UEFA Champions League 250: Ranking the Top 250 Footballers After Matchday 1

Who is the UEFA Champions League’s best footballer?

One might have an overall answer such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but what about from week to week? Sometimes top footballers have off games. Sometimes less heralded players exceed expectations and surprise their supporters, coaches and maybe even themselves.

Being the world’s preeminent club-cup competition, the Champions League is the crown jewel of European football. The mission for every player, manager and club in Europe is to play in—and hopefully win—the coveted big-eared trophy.

Now in full swing for the 2016/17 season, Bleacher Report is attempting to determine, on a matchday-by-matchday basis, who was the best Champions League footballer.

The usual suspects always lurk, but sometimes lesser known, or even unknown, footballers can shock our collective consciousness and arrive from nowhere. In that sense, Bleacher Report UK is taking a holistic approach: breaking down each position, finding the outstanding footballers therein and grading each according to his output.

With 250 players to start—from the 32 qualified clubs in the group stage—competition for places is tough, but there's enough room for thorough investigation and critique. Each player is evaluated by your slightly biased but mostly fair author, who will bring you player grades based on the action after every round of matches.

Before we present the opening marks for the 2016/17 Champions League campaign, an introduction to the methodology.

Methodology

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Footballers are graded on a series of four key attributes in their respective positional roles. Using a grading scale, starting at zero and going up to anywhere from 10 to 25, the system is based on the most recently completed matchday—reaching a maximum of 100 points.

The 250 players are divided into positions and ranked against/with their contemporaries:

• 30 goalkeepers
• 20 right-backs and right wing-backs
• 20 left-backs and left wing-backs
• 40 centre-backs
• 60 defensive, central and attacking midfielders
• 25 right midfielders, right-wingers and right-sided forwards
• 25 left midfielders, left-wingers and left-sided forwards
• 30 strikers and centre-forwards

Obviously no system is perfect, and there are flaws with every conceivable methodology, but giving each group of players its own unique grading system—rather then throwing every footballer into the same equation—should offer a truer end result from matchday to matchday.

One set of grades will have no connection with the next. Nor will one's domestic form bear any weight in Champions League proceedings. If a player is injured but is given time on the pitch, that is disregarded. If a player plays for under 46 minutes—no matter his effectiveness—he will be removed from the pool in order to offer a fair two-half representation.

Grading is a subjective process. We all have things we notice and things we appreciate more than others; in that respect, no ranking is ever definitive. There's always the comments section for discussions, rebuttals and suggestions.

Lastly, in the event of ties, we simply ask: "Who do we think had a better game?" The winner gets top billing.

Goalkeepers

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Fifty goals were scored in the 16 group-stage matches on Matchday 1.

Seven of them beat Celtic goalkeeper Dorus de Vries and another six past Legia Warsaw goalie Arkadiusz Malarz. While not deserving the entirety of the blame—credit must also go to their respective tormentors, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund—the duo will not feature in the following ranking, leaving the other 30 No. 1s fighting for goalkeeping supremacy.

Two of the world's best goalkeepers, Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer and Juventus' ageless wonder Gianluigi Buffon, weren't exactly spectacular but earned clean sheets.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger rested Petr Cech, allowing David Ospina to feature against Paris Saint-Germain, and the Colombian shot-stopper put in a fantastic performance, possibly earning a full-time spot in the Champions League.

Claudio Bravo started for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and former team-mate Marc Andre ter Stegen had the house's best seat for the Catalan giants' 7-0 thumping of Brendan Rodgers' Celtic at the Camp Nou.

The two best performances also came from Spain: Sevilla's Sergio Rico was solid against Juve, and Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak helped keep his side's 1-0 advantage over PSV Eindhoven for nearly 50 minutes on the road, making a massive penalty save.

With other strong (and not-so-strong) performances between the sticks, there was a great mix among UCL 'keepers on Matchday 1. They did their jobs well but not well enough to stop the net bulging 50 times—which is kind of want we want.

