Player form rankings: England hopeful second only to majestic Messi
There’s a first appearance of the season in our European player form rankings - taking in the top five leagues on the continent - for Lionel Messi, who is predictably straight in at number one.
The Argentine was making only his sixth LaLiga start of the season against Celta Vigo and marked it with his first hat-trick of the campaign, taking his tally to goals in said matches to eight.
With a further four assists in that time Messi is streaks ahead of the chasing pack in our rankings as a result, with a monumental weighted rating* of 8.84.
The closest challenger to the Barcelona star is now Leicester playmaker James Maddison, who will be hoping that his superb form of late will earn him a first England cap over the international break.
There is no doubt the 22-year-old is deserving of a spot in Gareth Southgate’s best XI based on recent performances, with Maddison notching for the fourth time in his last six league outings at the weekend.
The youngster’s strike in the victory over Arsenal helped lift the Foxes to second in the Premier League, though he isn’t the only one of Brendan Rodgers’ squad flying high right now.
Wilfred Ndidi is up to fourth in this week’s rankings following another dominant midfield display, with the Nigerian having produced 35 tackles and 18 interceptions in his last six league appearances. Jamie Vardy is fifth, meanwhile, having scored for the fourth league match running, with eight goals in total across his last six matches.
Angel Di Maria is up to third elsewhere following his decisive goal in PSG’s 2-1 win at Brest, with the former Manchester Untied misfit having now had a direct hand in six goals in his last four Ligue 1 outings.
Last week’s leader Ciro Immobile is down five places to sixth despite continuing his superb scoring streak - now at seven league matches - from the spot at the weekend, while Marcus Thuram also drops five. The young Frenchman still just about leads the way in the Bundesliga after another impressive performance heralded a fifth assist of the season, though two free-scoring forwards are hot on his heels.
Timo Werner is up to eighth having followed a remarkable hat-trick of both goals and assists against Mainz with a brace and another assist at Hertha Berlin. A record of one goal in six matches that preceded this most purple of patches is the reason he isn’t jostling for top spot.
Meanwhile, a vintage performance from Robert Lewandowski in Der Klassiker against former club Borussia Dortmund was enough to restore the Poland international to the top ten. The Bayern hitman is in frightening form in front of goal, with another brace at the weekend taking his tally to 16 for the season in the Bundesliga alone.
Completing the top ten, while the limelight is on Chelsea’s incredibly exciting academy graduates, Willian - a storied veteran by comparison - is proving his worth under Frank Lampard. The Brazilian registered a sumptuous assist for Tammy Abraham’s opener against Palace and has now had a hand in at least one goal in four of his last six league matches.
Elsewhere an honourable mention for Radja Nainggolan, who is now second in Serie A following a goal and three assists against Fiorentina, while compatriot Eden Hazard is climbing fast after a slow, injury-disrupted start to life at Real Madrid. The former Chelsea talisman is a distant second to Messi in LaLiga having also only just qualified to feature having completed 20 dribbles across his last three league appearances.
Qualifying Rules
Only ratings from each player’s last six league matches are considered, weighted chronologically, with the most recent match carrying greater importance and so on. To qualify each player must have featured in two of the last three league matches and started at least six of the last eight available.
