Quarterly Report: Best players for each stat in Europe

Having elapsed the ten game mark, the majority of Europe’s top leagues are readying themselves for the hectic festive period in just over a month’s time. That said, there’s an awful lot to reflect on from the opening to each nation’s domestic season.For example, Juventus have stumbled at the starting blocks, while Chelsea’s cataclysmic opening has installed a question mark above the head of José Mourinho. Caen and Angers occupy third and fourth respectively in Ligue 1, while Bayern Munich have romped to a five-point lead at the top, in spite of Dortmund’s remarkable transfiguration under Thomas Tuchel in Germany’s top tier.Perhaps more eye-catching though are the individual performances we’ve seen over the past couple of months. With a quarter of the season surpassed, I’ve compiled a report of the continent’s most clinical players in each of the following departments: goals, assists, pass success, tackles, interceptions and saves, courtesy of WhoScored and Squawka. All players on this list have played a minimum of eight games so far this season.

#1 Goals: Robert Lewandowski (14)

You may recall that fellow Bundesliga favourite Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levels Robert’s impressive tally of 14 league goals so far this season but, having scored them in fewer appearances (11 as opposed to 12) the Pole pips Pierre to the post.

Lewandowski’s heroics this campaign can be summed up by his sensational five goals in nine minutes against Wolfsburg back in late September. With his team trailing 1-0 at the interval, the forward was implemented into the front-line by Pep Guardiola as a half-time substitute to inject more attacking impetus into the side and that’s exactly what they got.

Since then, Lewandowski’s been pretty much unstoppable, bagging a brace also in the 5-1 thumping of Borussia Dortmund last month and, with the attacking dynamics of Douglas Costa and Thomas Muller around him, the former Dortmund man has had an average shot accuracy of 71%, highlighting his prolific nature in front of goal.

Other Contenders: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (14), Jamie Vardy (12), Thomas Müller & Neymar (11)

#2 Assists: Mesut Ozil (10)

Criticism came like running water for Mesut last season, with pundits often angered by his lack of energy when tracking back and his minimal input to the defensive side of Arsenal’s game. Fast forward to the start of the 2015/16 season though and the German’s undergone a metamorphosis.

With seven assists in his last seven outings, having racked up ten in total, Ozil’s acted as the fulcrum of Arsenal’s forward movements this season, providing Alexis Sanchez with through-balls out on the flank or dissecting opposition backlines with killer long-balls to feed Olivier Giroud possession.

A prime asset of his performances to date this term has been his attitude to big games; the German international set one up and scored one in the encounter with Manchester United in early October, while he also secured a man of the match award in the North-London derby last week. His expert vision and unrivalled agility renders him one of the most influential among the Arsenal crop this campaign.

Other Contenders: Douglas Costa (7), Raffael (6)

#3 Pass Success: Thiago Silva (94.6%)

A rather atypical trait of a centre-back, the passing success stat is spearheaded by PSG defender Thiago Silva who, in twelve matches, has racked up a pass completion percentage nearing 95%. Under Laurent Blanc, PSG have looked to utilise possession more effectively and playing out from the back has been paramount to this.

With fellow Brazillian David Luiz (who himself has a pass completion rate of 94.1%) alongside him, PSG know that they have chemistry at the back and are thus unlikely to come unstuck when knocking it around in their own half.

The club from the French capital have conceded just 3 goals in their last 7 Ligue 1 matches, portraying that Thiago has compensated for a lack of defensive prowess by being so acute with his passing. Not averse to bolstering the numbers in midfield, it is clear Silva is one of the few defenders across the continent comfortable with the ball at his feet as well as when he’s trying to regain it.

Other Contenders: David Luiz (94.1%), Thiago Motta (93.5%)

#4 Tackles: Lucas Leiva (5.5 per game)

A very bizarre name to see grace this list of elites, Brazilian Lucas has reapplied himself at Liverpool, following rumours this summer that he may depart. Since Klopp’s arrival especially Lucas seems to have cemented his role in the heart of the Liverpool midfield, forming a strong partnership in particular with Emre Can.

With the Reds now inundated with attacking midfielders such as Phillipe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino and James Milner, while Jordan Henderson himself is not averse to delving forward, a bit of gravity and someone to do the nitty-gritty was always going to be required and Lucas fits the bill.

Digging deep to regain possession, something pivotal to Jurgen Klopp’s high-intensity approach, the midfielder has also made 14 interceptions this season so far in 850 minutes of football.

Tackling is, as the saying goes, an almighty art and Lucas seems to have perfected it this season, having picked up just the three bookings amidst this barnstorming run.

Other Contenders: Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro (5.4 per game), Miguel Lopes, Ricardo Pereira & Lars Bender (4.9 per game)

#5 Interceptions: Wesley Lautoa (5 per game)

Much like the aforementioned statistic, to re-iterate, this player leads the way on average number of interceptions per game, not the total number. Wesley Lautoa may not be your household name of a footballer, but he is one of the more industrious, hard-working individuals in France’s top-flight.

As well as his average of 5.5 interceptions per game, the 28-year-old who plays for Lorient has a strong aerial presence and is versatile as he can play at the back or in the hub of midfield. His sound defensive duties have lead Lorient to a seventh place standing in Ligue 1 at present and he was particularly authoritative through the middle in the 1-1 draw with Bastia back in August, where we was MOTM.

Lorient’s better results have come off the back of sound defending as opposed to the employment of a machine-gun attacking style and its Wesley’s ability to break down the opposition’s attack with frequent interceptions which aids this.

Other Contenders: Shkodran Mustafi (4.7 per game), Wendell (4.8 per game)

#6 Saves: Ron-Robert Zieler (48)

Back to an accumulative total, Ron-Robert Zieler, 26, leads the way on number of saves made between the sticks so far this campaign and is proving yet again to be one of Germany’s, and Europe’s, hottest goalkeeping prospects.

It hasn’t been the best of seasons for his beloved Hannover this season who are currently rooted to 15th in the Bundesliga and it may be because Zieler’s called into action so frequently that he leads this statistic. Goalkeepers are a team’s last line of defence and Ron’s good reading to punch the ball clear from set-pieces and utilise razor-sharp reflexes in one-on-one situations ensures the damage his side could have been subjected to many a time this season is nullified.

As far as other stats are concerned, Robert-Zieler’s only managed the two clean sheets this term, one of which warranted a MOTM award away to his birth-town of Cologne. On the contrary, he has an average 100% claim success which bodes well for Hannover, should they find themselves immersed in a relegation battle as the season progresses.

Lyon’s Anthony Lopes also deserves a shout out for keeping 9 clean sheets in 13 games so far this season while making 30 saves so far this season. However, there have been a fair few games where he hasn’t been forced into more than 3 saves indicating that his defence takes some of that credit as well.

Other Contenders: Adan (44), Tim Howard (43)