Grading Scale

Hand: Handling (graded out of 25)

Pos: Positioning (graded out of 25)

Kick: Kicking (graded out of 25)

Saves: Saves (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Goalkeeper Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Hand	Pos	Kick	Saves	Ovr
1	Jan Oblak	Atletico Madrid	23	23	20	24	90
2	Sergio Rico	Sevilla	21	23	21	23	88
3	Marc Andre ter Stegen	Barcelona	22	23	20	22	87
4	David Ospina	Arsenal	22	21	20	23	86
5	Claudio Bravo	Manchester City	20	21	23	21	85
6	Roman Burki	Borussia Dortmund	22	23	19	21	85
7	Tolga Zengin	Besiktas	22	22	18	22	84
8	Anthony Lopez	Olympique Lyonnais	21	22	19	21	83
9	Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	19	19	22	21	81
10	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	21	19	20	20	80
11	Kiko Casilla	Real Madrid	21	19	20	20	80
12	Alphonse Areola	Paris Saint-Germain	22	21	18	18	79
13	Danijel Subasic	AS Monaco	22	17	19	20	78
14	Yann Sommer	Borussia Monchengladbach	18	19	21	17	75
15	Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City	21	18	17	19	75
16	Ederson Moraes	Benfica	19	17	21	17	74
17	Igor Akinfeev	CSKA Moscow	17	16	21	18	72
18	Pepe Reina	Napoli	18	18	18	17	71
19	Jeroen Zoet	PSV Eindhoven	19	17	17	18	71
20	Tomas Vaclik	FC Basel	19	16	17	17	69
21	Bernd Leno	Bayer Leverkusen	17	15	18	18	68
22	Iker Casillas	FC Porto	18	17	15	18	68
23	Adrian Semper	Dinamo Zagreb	15	17	19	16	67
24	Robin Olsen	Copenhagen	15	15	19	15	64
25	Vladislav Stoyanov	Ludogorets	15	14	17	16	62
26	Hugo Lloris	Tottenham Hotspur	17	14	15	15	61
27	Oleksandr Shovkovskiy	Dynamo Kiev	12	14	19	15	60
28	Rui Patricio	Sporting Lisbon	14	13	19	14	60
29	Soslan Dzhanaev	FC Rostov	14	12	15	12	53
30	Ludovic Butelle	Club Brugge	13	11	13	14	51

Notable Omissions

• Petr Cech, Arsenal: rested/benched
• Keylor Navas, Real Madrid: injured
• Kevin Trapp, Paris Saint-Germain: rested/benched
• Salvatore Sirigu, Sevilla: rested/benched

Right-Backs and Right Wing-Backs

TF-Images/Getty Images

Right-backs and right wing-backs were mostly serviceable in the opening group-stage encounters. Some had games to forget, others provided key moments and a few were splendid for the entire 90 minutes.

Serge Aurier was the standout full-back for Paris Saint-Germain against Arsenal. With an abundance of attacking talent, he helped put clamps on Wenger's creative options, while his assist for Edinson Cavani's rapid first-half goal was the highlight of the matchday's action.

Elsewhere, despite the fact a 6-0 win over Legia Warsaw might sound straightforward, Borussia Dortmund's Lukasz Piszczek was another outstanding performer, providing an attacking option for his midfielders and cover for his fellow defenders.

Napoli's Elseid Hysaj and Tottenham Hotspur's Kyle Walker played well below their near-world-class potential and were docked points because of those shortcomings. That said, they are two of the best right-backs in the competition and have at least five more fixtures to rebound.

Dani Carvajal, who was injured in the 2015/16 Champions League final, made his return to Europe's top club competition in Real Madrid's victory win over Sporting Lisbon. Atletico Madrid's Juanfran, looking to put that same San Siro final behind him for other reasons, was instrumental in securing his side's 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven—helping Diego Simeone's side to three points and keep pace with the rampant Bayern Munich in Group D.

Dani Alves remained his usual attacking self for Juventus. While not the greatest defender, his forward momentum and creativity makes the Brazil international an asset. That didn't change against Sevilla.

