In this article, we take a look at the best players in certain metrics by taking advantage of the power of Wyscout Rankings
Looking at dribbling completion percentage rates also throws up some interesting players, with many of these being fullbacks. Levante fullback Carlos Clerc leads the way with a 76.19% rate ahead of Adama Traore on 75.63%, with the likes of Villarreal's Alfonso Pedraza (71.43%), Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo (70.59%), Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy (69.57%), RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol (70.91%) VfB Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa (67.92%) and Celta Vigo's Javi Galan (67.67%) all within the top 25.
Strikers
Switching the focus to strikers, and we'll start by looking at the top scorers, which sees Bayern sharpshooter Robert Lewandowski rank first on 23 followed by Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick (18), Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (17), Fiorentina's young hotshot Dusan Vlahovic (17), Lazio's Ciro Immobile (17), Mohamed Salah (16) and Borussia Dortmund phenom Erling Haaland (16).
Meanwhile, in terms of Expected Goals, the top 10 list, topped by Lewandowski (21.07), below makes for interesting reading, with Rennes' Gaetan Laborde the most intriguing striker on the list in second having scored 10 goals from an XG of 15.94.
Touches inside the area then give us an idea of who shines at finding space to get into quality goalscoring positions. Chelsea’s Timo Werner ranks first on a per 90 basis on 7.83 ahead of Mbappe (7.76), Manchester City's Jack Grealish, Atalanta's Duvan Zapata, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman, Haaland, Real Madrid's Eden Hazard, Villarreal's Arnaut Danjuma, Atalanta’s Luis Muriel and Salah.
Interestingly many of those on the list such as Grealish, Hazard, Danjuma and Salah are attacking midfielders or wingers, not strikers.
Playmakers
Venturing onto who the elite playmakers in Europe are, we'll be using assists, expected assists and key passes to make judgments.
On fire this season at obliging the movement of his teammates, Thomas Muller's first in assists on 14. Liverpool's superb fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold, Berardi and Lens' Jonathan Clauss then come in next on nine.
These men are then followed by Salah, Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz and Mbappe on eight ahead of a host of players on seven that includes, Rayo Vallecano's Oscar Trejo, Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric, West Ham's Jarrod Bowen, Eintracht Frankfurt's Filip Kostic and Inter duo Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu.
To narrow things down, we've included players that rank in the top 15 for not just the aforementioned assists but also Expected Assists and key passes. After doing this, two men stand out, with Muller and playmaking fullback Alexander-Arnold especially tremendous.
In the case of Muller, aside from bagging the most assists, he rates first for total key passes (34) and second for XA with 7.40. Despite the latter number being a brilliant figure, the fact he's supplied 14 assists is a huge overperformance that owes much to Bayern's exceptional finishing skills led by Lewandowski.
Meanwhile, in terms of Alexander-Arnold, the man who is joint second for assists eye-catchingly came in first for XA on 7.82 and joint sixth for total key passes on 20. Clearly relishing his perfectly tailored role Jurgen Klopp gives him, his output speaks as a testament to his effectiveness.
With the modern era now producing playmakers all over the pitch, including goalkeepers, central defenders and most notably fullbacks (with players such as Alexander-Arnold and City's Joao Cancelo), it's been fascinating to witness how managers like Klopp and Pep Guardiola are getting the most out of their uniquely talented players to transform them into true game changers for their respective teams.
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