the other stars was Ricardo Quaresma. One of the more naturally talented and gifted footballers the game has, the Portuguese's only issue has been consistency—some might argue desire. Bouncing around the continent, Besiktas seems a great fit for the now-33-year-old. Maybe performances such as the one he put in against Dynamo Kiev have come around too late in his career, but it's better late than not at all.
Ousmane Dembele and Gareth Bale had relatively calm outings when Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid clashed at Westfalenstadion. The Welshman's inventive backheel—albeit deflected by BVB defenders—set up Madrid's opening goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, but the rest of Bale's night was rather benign.
His young French counterpart was lightning in Dortmund's opening group-stage match, but while the intent to cause havoc was evident against Real Madrid, little Dembele did was penetrative; plenty of invention, though, resides in the 19-year-old's boots.
Grading Scale
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)
Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)
Pro: Production (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Pas | Cre | Fin | Pro | Ovr |
1 | Theo Walcott | Arsenal | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 97 |
2 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 95 |
3 | Erik Lamela | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 94 |
4 | Ricardo Quaresma | Besiktas | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 93 |
5 | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 91 |
6 | Lucas Moura | Paris Saint-Germain | 24 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 91 |
7 | Samir Nasri | Sevilla | 24 | 24 | 19 | 22 | 89 |
8 | Benjamin Verbic | Copenhagen | 24 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 88 |
9 | Saul Niguez | Atletico Madrid | 23 | 23 | 18 | 22 | 86 |
10 | Jose Callejon | Napoli | 22 | 22 | 17 | 22 | 83 |
11 | Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich | 22 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 83 |
12 | Ousmane Dembele | Borussia Dortmund | 22 | 23 | 17 | 20 | 82 |
13 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 21 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 82 |
14 | Vitolo | Sevilla | 21 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 78 |
15 | Julian Brandt | Bayer Leverkusen | 20 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 77 |
16 | Andriy Yarmolenko | Dynamo Kiev | 19 | 21 | 17 | 18 | 75 |
17 | Gelson Martins | Sporting Lisbon | 20 | 20 | 15 | 19 | 74 |
18 | Ibrahima Traore | Borussia Monchengladbach | 19 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 72 |
19 | Thomas Lemar | AS Monaco | 18 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 70 |
20 | Andre Andre | FC Porto | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 66 |
21 | James Forrest | Celtic | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 66 |
22 | Birkir Bjarnason | FC Basel | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 64 |
23 | Virgil Misidjan | Ludogorets | 16 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 63 |
24 | Zoran Tosic | CSKA Moscow | 18 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 62 |
25 | Hans Vanaken | Club Brugge | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 60 |
Notable Omissions
Left Midfielders, Left-Wingers and Left-Sided Forwards
- Douglas Costa, Bayern Munich: injured
- Admir Mehmedi, Bayer Leverkusen: played 17 minutes
Some of the best positional grades for the second round of Champions League group-stage matches come from the left flank. A number of the world's best attacking players enjoy starting positions on the left, and they proved their worth in Europe's top club competition last time out.
Napoli's Dries Mertens was the cream of that particular crop. The dynamic and direct winger was responsible for two of his club's goals during an open 4-2 contest against Benfica.
One man who does not need encouragement from his team-mates, nor seems particularly interested in spurring them on (at least not in constructive ways), is Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Playing an open game opposed one of Europe's more progressive sides in Borussia Dortmund, the Portuguese superstar was in his element—using pace and acute anticipation to get in advantageous scoring positions. BVB's Andre Schurrle robbed Madrid of two points three minutes before the full-time whistle, but Ronaldo's 17th-minute strike was vital to Real getting an away point.
Tottenham Hotspur might have thought their campaign would start stuttering without centre-forward Harry Kane. The opposite has occurred. That resurgence is due in large part to the emergence of Heung-Min Son. The 24-year-old scored the only goal in Spurs' clash with CSKA Moscow, taking three points to bounce back from their loss to AS Monaco in their group-stage opener.
Lastly, Belgium have some exceptional talent. De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and the aforementioned Mertens are just some in a long list, but Atletico Madrid's Yannick Carrasco is steadily climbing the ranks. His winner against Bayern Munich sent a clear message that Simeone's side should not be taken lightly. And neither should he.
