UEFA Champions League 250: Ranking the Top 250 Footballers After Matchday 4

Crossing the halfway point of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage, the tables have taken shape. A handful of clubs have advanced to the knockout stages, some have been eliminated from UCL contention and the UEFA Europa League remains an option for those who have struggled to maintain an intense pace.

Still on our pursuit to determine the Champions League's best footballers at their respective positions, the rankings are changing and evolving with each matchday.

During the four gameweeks, many footballers have graced Europe's most prestigious club competition. They have enjoyed mixed performances, with some struggling to match expectations while others have exceeded expectations.

On Matchday 4, standout performers were in abundance. The usual suspects lurk (as they often do), but sometimes lesser known, or even unknown, footballers can shock our collective consciousness and arrive from nowhere.

In that sense, Bleacher Report is taking a holistic approach: breaking down each position, finding the outstanding footballers therein and grading each according to his output. With 250 players—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 presenting the fourth set of grades for the 2016/17 Champions League, though, a reminder of the methodology is in order.

Methodology

Shaun Botterill/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 altered by 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

Domestic form will bear no weight in the Champions League proceedings.

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 than throwing every footballer into the same equation—should offer a truer end result from matchday to matchday.

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

VALERY HACHE/Getty Images

Matchday 4 had the lowest goalscoring output in the Champions League group stage thus far. Combining all 32 clubs and their offensive outputs, 41 goals were scored; eight teams registered clean sheets, and the primary benefactors of that defensive solidarity were goalkeepers.

Keeping his place atop the goalkeeper rankings is Sevilla's Sergio Rico.

The Spain international recorded his fourth clean sheet in four games for manager Jorge Sampaoli's team when they faced Dinamo Zagreb. Also drawn with Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais, the three-time defending UEFA Europa League champions are top of Group H—that is due in large part to the form of their No. 1.

The biggest climber after Matchday 4 was AS Monaco's Danijel Subasic. Moving five spots, the Croatian goalkeeper made three saves from the six shots defending Russian champions CSKA Moscow managed to take at his goal. Winning 3-0, the Ligue 1 side are on top of Group E and perfectly positioned to qualify for the UCL's knockout stages.

Sliding down the rankings were Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Manchester City's Claudio Bravo. The latter was suspended for a transgression in Manchester City's Matchday 3 fixture against Barcelona; the former was on the receiving end of three goals from manager Pep Guardiola's rampant side in the return meeting.

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 4

Rank	Player	Club	Hand	Pos	Kick	Saves	Ovr
1	Sergio Rico	Sevilla	23	24	23	23	93
2	Jan Oblak	Atletico Madrid	22	24	22	23	90
3	Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	22	25	21	22	90
4	Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City	23	23	21	23	90
5	Roman Burki	Borussia Dortmund	21	23	22	22	88
6	David Ospina	Arsenal	21	21	23	23	88
7	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	21	24	22	20	87
8	Hugo Lloris	Tottenham Hotspur	22	22	21	22	87
9	Anthony Lopes	Olympique Lyonnais	22	22	21	21	86
10	Ederson Moraes	Benfica	21	19	20	23	84
11	Danijel Subasic	AS Monaco	22	20	19	21	82
12	Fabricio	Besiktas	22	20	20	20	82
13	Alphonse Areola	Paris Saint-Germain	21	21	18	19	79
14	Yann Sommer	Borussia Monchengladbach	21	19	19	19	78
15	Keylor Navas	Real Madrid	19	19	21	20	78
16	Robin Olsen	Copenhagen	19	20	19	19	77
17	Iker Casillas	FC Porto	18	19	18	18	75
18	Marc-Andre ter Stegen	Barcelona	19	18	19	17	73
19	Rui Patricio	Sporting Lisbon	19	18	18	19	73
20	Craig Gordon	Celtic	18	19	17	19	73
21	Bernd Leno	Bayer Leverkusen	18	18	17	18	71
22	Jose Reina	Napoli	17	17	18	17	69
23	Jeroen Zoet	PSV Eindhoven	17	18	17	16	69
24	Claudio Bravo	Manchester City	15	17	19	15	66
25	Artur Rudko	Dynamo Kiev	16	18	15	15	64
26	Arkadiusz Malarz	Legia Warsaw	16	17	16	14	63
27	Tomas Vaclik	FC Basel	17	15	16	14	62
28	Igor Akinfeev	CSKA Moscow	17	15	16	16	61
29	Soslan Dzhanaev	FC Rostov	16	15	15	15	61
30	Ludovic Butelle	Club Brugge	16	14	15	15	60

Notable Omissions 

• Petr Cech, Arsenal
• Kevin Trapp, Paris Saint-Germain
• Salvatore Sirigu, Sevilla

Right-Backs and Right Wing-Backs

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

In the biggest match of Matchday 4, Barcelona went to the Etihad Stadium to play their former manager Guardiola's Manchester City side. One of the more interesting comparisons that was found during the match related to the clubs' respective right-backs.