Grading Scale

Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)

Off: Offence (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Right-Back and Right Wing-Back Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Serge Aurier	Paris Saint-Germain	22	23	22	25	92
2	Lukasz Piszczek	Borussia Dortmund	21	24	23	24	92
3	Rafinha	Bayern Munich	20	22	23	23	88
4	Rafael	Olympique Lyonnais	22	21	18	25	86
5	Juanfran	Atletico Madrid	23	20	21	22	86
6	Sergi Roberto	Barcelona	20	20	21	23	84
7	Dani Alves	Juventus	19	22	20	22	83
8	Pablo Zabaleta	Manchester City	20	21	20	20	81
9	Andrea Raggi	AS Monaco	22	20	20	18	80
10	Gabriel Mercado	Sevilla	20	21	20	18	79
11	Luis Hernandez	Leicester City	19	19	19	19	76
12	Daniel Carvajal	Real Madrid	17	19	19	20	75
13	Joshua Brenet	PSV Eindhoven	20	19	19	15	73
14	Benjamin Henrichs	Bayer Leverkusen	18	19	19	16	72
15	Joao Pereira	Sporting Lisbon	20	17	18	16	71
16	Mario Fernandes	CSKA Moscow	19	16	19	16	70
17	Miguel Layun	FC Porto	16	16	17	18	67
18	Hector Bellerin	Arsenal	17	17	17	15	66
19	Elseid Hysaj	Napoli	17	16	17	14	64
20	Kyle Walker	Tottenham Hotspur	14	17	15	16	62

Notable Omissions

• Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus: not in Champions League squad
• Philipp Lahm, Bayern Munich: rested/benched
• Bacary Sanga, Manchester City: rested/benched

Left-Backs and Left Wing-Backs

TF-Images/Getty Images

The number of above-average or better performances from left-backs during the Champions League's first group-stage matches of the season was quite impressive.

Four such defenders received grades above 90, and left-backs were perhaps the competition's best positional performers.

Marcel Schmelzer and Aleksandar Kolarov of Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City respectively were the cream of that particular crop—chased closely by Bayern Munich's David Alaba and Barcelona's Jordi Alba. Each member of that quartet was influential in both defence and attack, providing his team and manager with tackles, passes and an outlet for possession and fluidity.

Just below the top performers were Maciej Rybus from Olympique Lyonnais and Atletico Madrid's Filipe Luis, both assisting in clean-sheet efforts. Their opening group-stage fixtures (against Dinamo Zagreb and PSV Eindhoven respectively) were great starts as the competition moves forward.

Looking at the left-back cellar, Paris-Saint Germain's Maxwell and Juventus' Patrice Evra are experienced heads who have been playing in the Champions League for years, but sometimes the legs to move around for the entire 90 minutes of intense matches are required over wisdom. While certainly not abject, the veteran defenders could do better in subsequent fixtures. Luckily for their clubs, neither was grievously punished—both earning draws against legitimate competition in Arsenal and Sevilla.

Maybe the best story was Christian Fuchs playing for improbable Premier League champions Leicester City in the Champions League. One of manager Claudio Ranieri's chief instruments last season, the Foxes left-back and Austria captain looked more than capable in Europe's biggest club arena.

Lastly—as we should expect for the competition's duration—Real Madrid's Marcelo did Marcelo things.

Grading Scale

Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)

Off: Offence (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Left-Back and Left Wing-Back Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Aleksandar Kolarov	Manchester City	21	24	24	24	93
2	Marcel Schmelzer	Borussia Dortmund	22	23	24	23	92
3	David Alaba	Bayern Munich	22	23	22	24	91
4	Jordi Alba	Barcelona	22	24	23	22	91
5	Maciej Rybus	Olympique Lyonnais	22	21	23	21	87
6	Filipe Luis	Atletico Madrid	21	22	23	20	86
7	Djibril Sidibe	AS Monaco	21	21	22	21	85
8	Marcelo	Real Madrid	19	22	19	23	83
9	Christian Fuchs	Leicester City	19	21	22	21	83
10	Adama Traore	FC Basel	20	19	19	20	78
11	Alex Grimaldo	Benfica	19	18	20	20	77
12	Faouzi Ghoulam	Napoli	17	20	18	22	77
13	Ludwig Augustinsson	Copenhagen	20	16	20	18	74
14	Sergio Escudero	Sevilla	20	17	18	18	73
15	Natanael Pimienta	Ludogorets	21	16	16	18	71
16	Jetro Willems	PSV Eindhoven	18	16	20	16	70
17	Nacho Monreal	Arsenal	17	17	19	15	68
18	Alex Telles	FC Porto	16	15	18	16	65
19	Patrice Evra	Juventus	16	15	17	15	63
20	Maxwell	Paris Saint-Germain	15	16	15	16	62

Notable Omissions

• Gael Clichy, Manchester City: played nine minutes
• Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal: benched/rested

Centre-Backs

TF-Images/Getty Images

Foundational members of any defence, centre-backs playing well or poorly normally dictate how any given football match transpires—the first Champions League group-stage matchday was no different. For every team that earned points, one can reference at least one central defender who responded with a great performance.

