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We are just past the quarter mark in the 2015/16 season and the league tables around Europe are slowly giving an indication of how it could be at the end of the season. At this point it also becomes easier to identify the standout performers for different teams.Some of last season’s best performers like Eden Hazard and Diego Costa are still struggling to find their feet. On the other hand, many top players like Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Neymar have stepped up their game by a notch this season. But nothing less is expected of these players.In addition to the usual suspects, many players have performed above expectations this season and their contributions towards their sides have taken most fans by surprise. Even after a significant number of games into the season, their performance graph continues to be steady.Here is a list of ten players from Europe’s top 5 leagues, who have surprised everyone.
#1 Jamie Vardy - Leicester City
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12 games into the Premier League season and Jamie Vardy sits on top of the league’s top goal scorers table with 12 goals to his name and a five goal lead over Ighalo, Romelu Lukaku and teammate Riyad Mahrez in second place.
Vardy is currently on a nine-game scoring streak in the league which is the best goal scoring streak ever in the EPL by an Englishman. If the Leicester City star can score in the next league game against Newcastle, then he will equal Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of scoring in 10 successive league games.
The 28-year-old started the season with a goal against Sunderland on opening day and then assisted Mahrez’s goal against Spurs which won the Foxes a point. He started his goal scoring streak in a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth and went on to score braces against Arsenal and Southampton, the latter which salvaged a point for his side from the jaws of defeat. He scored a goal apiece in recent wins against Crystal Palace, West Brom and Watford, and these goals proved to be winners.
The Englishman scored just five league goals last season – which was also his first season in the Premier League, but this season he doubled the tally after just 10 games. This is incredible considering that he was playing non-league football in 2012.
#2 Keylor Navas - Real Madrid
Keylor Navas moved to Real Madrid in 2014, but he was used as a backup for Iker Casillas. After the departure of Casillas, De Gea was expected to move to Real Madrid with Navas going the other way, but the transfer broke down and Navas became the club’s first-choice keeper.
The Costa Rican was brilliant during his time with Levante, but his performance for Real Madrid has exceeded expectations and he has made sure that Real Madrid don’t suffer due to the failed transfer of De Gea.
Navas has kept 10 clean sheets for Real Madrid in the 13 games he has played for them this season. He has conceded just three goals all season and Real Madrid conceded as many in just one game against Sevilla without the Costa Rican in goal.
Navas has also made 25 saves in just 9 La Liga games and he has also made two penalty saves in the process. The first was against Real Betis in a comfortable 5-0 win for his side, but the second was a crucial save against derby rivals Atletico which eventually ensured that Real Madrid didn’t end up on the losing side.
The 28-year-old broke the record for most consecutive clean sheets at the Bernabeu with five to his name in the opening five games and fell six minutes short of breaking the club record for the most minutes without conceding a goal. He also broke the record for the longest run without conceding a first Champions League goal after keeping a clean sheet against PSG.
#3 Odion Ighalo - Watford
It is rumoured that Ighalo had an offer to move to China to play for Chinese first division side Hebei China Fortune, but he decided against the move after holding talks with his current employers. Ighalo and Watford will be happy with their decision when they look back at it now as the Nigerian has proved to be a crucial player for the newly promoted club so far.
Ighalo is currently the second highest scorer in the Premier League with seven goals to his name and he has also provided two assists.
The 26-year-old scored on the opening day against Everton and his goal would have won his team all three points if it wasn’t for a late goal from Kone. He and his team went without a goal in their next three games, but he rectified that by scoring the winner for his side against Swansea City and a brace against Newcastle followed.
His fifth of the season was an equalizer against Bournemouth and then he assisted both goals in an important 2-0 win away to Stoke. He continued his good run of form by scoring a brace against West Ham and thus inflicted the first away defeat of the season on the Hammers.
Despite his good form, he has remained humble and even admitted that he has been taken aback by his own goal scoring form. Hopefully, he can maintain the form throughout the season.
#4 Matthias Ginter - Borussia Dortmund
Matthias Ginter is a centre-back by trade, but the competition for a starting role in Dortmund’s central defence is high with Hummels, Sokratis and Subotic in the team. But luck works in funny ways as it was an injury to the club’s right-back Lukasz Piszczek that gave Ginter an opportunity to break into the squad.
Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel gave Ginter an opportunity to cement his place in the starting XI at right back and the youngster responded marvelously. There were doubts about the attacking threat he could provide due to his unfamiliarity in the position, but he cast all doubts aside by scoring 4 goals and providing 5 assists for Dortmund this season.
Ginter was dropped in favour of the experienced Piszczek for the game against Bayern Munich, but the side ended up losing 5-1. From there on he has started all the games in Dortmund’s current run of seven successive wins. He played a crucial role in helping Dortmund win the Ruhr Derby against Schalke by assisting Kagawa’s opening goal and scoring Dortmund’s second in the game.
The German’s good form also won him a starting position in the national side as the team were struggling to fill the void left by Philipp Lahm. He started Germany’s last two European qualifiers against Republic of Ireland and Georgia.
#5 Sergi Roberto - Barcelona
No La Masia product has gone on to become a crucial first team player for Barcelona since Sergio Busquets and Pedro did it under Pep Guardiola and Sergi Roberto could be the man to change this worrying trend.
After making just four La Liga starts last season, the Spaniard has already started eight La Liga games this season, even though he had to play in an unfamiliar right-back role in some games. His teammates Luis Suarez and Neymar have been Barcelona’s best players for the club this season, but Roberto isn’t that far behind.
