It is now bang on two weeks until Christmas Day and so, Squawka’s advent calendar moves along another spot.
As part of the festive spirit, Squawka have been carefully crafting an advent calendar consisting of the top three players across Europe based on their shirt number. The numbers correspond to each day of the month, and there have been some crackers already – no pun intended.
While overall quality was, of course, considered when ranking our top three players of the year, the deciding factors were obviously how well they performed during the year, with notable weighting being given to the World Cup.
No. 1: Marc-André Ter Stegen
No. 2: Kyle Walker
No. 3: Giorgio Chiellini
No. 4: Virgil Van Dijk
No. 5: Raphael Varane
No. 6: Paul Pogba
No. 7: Kylian Mbappé
No. 8: Saúl ÑÃguez
No. 9: Luis Suárez
No.10: Lionel Messi
There’s been lots of talent to choose from, but here are Squawka’s three best No.11’s in the world:
3. Memphis Depay (Lyon/Netherlands)
What makes him special? Since leaving Manchester United the once-temperamental forward has rediscovered the sort of goalscoring form that initially warranted a move to Old Trafford – last season, Depay netted an incredible 22 goals, while he already has five this campaign. The Moordrecht marvel has also been one of the catalysts of Ronald Koeman’s rejuvenated Oranje side, topping Group A1 in the Nations League, while producing a particularly stellar performance in the 2-0 trouncing of World Cup winners France.
Key stat: Last season, no Lyon player created more chances from open play (44) or scored more goals (19) in Ligue 1 than Depay.
2. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales)
What makes him special? If only the Welshman were injury-free on a consistent basis then Real would perhaps have their answer to the recently-departed Cristiano Ronaldo. With that being considered, Bale was phenomenal last season as Real clinched a third successive Champions League title, with the 29-year-old deciding the outcome of the final in Kiev – netting a brace, including that breathtaking overhead kick.
Key stat: For Real Madrid last season, only Ronaldo (1.2) had a better goals per 90 minute ratio than Bale (0.9) in La Liga.
1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt)
What makes him special? Salah was mesmerising last season as he broke a whole host of records, including becoming the first player from Africa, as well as Liverpool, to net double digits in a single Champions League campaign. On top of that, he also became the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer for a 38-game season (32), clinched the Golden Boot, and was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, as well as recently placing sixth in the 2018 Ballon d’Or ranking.
Key stat: Last season, Liverpool’s front three became the most prolific in Champions League history with 30 goals – Salah contributed 10 goals and 4 assists.
Honourable Mentions:
Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona/France), James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich/Colombia), Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid/France), Anthony Martial (Manchester United/France), Lucas Torreira (Arsenal/Uruguay), Pedro (Chelsea/Spain), Erik Lamela (Spurs/Argentina), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund/Germany), Douglas Costa (Juventus/Brazil), Aleix Vidal (Barcelona/Spain), Denis Cheryshev (Valencia/Russia), Keita Balde (Inter Milan/Senegal), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid/Argentina), Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma/Serbia)
The post Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: who’s the best No.11 in Europe? appeared first on Squawka News.
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