Sergi Roberto has had a mixed time replacing Dani Alves since the Brazilian's summer departure. This particular game against City was forgettable for the 24-year-old. Roberto made a costly mistake for one of City's three goals, and his place in the rankings suffered as a consequence.

Conversely, Guardiola received an improved performance from veteran defender Pablo Zabaleta. The Argentinian did not have the greatest outing at the Camp Nou, but at the Etihad, Zabaleta performed well enough against Barcelona's vaunted front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

The biggest climber was Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal. The Spain international was an attacking threat against Legia Warsaw. Being part of a defence that conceded three goals to the Polish contingent dented Carvajal's ascension, but his offensive production offset some of his back four's curious mistakes.

Lastly, Tottenham Hotspur's Kyle Walker re-enters the right-back fold. His replacement, Kieran Trippier, has played two of the best games at right-back so far in the competition, but Walker remains manager Mauricio Pochettino's first-choice option by some distance.

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 3

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Dani Alves	Juventus	20	24	24	24	92
2	Juanfran	Atletico Madrid	24	22	25	19	90
3	Lars Bender	Bayer Leverkusen	23	22	23	20	88
4	Kieran Trippier	Tottenham Hotspur	22	21	22	21	86
5	Lukasz Piszczek	Borussia Dortmund	21	20	22	22	85
6	Hector Bellerin	Arsenal	19	22	20	23	84
7	Serge Aurier	Paris Saint-Germain	20	21	20	23	84
8	Dani Carvajal	Real Madrid	20	20	21	21	82
9	Luis Hernandez	Leicester City	21	21	20	20	82
10	Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	20	20	20	20	80
11	Miguel Layun	FC Porto	19	20	21	20	80
12	Rafael	Olympique Lyonnais	19	19	19	21	78
13	Andrea Raggi	AS Monaco	19	19	21	19	76
14	Sergi Roberto	Barcelona	17	21	18	19	75
15	Elseid Hysaj	Napoli	17	18	18	19	72
16	Pablo Zabaleta	Manchester City	16	18	19	17	70
17	Kyle Walker	Tottenham Hotspur	17	18	17	17	69
18	Mario Fernandes	CSKA Moscow	15	17	17	18	67
19	Joshua Brenet	PSV Eindhoven	16	17	15	16	64
20	Peter Ankersen	Copenhagen	15	16	15	15	61

Notable Omissions

• Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus

Left-Backs and Left Wing-Backs

VI-Images/Getty Images

After falling behind after 14 minutes, Bayern Munich needed an hour to score two goals against PSV Eindhoven. Robert Lewandowski got both goals. The first was a penalty, and the second was provided to the world-class centre-forward by left-back David Alaba.

The Austria international, who can play anywhere except goalkeeper and perhaps striker, used his midfield instincts to find a passing lane, both receiving possession and delivering a cross—his Polish team-mate did the rest.

Sevilla have been one of the Champions League's best teams so far, and left-back Sergio Escudero has been instrumental to that success. Finding his way on to the scoresheet during his club's 4-0 drubbing of Dinamo Zagreb. Currently second in the left-back rankings, it will take some doing to overtake Atletico Madrid's Filipe Luis, but the Spanish defender certainly has the form required.

Speaking of form, Patrice Evra has gotten consistently better over the course of Juventus' European campaign. The veteran left-back is crucial to manager Massimiliano Allegri's defensive organisation.

Evra was 19th of the 20 listed left-backs on Matchday 1. Now ninth, the 35-year-old France international seems a diesel engine of sorts.