The best partnership was at Borussia Dortmund. The high-flying German side received two goals and a clean sheet from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and summer addition Marc Bartra. Some would cite playing Legia Warsaw as a demerit, but head coach Thomas Tuchel's men can only play the teams the schedule dictates, and their 6-0 was the UCL's second-best start.

Besiktas' Dusko Tosic might have had a nosebleed performance. His position in the ranking is much higher than his reputation might suggest, but against Benfica, the 31-year-old Serbia international was simply immense and deserved his position.

Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur got on the scoresheet against AS Monaco, buy while the Belgian was offensively effective, his efforts were not enough to get his club the victory—or even a draw.

Premier League contemporary John Stones made his Champions League debut with manager Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. To his credit, the £47.5 million summer transfer was solid in his first outing on European football's biggest stage; "start as you mean to go on," in the 22-year-old England international's case.

Some of Europe's well-known centre-backs—namely Thiago Silva, Laurent Koscielny, Raphael Varane and Leonardo Bonucci—were decent but played under their level. However, none of their teams were punished with a loss.

Grading Scale

Def: Defending (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Dis: Discipline (graded out of 25)

Off: Offence (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Centre-Back Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Def	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Sokratis Papastathopoulos	Borussia Dortmund	24	22	23	25	94
2	Dusko Tosic	Besiktas	25	22	25	21	93
3	Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus	24	23	25	21	93
4	Marc Bartra	Borussia Dortmund	22	22	23	25	92
5	Javi Martinez	Bayern Munich	23	24	23	20	90
6	Gerard Pique	Barcelona	23	23	21	21	88
7	Nicolas Otamendi	Manchester City	23	23	19	21	86
8	Jeremy Morel	Olympique Lyonnais	23	21	23	19	86
9	Robert Huth	Leicester City	23	21	23	18	85
10	Toby Alderweireld	Tottenham Hotspur	19	21	20	25	85
11	John Stones	Manchester City	20	22	20	23	85
12	Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa	Olympique Lyonnais	20	21	20	23	84
13	Jonathan Tah	Bayer Leverkusen	21	20	19	22	82
14	Mats Hummels	Bayern Munich	21	21	19	20	81
15	Jose Gimenez	Atletico Madrid	23	19	19	19	80
16	Samuel Umtiti	Barcelona	21	21	19	19	80
17	Diego Godin	Atletico Madrid	23	19	20	17	79
18	Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	21	20	18	19	78
19	Nicolas N'Koulou	Olympique Lyonnais	22	19	19	18	78
20	Yevhen Khacheridi	Dynamo Kiev	21	19	19	17	76
21	Kamil Glik	AS Monaco	22	19	18	17	76
22	Sebastian Coates	Sporting Lisbon	21	19	19	17	76
23	Raul Albiol	Napoli	21	19	19	16	75
24	Jemerson	AS Monaco	20	18	18	18	74
25	Andrea Barzagli	Juventus	22	18	17	17	74
26	Marcelo	Besiktas	19	18	18	18	73
27	Wes Morgan	Leicester City	20	17	19	16	72
28	Kalidou Koulibaly	Napoli	21	17	18	16	72
29	Shkodran Mustafi	Arsenal	19	18	17	17	71
30	Adil Rami	Sevilla	20	17	18	16	71
31	Hector Moreno	PSV Eindhoven	19	18	17	16	70
32	Leonardo Bonucci	Juventus	18	17	18	17	70
33	Raphael Varane	Real Madrid	18	17	18	16	69
34	Marquinhos	Paris Saint-Germain	18	16	17	17	68
35	Nicolas Isimat-Mirin	PSV Eindhoven	17	16	18	16	67
36	Laurent Koscielny	Arsenal	16	17	17	17	67
37	Jan Vertonghen	Tottenham Hotspur	15	15	18	17	65
38	Thiago Silva	Paris Saint-Germain	17	16	16	15	64
39	Andreas Christensen	Borussia Monchengladbach	15	16	17	14	62
40	Omer Toprak	Bayer Leverkusen	15	15	16	13	60

Notable Omissions

• Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich: injured/precaution
• Pepe, Real Madrid: rested/benched
• Javier Mascherano, Barcelona: rested/benched

Defensive Midfielders, Central Midfielders and Central Attacking Midfielders

OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

One might find judging defensive midfielders, central midfielders and central attacking midfielders by the same criteria stretching reality, but sometimes honest sacrifices must be made. By offering the largest pool of players (60 of the 250) and general-enough criteria to achieve a fair representation, hopefully we all can make things work as the 2016/17 Champions League campaign progresses. 