Grading Scale
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)
Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)
Pro: Production (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Pas | Cre | Fin | Pro | Ovr |
1 | Dries Mertens | Napoli | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 98 |
2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 97 |
3 | Heung-Min Son | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 96 |
4 | Yannick Carrasco | Atletico Madrid | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 96 |
5 | Angel Di Maria | Paris Saint-Germain | 24 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 91 |
6 | Nolito | Manchester City | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 89 |
7 | Neymar | Barcelona | 22 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 87 |
8 | Viktor Tsygankov | Dynamo Kiev | 20 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 86 |
9 | Blaise Matuidi | Paris Saint-Germain | 20 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 86 |
10 | Koke | Atletico Madrid | 21 | 22 | 19 | 22 | 84 |
11 | Franck Ribery | Bayern Munich | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 82 |
12 | Vitolo | Sevilla | 22 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 80 |
13 | Scott Sinclair | Celtic | 20 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 80 |
14 | Otavio | FC Porto | 19 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 79 |
15 | Hakan Calhanoglu | Bayer Leverkusen | 18 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 76 |
16 | Joao Moutinho | AS Monaco | 17 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 75 |
17 | Alex Iwobi | Arsenal | 19 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 75 |
18 | Rasmus Falk | Copenhagen | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 71 |
197 | Marc Albrighton | Leicester City | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 70 |
20 | Raphael Guerreiro | Borussia Dortmund | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 68 |
21 | Bruno Cesar | Sporting Lisbon | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 66 |
22 | Bernardo Silva | AS Monaco | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 64 |
23 | Jose Izquierdo | Club Brugge | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 62 |
24 | Pizzi | Benfica | 15 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 59 |
25 | Georgi Milanov | CSKA Moscow | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
Notable Omissions
Strikers and Centre-Forwards
- Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur: injured
- Radamel Falcao, AS Monaco: injured
It was an interesting round for strikers and centre-forwards. Some of Europe's household names failed to get themselves on the scoresheet, but that allowed some lesser known players to climb the rankings.
Brendan Rodgers' Celtic were dismantled at the Camp Nou in their first group-stage fixture, Barcelona beating them 7-0. When playing at home, however, the Scottish champions are a dangerous side. Manchester City found that out, drawing 3-3 at Celtic Park. The Bhoys' star man was summer acquisition Moussa Dembele. The 20-year-old Frenchman scored twice and kept his club within touching distance of the a qualification spot in Group C.
Dembele's opposite number, Sergio Aguero, was one of several high-profile strikers who were just off the pace. The Manchester City talisman, Barcelona's Luis Suarez, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema were all below their usual standards.
One player who turned things around was Edinson Cavani. The Paris Saint-Germain striker wasted chance after chance against Arsenal, but against Ludogorets, the 29-year-old was on song. Scoring twice, Cavani is the competition's joint-top goalscorer, with three goals.
Juventus duo Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain were on target against Dinamo Zagreb. The Argentina internationals scored a goal each, with the former assisting once. Serie A rivals Napoli have similarly found an on-form centre-forward. Higuain's replacement in Naples, former Ajax striker Arkadiusz Milik, scored three goals in the tournament and looked an impressive buy before injury robbed him of further participation.
Arsenal continue to progress with Sanchez at centre-forward. Wenger initially received criticism for using the Chilean star in a foreign position but—as weeks turn to months—Sanchez is looking more comfortable in the role. What this development could mean for Olivier Giroud remains a mystery.
Grading Scale
Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)
Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)
Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)
Pro: Production (graded out of 25)
Ovr: Top possible score of 100
Rank | Player | Club | Pas | Cre | Fin | Pro | Ovr |
1 | Moussa Dembele | Celtic | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 98 |
2 | Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 97 |
3 | Paulo Dybala | Juventus | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 96 |
4 | Edinson Cavani | Paris Saint-Germain | 22 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 95 |
5 | Dmitry Poloz | FC Rostov | 21 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 95 |
6 | Arkadiusz Milik | Napoli | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 94 |
7 | Thorgan Hazard | Borussia Monchengladbach | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 92 |
8 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | 21 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 91 |
9 | Javier Hernandez | Bayer Leverkusen | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 90 |
10 | Luuk de Jong | PSV Eindhoven | 19 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 89 |
11 | Gonzalo Higuain | Juventus | 19 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 89 |
12 | Bas Dost | Sporting Lisbon | 18 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 87 |
13 | Federico Santander | Copenhagen | 19 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 87 |
14 | Wissam Ben Yedder | Sevilla | 18 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 86 |
15 | Bryan Ruiz | Sporting Lisbon | 18 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 84 |
16 | Islam Slimani | Leicester City | 17 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 82 |
17 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 21 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 80 |
18 | Sardar Azmoun | FC Rostov | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 78 |
19 | Goncalo Guedes | Benfica | 19 | 21 | 17 | 20 | 77 |
20 | Luciano Vietto | Sevilla | 20 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 77 |
21 | Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 19 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 75 |
22 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 75 |
23 | Vincent Aboubakar | Besiktas | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 73 |
24 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | 18 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 73 |
25 | Andreas Cornelius | Copenhagen | 17 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 69 |
26 | Jonathan Cafu | Ludogorets | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 68 |
27 | Fernando Torres | Atletico Madrid | 16 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 65 |
28 | Maxwel Cornet | Olympique Lyonnais | 16 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 64 |
29 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 16 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 |
30 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester City | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 62 |
Notable Omissions
Stats and transfer fees via WhoScored.com, Transfermarkt and Soccerbase where not noted.