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 3

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Filipe Luis	Atletico Madrid	24	24	24	23	95
2	Sergio Escudero	Sevilla	23	22	23	24	93
3	David Alaba	Bayern Munich	21	24	23	24	92
4	Benjamin Henrichs	Bayer Leverkusen	24	22	24	22	92
5	Djibril Sidibe	AS Monaco	22	21	23	22	88
6	Marcelo	Real Madrid	19	23	22	24	88
7	Ludwig Augustinsson	Copenhagen	20	22	22	23	87
8	Christian Fuchs	Leicester City	20	22	22	22	86
9	Patrice Evra	Juventus	20	21	22	20	83
10	Maciej Rybus	Olympique Lyonnais	20	21	21	20	82
11	Faouzi Ghoulam	Napoli	19	21	20	20	80
12	Jordi Alba	Barcelona	16	22	20	22	80
13	Alex Grimaldo	Benfica	20	19	19	20	78
14	Aleksandar Kolarov	Manchester City	17	18	19	21	75
15	Ben Davies	Tottenham Hotspur	18	19	18	19	74
16	Nacho Monreal	Arsenal	18	18	19	17	72
17	Alex Telles	FC Porto	17	18	18	19	72
18	Marcel Schmelzer	Borussia Dortmund	17	16	17	19	70
19	Caner Erkin	Besiktas	15	15	18	18	66
20	Natanael	Ludogorets	15	17	16	16	64

Notable Omissions

• Danny Rose, Tottenham Hotspur
• Layvin Kurzawa, Paris Saint-Germain

Centre-Backs

OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

AS Monaco's centre-back partnership of Kamil Glik and Jemerson was arguably the best on Matchday 4.

The tandem kept CSKA Moscow quiet, protected goalkeeper Subasic and kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 victory. Glik was the standout of the paring; the former Torino captain has taken a leadership role in his short time at the club, and his understanding with Jemerson gives the Monegasque side stability.

Arsenal's first-choice center-backs, Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi, had a lacklustre performance against Ludogorets Razgrad. Conceding two goals in the first 15 minutes, the Gunners were fortunate to come back and score three goals, saving their defensive blushes.

The two—having offered three great games beforehand—have not slid far in the rankings, but a repeat performance would signal trouble for manager Arsene Wenger as competition stiffens in the knockout stages.

Mathias Jorgensen, also known as Zanka, was the matchday's biggest mover in the centre-back rankings. His FC Copenhagen side played out a 0-0 draw with Leicester City; keeping Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and Ahmed Musa quiet for 90 minutes is no small task, but the Denmark international and his team-mates met that challenge.

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 3

Rank	Player	Club	Def	Pas	Dis	Off	Ovr
1	Sokratis Papastathopoulos	Borussia Dortmund	24	23	24	21	92
2	Kamil Glik	AS Monaco	24	21	24	22	91
3	Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus	24	22	24	20	90
4	Diego Godin	Atletico Madrid	25	21	24	19	89
5	Shkodran Mustafi	Arsenal	22	22	23	21	89
6	Laurent Koscielny	Arsenal	23	22	24	20	89
7	Marc Bartra	Borussia Dortmund	23	23	21	21	88
8	Jeremy Morel	Olympique Lyonnais	23	22	23	20	88
9	Toby Alderweireld	Tottenham Hotspur	22	22	22	22	88
10	Andrea Barzagli	Juventus	24	21	23	19	87
11	Gabriel Mercado	Sevilla	23	21	23	19	86
12	Robert Huth	Leicester City	24	19	23	19	84
13	Samuel Umtiti	Barcelona	21	21	23	19	84
14	Raphael Varane	Real Madrid	21	21	21	20	83
15	Mats Hummels	Bayern Munich	21	22	20	20	83
16	Leonardo Bonucci	Juventus	21	22	20	19	83
17	Jan Vertonghen	Tottenham Hotspur	22	21	20	19	82
18	Gerard Pique	Barcelona	20	20	19	21	81
19	Mathias Jorgensen	Copenhagen	21	19	21	17	78
20	Stefan Savic	Atletico Madrid	21	19	22	16	78
21	Dusko Tosic	Besiktas	20	18	20	19	77
22	Jonathan Tah	Bayer Leverkusen	20	18	21	17	77
23	Jemerson	AS Monaco	17	18	20	17	76
24	Sebastian Coates	Sporting Lisbon	19	18	20	18	76
25	Javi Martinez	Bayern Munich	19	19	19	17	74
26	Wes Morgan	Leicester City	20	17	20	16	73
27	Adil Rami	Sevilla	20	15	19	16	72
28	Marquinhos	Paris Saint-Germain	19	17	19	16	71
29	Jerome Boateng	Bayern Munich	18	18	19	15	70
30	Omer Toprak	Bayer Leverkusen	19	17	18	16	70
31	Erik Johansson	Copenhagen	17	17	18	17	69
32	Thiago Silva	Paris Saint-Germain	17	19	18	14	68
33	Javier Mascherano	Barcelona	18	17	18	15	68
34	Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	17	17	16	18	68
35	Marcelo	Besiktas	17	18	16	15	66
36	Kalidou Koulibaly	Napoli	18	15	17	15	65
37	Nicolas Otamendi	Manchester City	17	17	16	15	65
38	Felipe	FC Porto	17	16	16	15	64
39	Nicolas N'Koulou	Olympique Lyonnais	17	16	16	14	63
40	Nico Elvedi	Borussia Monchengladbach	17	15	16	14	62