That disclaimer understood, the central-midfield standout performer of the matchday was without doubt Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich. The versatile 21-year-old is capable of playing in multiple positions, and was tasked by manager Carlo Ancelotti to patrol midfield against FC Rostov. Scoring twice in Bayern Munich's 5-0 route over the Russians, he was the clear man of the match—and might keep some world-class, household names sidelined over upcoming weeks.

It was a return to Champions League football for Ilkay Gundogan—just in Manchester City's sky blue rather than Borussia Dortmund's yellow and black—and the Germany international looked exactly what Guardiola paid for this summer—an all-around midfield boss. That task is made slightly more easy when you have the likes of Kevin De Bruyne just in front, pulling strings and shouldering a massive attacking load.

Just cracking the top 60 were the north London quartet of Eric Dier, Christian Eriksen, Mesut Ozil and Francis Coquelin. The Tottneham Hotspur and Arsenal players were solid but not breathtaking on Matchday 1.

The longstanding Premier League rivals will need better performances from all mentioned if they are to turn draws and losses into three points.

Grading Scale

Tac: Tackling (graded out of 25)

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Defensive Midfielder, Central Midfielder and Central Attacking Midfielder Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Cre	Pro	Ovr
1	Joshua Kimmich	Bayern Munich	23	24	25	25	97
2	Corentin Tolisso	Olympique Lyonnais	22	25	24	25	96
3	Fabinho	AS Monaco	22	24	24	25	95
4	Raphael Guerreiro	Borussia Dortmund	23	24	24	22	93
5	Mario Gotze	Borussia Dortmund	20	24	24	24	92
6	Arturo Vidal	Bayern Munich	22	23	22	24	91
7	Ilkay Gundogan	Manchester City	20	24	24	23	91
8	Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	19	24	24	23	90
9	Kevin Kampl	Bayer Leverkusen	20	23	23	23	89
10	Saul Niguez	Atletico Madrid	20	21	24	24	89
11	Alan Dzagoev	CSKA Moscow	19	23	23	23	88
12	Thiago Alcantara	Bayern Munich	19	24	24	21	88
13	Andre Gomes	Barcelona	22	23	22	21	88
14	Julian Weigl	Borussia Dortmund	20	24	22	21	87
15	Adrien Rabiot	Paris Saint-Germain	21	22	22	22	87
16	Casemiro	Real Madrid	23	23	19	21	86
17	Sergi Darder	Olympique Lyonnais	21	23	22	20	86
18	Luka Modric	Real Madrid	20	24	21	20	85
19	Jordan Ferri	Olympique Lyonnais	18	22	22	23	85
20	Sergio Busquets	Barcelona	22	22	20	20	84
21	Danny Drinkwater	Leicester City	21	21	21	21	84
22	Fernandinho	Manchester City	22	22	18	22	84
23	Adrien Silva	Sporting Lisbon	20	22	21	20	83
24	Santi Cazorla	Arsenal	20	22	21	19	82
25	Ivan Rakitic	Barcelona	20	21	21	20	82
26	Lars Bender	Bayer Leverkusen	21	20	20	20	81
27	Franco Cervi	Benfica	19	18	22	22	81
28	Daniel Amartey	Leicester City	21	19	19	21	80
29	Atiba Hutchinson	Besiktas	20	19	21	20	80
30	Denys Garmash	Dynamo Kiev	17	20	20	22	79
31	Steven N'Zonzi	Sevilla	20	19	19	21	79
32	Tiemoue Bakayoko	AS Monaco	21	18	18	21	78
33	Jorginho	Napoli	21	21	16	20	78
34	Gabi	Atletico Madrid	20	19	18	20	77
35	Taulant Xhaka	FC Basel	20	20	17	20	77
36	Danilo Pereira	FC Porto	21	19	16	21	77
37	Marcelinho	Ludogorets	15	21	20	20	76
38	Roman Eremenko	CSKA Moscow	15	15	23	23	76
39	Anicet	Ludogorets	19	22	15	17	73
40	Ljubomir Fejsa	Benfica	20	17	16	20	73
41	Thomas Delaney	Copenhagen	18	19	18	18	73
42	Allan	Napoli	18	19	18	17	72
43	Vicente Iborra	Sevilla	16	18	18	19	71
44	Andre Horta	Benfica	17	18	17	19	71
45	Joao Moutinho	AS Monaco	17	18	18	17	70
46	Gokhan Inler	Besiktas	19	18	16	17	70
47	Mario Lemina	Juventus	18	18	17	17	70
48	Andres Guardado	PSV Eindhoven	19	18	16	16	69
49	Sami Khedira	Juventus	18	17	15	18	68
50	Toni Kroos	Real Madrid	15	17	17	17	66
51	Eric Dier	Tottenham Hotspur	18	15	15	18	66
52	Grzegorz Krychowiak	Paris Saint-Germain	16	16	16	17	65
53	Marek Hamsik	Napoli	14	17	17	17	65
54	Mesut Ozil	Arsenal	12	17	17	18	64
55	William Carvalho	Sporting Lisbon	16	15	15	17	63
56	Dele Alli	Tottenham Hotspur	14	16	16	17	63
57	Francis Coquelin	Arsenal	16	14	14	17	61
58	Kwadwo Asamoah	Juventus	15	15	15	15	60
59	Christian Eriksen	Tottenham Hotspur	13	15	17	15	60
60	Davy Propper	PSV Eindhoven	16	15	13	15	59

