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The 2021-22 season has gotten off to a riveting start. Across Europe, there have been storylines aplenty as games have come thick and fast.
Many top clubs have started the season well. Bayern Munich have already recorded 20 goals in five league matches to lead the Bundesliga. In England, Chelsea and Liverpool have gone toe-to-toe in terms of results, goals and points to lead the table.
Real Madrid are two points clear at the top of La Liga; Barcelona are struggling in the post-Lionel Messi era, and Atletico Madrid are still finding their feet. Paris Saint-Germain, unsurprisingly, lead the lot in France's top flight, and are yet to drop points after six games.
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The trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are yet to fire together, but the Parisians won't mind, as they are already five points clear at the top.
Meanwhile, Napoli lead Serie A with four wins in as many games. Inter Milan and AC Milan follow them with ten points apiece, while usual favourites Juventus find themselves in the relegation zone with two defeats and two draws from their first four matches.
Now that we have a fair idea of how the teams are faring, let's take a look at the five most in-form players in European football at the moment.
Note: All stats are from FBRef.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United
His name is inevitable on the list, isn't it? Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United has been everything it promised to be for both player and club.
Back at Old Trafford after 12 years, Ronaldo has already scored four times in three games for the Red Devils. Those goals have come after he netted twice for Portugal in the dying embers of the game to confirm a comeback win against the Republic of Ireland.
Those goals also meant Ronaldo (111) overtook Ali Daie (109) to become the most prolific goalscorer in men's international football. The Portuguese is one of the best players to have graced the game. And his pedigree will get further enhanced if he leads Manchester United to a major title this season.
As it stands, United find themselves third in the Premier League table, level on points with Liverpool and Chelsea. Considering Ronaldo's sparkling form, United will fancy their chances of a first league title in almost a decade.
#4 Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski has been a goalscoring machine for years, especially in the last two years. So it doesn't come as much of a surprise that he makes this list.
Lewandowski has already scored seven goals in five Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich this season. He also registered a brace against Barcelona on Matchday 1 of the Champions League.
The Polish striker scored twice in the German Supercup as well, which takes his tally to 11 in all competitions for the Bavarians this term. Lewandowski also scored thrice and assisted as many times in three matches for Poland during the recent international break.
That means another big season is likely on the cards for Lewandowski. He recently became the first player to score in 13 consecutive Bundesliga home games too.
At this point in time, only two other strikers have a chance to challenge Lewandowski to tag the hottest striker on the planet. Let's find out if they have made this list.
Also Check Out: Robert Lewandowski Net Worth
#3 Paul Pogba | Manchester United
To say Paul Pogba has started the season well would be a massive understatement. The Manchester United midfielder's star turn at Old Trafford has been in the making for way too long, but could finally take place this campaign.
Pogba has been simply immense for the Red Devils this term, bolstering United's bid for a first Premier League title since 2013. He already has seven Premier League assists in five matches, and has looked at his creative best. Even if he doesn't keep up the blistering pace, he could smash the record for most Premier League assists in a season.
Pogba's xA count for the season is 1.1; the very fact that he has seven is testament to both his quality and that of the forwards in front of him so far.
The midfielder has also made 3.6 shot creating actions (SCAs) per game in five matches, compared to 2.61 SCAs he registered in the 2020-21 season. More staggeringly, Pogba already has eight goal-creating actions (GCAs) in total this season; he managed seven in the Premier League last season across 26 matches.
Such an unusual peak in Pogba's performance suggests a significant drop could soon be on the horizon. But if he can keep the troughs to a minimum, the Frenchman could register a record assist tally at the end of the season.
#2 Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund
Erling Haaland is just wired differently. Many expected the Norwegian to build on his goal tally from last season. But the manner in which he has gone about his game this campaign is simply astounding.
Haaland has scored seven Bundesliga goals in five matches, and has also netted once in Borussia Dortmund's opening Champions League game. But what has been even more impressive about the forward this season are the tweaks he has made to his gameplay.
Haaland has recorded four assists in five Bundesliga games after managing only six in 28 league matches last term. Interestingly, his xA has only been 1.6 this season, compared to 5.4 last term, which indicates that his passing and vision have improved. Haaland has also managed eight key passes in five league games this term, and is well on course to better the 23 key passes he tallied in 28 games last season.
Improvements in Haaland's all-round game are also visible in other stats. The striker has averaged 19.6 total carries and 3.2 progressive carries per game in the Bundesliga this season. These are marginal but crucial improvements from his record of 16.46 total carries and 2.82 progressive carries in the Bundesliga last season.
Halaand's ability to reinvent his game this season hasn't received much attention. But the numbers mean the amount of potential in the 21-year-old is truly frightening.
#1 Karim Benzema | Real Madrid
Week after week, season after season, Karim Benzema simply seems to get better and better. The Frenchman has gotten off to a dream start in the 2021-22 campaign after impressing for his country at Euro 2020 during the summer.
Benzema has amassed six goals and five assists in five La Liga matches for Real Madrid this term. That makes him one of the most in-form players in the game at the moment.
Carlo Ancelotti's second reign has coincided with Real Madrid's rebuilding of sorts. Although many players from the old guard are still in the Italian's XI, none hold more importance to the squad than Benzema. The forward has promptly filled in as both a goalscoring striker and the creative false nine the team needs to compete on multiple fronts.
Benzema has an xG of 2.4 and xA of 1.9 in the league this season. His goal contributions this term suggest how good he has been. Ancelotti's system has played a role, of course. But Benzema's proficiency was on display last season too, as he managed 30 goals and nine assists across competitions.
This season, he seems to have taken his creative prowess a notch higher. Benzema registered 37 key passes and 17 GCAs in the league last season. Five games into this campaign, he already has ten key passes and seven GCAs. Benzema has also averaged 4.4 progressive passes per game in the league this term, compared to 2.41 he registered last season.
Moreover, he has also struck up a promising partnership with the in-form Vinicius Junior this season. That proves that Karim Benzema is still at the top of his game even at 33. With Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos departing Spain this summer, the Frenchman seems to be receiving the recognition he has deserved for so long.
Honourable Mentions: Vinicius Junior, Michail Antonio, Bruno Fernandes, Antonio Rudiger, Ciro Immobile, Mohamed Salah.