This season he operated as a right-back during the absence of Dani Alves and surprised many with his spectacular form. He was also given more opportunities in his familiar central midfield role owing to the departure of Xavi and injuries to other players like Rafinha and Ivan Rakitic.
Some of the highlights of his performance in central midfield include a goal against Bayer Leverkusen which won the game for Barcelona and two sublime assists against Getafe to set up Suarez and Neymar.
Roberto’s good form couldn’t have been better timed as Barcelona were struggling with injuries and now his performance will give Luis Enrique a welcome headache when the injured players as well as their summer signings, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal, join the squad.
#6 Iago Aspas - Celta Vigo
During the 2013/14 season Liverpool came very close to lifting their maiden Premier League title thanks to the brilliant form of their strikers Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. However the form of these players meant that Iago Aspas didn’t get enough chances to show his worth at the club. Aspas moved on loan to Sevilla last season, but he was again used as a backup striker.
Prior to the start of the 2015/16 season, he moved back to Celta Vigo, where he was a fan favourite and he has been one of the outstanding performers for the club who are currently fourth in the table. Aspas has scored six goals and provided one assist for his club in 11 league games and he is the club’s second highest scorer behind Nolito who has scored seven.
The Spaniard scored the winner for his club on opening day against Levante, but his best performance of the season came against defending champions Barcelona. Aspas scored a brace against the Catalan club and he nearly sprinted halfway down the pitch and finished brilliantly on both occasions.
The 28-year-old also scored a brace against Real Sociedad in an away win and one against Eibar this season. In addition to his vital goals, his general gameplay has been good and has improved a lot from his time at Liverpool.
#7 Riyad Mahrez - Leicester City
Mahrez has stunned football fans with his dribbling, ball control and balance, and he has managed to add assists and goals to his game as well. The Algerian is currently the second highest goal scorer in the league behind Vardy and the third highest assists provider.
He can proudly say that only Mesut Ozil and David Silva have more assists than him. He is also currently the third highest rated player in Europe according to WhoScored ratings and the only players with better ratings than him are Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic!
The 24-year-old scored a brace against Sunderland on opening day and followed it up with crucial goals against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur. The former proved to be the winning goal and the latter drew his team level. Mahrez proved to be a very important player in a game against Aston Villa where his team came back from 2-0 down to win the game 3-2 and it was he who set up two goals in that game. This was followed by a goal and an assist against Stoke City in a 2-2 draw.
Mahrez had a minor injury problem in early October due to which he had to sit out one game and come on as a substitute in another. However, his form has picked up once again and he scored a brace against West Brom to clarify the same.
The Leicester City man’s performance is catching the eyes of many top clubs and if he maintains this form then his club will struggle to keep hold of him next season.
#8 Marcelo - Real Madrid
Marcelo has been one of the best left-backs in the game for quite a while and his incredible performance for the club is one of the reasons why someone as good as Fabio Coentrao is now on loan at AS Monaco from Real Madrid. The Brazilian has always been a threat while going forward, but under Rafael Benitez the defensive side of his game has improved massively much to the surprise of many.
According to WhoScored, the Brazilian is statistically the seventh best player in Europe right now and the best defender with a rating of 7.88. The Brazilian has won 25 tackles, made 22 interceptions, 2 blocks and 22 clearances in just 10 La Liga games.
He has been the only constant figure in the Real Madrid defense which conceded just three goals in their opening 10 league games. Marcelo missed Real’s game against Sevilla due to an injury and his team shipped three goals in that game and the left flank looked dead without him.
In addition to his defensive contributions, Marcelo has continued to be a threat offensively. He scored in consecutive games against Levante and Celta Vigo and also set up a goal against Las Palmas.
#9 Eder - Sampdoria
Brazilian born Eder has been a Sampdoria player since 2012, but his performance in the ongoing season has caught the eyes of many people. The 28-year-old is currently the joint top scorer in the Serie A with 9 goals to his name.
He started the season with a brace against Capri in a 5-2 win and then followed it up with another brace away to Napoli in a 2-2 draw. His goal against Bologna made it five goals in the first three games of the season. His remaining goals have come against AS Roma, Hellas Verona, Empoli and Chievo. In addition to his goals, Eder has also assisted two goals.
Eder is in the form of his life right now and is attracting interest from Internazionale. However, this wasn’t the case earlier as he struggled after making a move to Europe as a teenager. He played for several mid-table clubs and was the Serie B top scorer in 2010. He is certainly among the list of late bloomers in football and his current form is a clear indicator of the same.
Sampdoria are currently sitting 10th in the table, but the club would have been near the relegation zone if it wasn’t for Eder and his goals.
#10 Hatem Ben Arfa - OGC Nice
Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri were all stars of the French team that won the U-17 European Championship in 2004. However, the careers of Benzema and Nasri have an upward graph compared the ups-and-downs suffered by Ben Arfa.
The Frenchman signed for Nice in January 2015, but couldn’t play for the club due to FIFA rules stating he couldn’t play for a third club in the same season. He had to wait until the current season and he hasn’t looked back since.
He is slowly getting his career back on track after falling out with Alan Pardew at Newcastle and then later with Steve Bruce at Hull City. He recently scored a goal against St. Etienne after dribbling past six opposition players and it could be a contender for goal of the season.
The 28-year-old is currently the fourth highest goal scorer in Ligue 1 with seven to his name and he is just two goals short of top scorers Ibrahimovic and Moukandjo. Nice, who were 11th last season, are currently sixth in the table and just one point away from a European spot. The club’s position has much to do with Ben Arfa’s seven goals and two assists.
Ben Arfa’s brilliant return to form didn’t go unnoticed as he has received a call up to the French National team after a long time.