Notable Omissions

• Granit Xhaka, Arsenal: played 29 minutes
• Andres Iniesta, Barcelona: played 45 minutes
• Xabi Alonso, Bayern Munich: rested/benched

Right Midfielders, Right-Wingers and Right-Sided Forwards

VI-Images/Getty Images

The right flank's story during the group stage's first matchday could be told by three players.

The first, Lionel Messi, is widely recognised as Earth's greatest active footballer and arguably the greatest club footballer of all time. Starting his and Barcelona's 2016/17 Champions League off with a bang—trouncing Celtic 7-0—the Argentinian forward scored a hat-trick and assisted once.

Directly responsible for four of Barca's seven goals, his performance was exemplary and showed why many esteem and espouse his greatness.

The second, Riyad Mahrez, is a newcomer to European football's pre-eminent stage. Playing in his first Champions League match—a moment earned from Leicester City's magical 2015/16 Premier League campaign—the Algeria international is a gifted talent and looked at home under the floodlights.

Scoring an outlandish free-kick against Club Brugge as the metronome-cum-wild card manager Claudio Ranieri requires in his attacking paradigm, Leicester without the 25-year-old would be often outgunned and overmatched. With Mahrez on form, however, they are a danger to many.

Finally, we have Christian Pulisic. Seen as the next great hope for United States football, Borussia Dortmund's young talent was on display against Legia Warsaw. Still 17 years old at the time, the Pennsylvania-born attacking midfielder looked just as viable on the pitch as his senior counterparts. His passing percentage was not great (hovering over 72 percent), but the intentions behind his passes were, leading to an assist.

Tuchel gave him 90 minutes, his faith in the teenager boding well moving forward. That said, the German boss might not need too much faith if that performance was Pulisic's basement.