Notable Omissions

• Pepe, Real Madrid
• Jose Gimenez, Atletico Madrid

Defensive Midfielders, Central Midfielders and Central Attacking Midfielders

NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/Getty Images

Down 2-0 after 15 minutes against Ludogorets, Arsenal manager Wenger might have thought: "Here we go again." Wanting to finish top of Group A—angling for a favourable knockout-stage draw—dropping two or three points in their battle with Paris Saint-Germain would have been destabilising.

Mesut Ozil to the rescue.

The German playmaker assisted Arsenal's first goal, and with the game leveled at 2-2 in the 87th minute, he found himself surrounded in the Ludogorets 18-yard box. He magically found a way around them and coolly slotted his match-winning goal. It was a much-needed three points and showed Arsenal might have more resilience this year than normal.

Another world-class Premier League playmaker was on display at the Etihad Stadium against Barcelona. Kevin De Bruyne found the opening few minutes a challenge, but as the game progressed, the Belgium international grew. Scoring the go-ahead goal with a stunning free kick, De Bruyne was on top of his game both technically and physically; the Citizens required a performance against Barca, and they got one.

Steven N'Zonzi was Sevilla's linchpin in their 4-0 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb. Scoring a goal, making tackles and creating options and chances for his team-mates, the Frenchman was spectacular. How much longer Sevilla can hold on to the former Stoke City man must be a worrying question for manager Sampaoli.