Grading Scale

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Right Midfielder, Winger and Forward Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	25	25	25	25	100
2	Riyad Mahrez	Leicester City	23	24	25	24	96
3	Thomas Muller	Bayern Munich	23	23	24	24	94
4	Christian Pulisic	Borussia Dortmund	22	23	22	23	90
5	Jesus Navas	Manchester City	22	22	18	22	84
6	Angel Di Maria	Paris Saint-Germain	23	22	17	21	83
7	Erik Lamela	Tottenham Hotspur	22	22	18	19	81
8	Gelson Martins	Sporting Lisbon	22	21	18	19	80
9	Julian Brandt	Bayer Leverkusen	20	21	19	19	79
10	Gareth Bale	Real Madrid	20	21	18	19	78
11	Aleksei Ionov	CSKA Moscow	21	20	15	21	77
12	Nicolas Gaitan	Atletico Madrid	18	18	18	18	74
13	Jose Callejon	Napoli	19	19	17	18	73
14	Vitolo	Sevilla	18	19	17	19	73
15	Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	Arsenal	18	21	17	17	73
16	Eduardo Salvio	Benfica	17	19	16	18	70
17	Virgil Misidjan	Ludogorets	17	17	13	15	67
18	Ricardo Quaresma	Besiktas	16	19	14	17	66
19	Andriy Yarmolenko	Dynamo Kiev	16	18	15	18	65
20	Hans Vanaken	Club Brugge	14	16	15	15	60
21	Jesus Corona	FC Porto	15	15	14	16	60
22	Birkir Bjarnason	FC Basel	13	15	13	16	57
23	Nabil Dirar	AS Monaco	13	14	15	15	57
24	Patrick Roberts	Celtic	12	12	14	13	51
25	Fabian Johnson	Borussia Monchengladbach	13	12	13	12	50

Notable Omissions

• Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich: injured/precaution
• Juan Cuadrado, Juventus: rested/benched

Left Midfielders, Left-Wingers and Left-Sided Forwards

VI-Images/Getty Images

When Barcelona are in their zone, nothing much can stop them. Scoring seven goals against Celtic might seem hefty, but they had potential to put up double digits if they had the desire. One of the primary causes of that drubbing was Neymar.

The young superstar played brighter than his new blond hair colour. Scoring once and assisting four times, the 24-year-old was nothing short of spectacular. His perfect rating is only wrong in that 26 points for passing would be illegal under our structure.

Not to be overlooked, just overshadowed, there were great performances all around from the left side on Matchday 1.

Cristiano Ronaldo rescued victory from the jaws of parity with an amazing free-kick. Some thought the 2016 European champion at both club and international level had lost his Midas touch with dead balls, and they still might be right, but against former club Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid's talisman was vitally on point.

Ousmane Dembele is one in a list of Borussia Dortmund summer signings who appear stunning. The highly touted French teenager logged two assists and had a strong argument for man-of-the-match honours against Legia Warsaw. 

Lastly, Manchester City manager Guardiola is uncovering the Raheem Sterling his club paid £49 million for last summer. The England international has blistering pace but is sometimes criticised for his touch and lack of awareness. Should his Catalan boss continue honing those senses, Sterling has every chance to blossom at the Etihad Stadium—especially with the abundance of talent around him.

Grading Scale

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Left Midfielder, Winger and Forward Rankings | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Neymar	Barcelona	25	25	25	25	100
2	Marc Albrighton	Leicester City	22	23	24	24	93
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	23	23	23	24	93
4	Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	23	23	22	24	92
5	Ousmane Dembele	Borussia Dortmund	22	24	22	24	92
6	Renato Steffen	FC Basel	22	21	23	23	89
7	Otavio	FC Porto	21	22	22	22	87
8	Bernardo Silva	AS Monaco	22	22	21	22	87
9	Douglas Costa	Bayern Munich	23	23	19	20	85
10	Admir Mehmedi	Bayer Leverkusen	23	21	19	20	83
11	Bruno Cesar	Sporting Lisbon	20	23	18	22	83
12	Koke	Atletico Madrid	22	22	19	19	82
13	Dries Mertens	Napoli	21	21	19	19	80
14	Caner Erkin	Besiktas	22	20	19	18	79
15	Blaise Matuidi	Paris Saint-Germain	22	21	16	19	78
16	Alex Iwobi	Arsenal	22	20	16	17	75
17	Aleksandr Golovin	CSKA Moscow	21	21	16	17	75
18	Pizzi	Benfica	21	20	14	16	73
19	Heung-Min Son	Tottenham Hotspur	20	20	14	15	70
20	Jose Izquierdo	Club Brugge	18	18	15	16	67
21	Pablo Sarabia	Sevilla	17	18	16	15	66
22	Youssef Toutouh	Copenhagen	16	17	14	13	60
23	Oscar Wendt	Borussia Monchengladbach	16	15	13	13	57
24	Wanderson	Ludogorets	15	14	12	15	56
25	Valeri Kazaishvili	Legia Warsaw	14	14	12	14	54

Notable Omissions

• Yannick Carrasco, Atletico Madrid: played 25 minutes
• Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich: played 26 minutes
• Nolito, Manchester City: rested/benched

Strikers and Centre-Forwards

MARCO BERTORELLO/Getty Images

It all looked so promising for Paris-Saint Germain's Cavani. Scoring against Arsenal in the first minute, he must have thought that night at the Parc des Princes was going to be special—and it was, just not in a particularly flattering fashion.

Despite his beautiful opening header past Ospina, the Uruguayan centre-forward was the definition of wasteful. Missing a handful of gilt-edged chances, the French champions should have been three goals clear of Arsene Wenger's men, but their centre-forward's profligacy allowed the north Londoners, through Alexis Sanchez, to earn a point.

"Profligacy" and "Luis Suarez" are almost always opposed. Cavani's international team-mate, the Barcelona centre-forward never needs a second invitation to punish defences—something the PSG forward might try and emulate.

Suarez's first goal against Celtic was stunning and his second clinical, but what impresses most is the harmony he has with attacking team-mates Lionel Messi and Neymar. Those two are lauded for their unselfish play, but a recognised striker sharing a similar mentality is rare. Assists appear as good as goals to Barcelona's front three, which keeps them all fed—and seemingly happy.

Domestically, Manchester City's Sergio Aguero was suspended. Maybe taking out his frustration on England's Football Association, he saw Borussia Monchengladbach as a worthy target for his wrath, unleashing a hat-trick on the German outfit.

Registering three goals in 68 minutes, the Argentinian striker is frequently and habitually neglected in the Messi-Ronaldo world in which we live, but notice has been served: Aguero is nobody's runner-up.

Grading Scale

Pas: Passing (graded out of 25)

Cre: Creativity (graded out of 25)

Fin: Finishing (graded out of 25)

Pro: Production (graded out of 25)

Ovr: Top possible score of 100

Striker and Centre-Forward Ranking | Matchday 1

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	24	25	25	25	99
2	Luis Suarez	Barcelona	25	24	25	25	99
3	Arkadiusz Milik	Napoli	24	23	25	24	96
4	Maxwel Cornet	Olympique Lyonnais	23	23	23	24	93
5	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	22	23	24	24	93
6	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	22	22	23	24	91
7	Hakan Calhanoglu	Bayer Leverkusen	23	23	22	23	91
8	Alexis Sanchez	Arsenal	23	23	22	22	90
9	Jonathan Cafu	Ludogorets	20	22	24	24	90
10	Andreas Cornelius	Copenhagen	20	21	21	23	85
11	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	21	22	20	20	83
12	Antoine Griezmann	Atletico Madrid	22	20	19	19	80
13	Paulo Dybala	Juventus	21	22	18	19	80
14	Edinson Cavani	Paris Saint-Germain	21	19	16	22	78
15	Raffael	Borussia Monchengladbach	22	20	17	18	77
16	Luuk de Jong	PSV Eindhoven	20	19	18	19	76
17	Lacina Traore	CSKA Moscow	20	17	17	20	74
18	Goncalo Guedes	Benfica	21	19	16	17	73
19	Islam Slimani	Leicester City	20	16	17	19	72
20	Gonzalo Higuain	Juventus	19	16	16	19	70
21	Vincent Aboubakar	Besiktas	19	18	15	17	69
22	Andre Silva	FC Porto	17	18	16	16	67
23	Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur	16	16	16	17	65
24	Kevin Gameiro	Atletico Madrid	18	16	15	15	64
25	Soudani	Dinamo Zagreb	17	17	14	15	63
26	Bryan Ruiz	Sporting Lisbon	16	16	15	16	63
27	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	16	17	14	15	62
28	Javier Hernandez	Bayer Leverkusen	15	15	15	15	60
29	Radamel Falcao	AS Monaco	15	15	14	16	60
30	Bas Dost	Sporting Lisbon	14	14	14	14	58

Notable Omissions

• Kelechi Iheanacho, played seven minutes
• Fernando Torres, played 13 minutes
• Alvaro Morata, played 22 minutes

Follow @TaIkingTactics

Stats and transfer fees via WhoScored.com, Transfermarkt and Soccerbase where not noted.