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 3

Rank	Player	Club	Tac	Pas	Cre	Pro	Ovr
1	Mesut Ozil	Arsenal	17	25	25	25	92
2	Marco Verratti	Paris Saint-Germain	23	23	21	25	92
3	Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	19	24	24	24	91
4	Fabinho	AS Monaco	21	22	23	23	89
5	Francis Coquelin	Arsenal	24	22	18	24	88
6	Joshua Kimmich	Bayern Munich	21	22	23	22	88
7	Blaise Matuidi	Paris Saint-Germain	22	22	21	22	87
8	Marek Hamsik	Napoli	21	22	22	22	87
9	Santi Cazorla	Arsenal	19	22	22	23	87
10	Thiago Alcantara	Bayern Munich	18	23	23	23	87
11	Saul Niguez	Atletico Madrid	21	22	22	20	85
12	Luka Modric	Real Madrid	20	22	22	20	84
13	Julian Weigl	Borussia Dortmund	21	21	21	21	84
14	Raphael Guerreiro	Borussia Dortmund	22	21	21	20	84
15	Kevin Kampl	Bayer Leverkusen	19	21	20	23	83
16	Sergio Busquets	Barcelona	21	23	19	22	83
17	Arturo Vidal	Bayern Munich	21	22	21	22	83
18	Gabi	Atletico Madrid	21	21	21	20	83
19	Steven N'Zonzi	Sevilla	22	20	18	22	82
20	Adrien Silva	Sporting Lisbon	19	21	21	21	82
21	Corentin Tolisso	Olympique Lyonnais	18	20	20	23	82
22	Toni Kroos	Real Madrid	19	21	21	20	81
23	Koke	Atletico Madrid	19	21	21	20	81
24	Fernandinho	Manchester City	21	20	19	20	80
25	Miralem Pjanic	Juventus	20	20	20	20	80
26	Ilkay Gundogan	Manchester City	18	20	20	22	80
27	Andrea Iniesta	Barcelona	18	22	21	19	80
28	Mario Gotze	Borussia Dortmund	17	21	22	19	79
29	Daniel Amartey	Leicester City	21	20	18	19	77
30	Adrien Rabiot	Paris Saint-Germain	19	20	18	20	77
31	Danilo	FC Porto	21	19	17	20	77
32	Victor Wanyama	Tottenham Hotspur	21	19	18	18	76
33	Tiemoue Bakayoko	AS Monaco	20	19	17	10	76
34	Ivan Rakitic	Barcelona	19	19	18	19	75
35	William Carvalho	Sporting Lisbon	20	19	17	18	75
36	David Silva	Manchester City	17	20	19	19	75
37	Andre Gomes	Barcelona	18	18	20	18	74
38	Danny Drinkwater	Leicester City	19	19	17	19	74
39	Charles Aranguiz	Bayer Leverkusen	19	19	17	18	73
40	Thomas Delaney	Copenhagen	18	18	18	19	73
41	Jordan Ferri	Olympique Lyonnais	19	18	16	19	72
42	Atiba Hutchinson	Besiktas	18	18	17	19	72
43	Maxime Gonalons	Olympique Lyonnais	16	18	18	19	71
44	Sami Khedira	Juventus	19	18	17	16	70
45	Marcelinho	Ludogorets	17	17	17	17	68
46	Dele Alli	Tottenham Hotspur	16	18	18	15	67
47	Christian Eriksen	Tottenham Hotspur	15	18	18	16	67
48	Xabi Alonso	Bayern Munich	15	19	17	15	66
49	Davy Propper	PSV Eindhoven	16	18	16	15	65
50	Denys Garmash	Dynamo Kiev	16	17	15	17	65
51	Joao Moutinho	AS Monaco	15	16	16	17	64
52	Andres Guardado	PSV Eindhoven	16	17	15	15	63
53	Taulant Xhaka	FC Basel	15	17	14	16	63
54	Oliver Torres	FC Porto	15	16	16	15	62
55	Lars Stindl	Borussia Monchengladbach	14	15	16	17	62
56	Granit Xhaka	Arsenal	15	16	16	16	62
57	Thiago Motta	Paris Saint-Germain	16	16	14	15	61
58	Sergi Darder	Olympique Lyonnais	16	17	14	14	61
59	Scott Brown	Celtic	16	16	13	14	59
60	Nabil Fekir	Olympique Lyonnais	14	14	15	15	58

Notable Omissions

• Casemiro, Real Madrid
• Matteo Kovacic, Real Madrid
• Mohamed Elneny, Arsenal

Right Midfielders, Right-Wingers and Right-Sided Forwards

ODD ANDERSEN/Getty Images

Compared to his previous exploits in Champions League competition, Lionel Messi's one goal was a relative let down. Coming off consecutive hat-trick performances for Barcelona against Celtic and Manchester City, the rematch at the Etihad Stadium was meant to go smoothly for the Argentinian forward and his world-class team-mates. But it didn't; Manchester City came to play.

Messi's counterpart, Raheem Sterling, was exceptional on the night—especially given his level of expectation. The £49 million man was a constant nuisance to Barca's defence and was key to the Sky Blues' getting a vital, and somewhat unexpected, three points in Group C.

Elsewhere, though shoddy defending by his Real Madrid team-mates saw Los Blancos drop points, Welsh talisman Gareth Bale was clearly the best footballer on the pitch when Madrid met Legia Warsaw in Poland. Drawing 3-3 was not a terrific result for the Spanish giants, but Bale's goal and assist proved more than necessary in preserving at least one point for the traveling contingent.

Two points off Borussia Dortmund at Group F's summit, if Madrid want a premium draw for the knockout stages, all-star showings from Bale in the last two group-stage matches seem mandatory.

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, Right-Winger and Right-Sided Forward Rankings | Matchday 3

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	25	24	25	25	99
2	Riyad Mahrez	Leicester City	24	24	23	23	94
3	Theo Walcott	Arsenal	22	21	23	24	90
4	Gareth Bale	Real Madrid	23	22	22	23	90
5	Lucas Moura	Paris Saint-Germain	23	24	21	22	90
6	Raheem Sterling	Manchester City	22	22	20	23	87
7	Thomas Muller	Bayern Munich	22	21	21	22	86
8	Ricardo Quaresma	Besiktas	21	21	21	22	85
9	Erik Lamela	Tottenham Hotspur	21	22	21	21	85
10	Eduardo Salvio	Benfica	20	19	21	23	83
11	Thomas Lemar	AS Monaco	21	20	19	21	81
12	Christian Pulisic	Borussia Dortmund	21	20	20	20	81
13	Julian Brandt	Bayer Leverkusen	20	21	19	20	80
14	Samir Nasri	Sevilla	21	20	20	19	80
15	Gelson Martins	Sporting Lisbon	19	21	19	20	79
16	Arjen Robben	Bayern Munich	18	19	20	21	78
17	Jose Callejon	Napoli	21	18	18	20	77
18	Franco Vazquez	Sevilla	18	18	19	20	75
19	Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	Arsenal	17	18	18	18	71
20	Zoran Tosic	CSKA Moscow	17	16	18	16	67
21	Ibrahima Traore	Borussia Monchengladbach	17	17	16	17	67
22	Benjamin Verbic	Copenhagen	17	15	17	17	65
23	Virgil Misidjan	Ludogorets	16	15	15	17	63
24	Birkir Bjarnason	FC Basel	16	16	14	16	62
25	James Forrest	Celtic	16	15	14	15	60

Notable Omissions 

• Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal
• Andriy Yarmolenko, Dynamo Kiev

Left Midfielders, Left-Wingers and Left-Sided Forwards

FABRICE COFFRINI/Getty Images

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo is not known for assists, but that was his major contribution against Legia Warsaw.

In match's first minute, the most popular cog in Madrid's BBC, found another member, Bale, and got the Spanish superclub off to a fantastic start. Their lead did not hold over 90 minutes, but Ronaldo's job does not involve keeping goals out.

Manager Unai Emery's start at Paris Saint-Germain has been rather rocky, especially in Ligue 1, but the Champions League has been a haven of sorts. Unbeaten in European competition, winning three straight games, one of the primary reasons for that record is dynamic Angel Di Maria.

The Argentina international is a linchpin in PSG's attack, and his outing against FC Basel on Matchday 4—while failing to register anything in the goals or assists column—was important to his club's fluidity, tempo and 2-1 victory.

Sevilla are one of the UCL's in-form clubs, and their operator on the left flank, Vitolo, has been magnificent. Logging an assist in the Primera Division side's 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, the 27-year-old has made himself an indispensable member of this rising Sevilla outfit.

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, Left-Winger and Left-Sided Forward Rankings | Matchday 3

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Neymar	Barcelona	25	24	21	25	95
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	22	24	24	24	94
3	Dries Mertens	Napoli	22	22	22	25	91
4	Yannick Carrasco	Atletico Madrid	22	22	22	22	88
5	Vitolo	Sevilla	21	21	22	22	87
6	Angel Di Maria	Paris Saint-Germain	23	21	22	21	87
7	Heung-Min Son	Tottenham Hotspur	19	20	22	22	83
8	Ousmane Dembele	Borussia Dortmund	20	24	18	21	82
9	Nolito	Manchester City	19	19	21	21	80
10	Bernardo Silva	AS Monaco	20	21	19	18	79
11	Marc Albrighton	Leicester City	21	19	18	21	79
12	Otavio	FC Porto	19	19	18	19	77
13	Franck Ribery	Bayern Munich	19	20	18	20	77
14	Adriano	Besiktas	18	19	19	19	75
15	Alex Iwobi	Arsenal	18	21	17	19	75
16	Hakan Calhanoglu	Bayer Leverkusen	18	18	19	18	73
17	Bruno Cesar	Sporting Lisbon	18	19	17	16	70
18	Renato Steffen	FC Basel	17	18	17	16	68
19	Youssef Toutouh	Copenhagen	17	16	17	15	67
20	Scott Sinclair	Celtic	16	18	16	16	66
21	Wanderson	Ludogorets	15	17	15	15	65
22	Derlis Gonzalez	Dynamo Kiev	17	16	14	14	63
23	Pizzi	Benfica	16	16	15	15	62
24	Oscar Wendt	Borussia Monchengladbach	16	16	13	15	60
25	Jose Izquierdo	Club Brugge	15	16	13	14	58

Notable Omissions 

• Douglas Costa, Bayern Munich

Strikers and Centre-Forwards

CURTO DE LA TORRE/Getty Images

The world's best strikers and centre-forwards were on display during Matchday 4. Some were matched against daunting competition and needed special moments to unlock defences; others had easier tasks and took advantage, either finding or maintaining form.

Most notable in the finding-their-form camp were Bayern Munich's Lewandowski and Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann; both of the recognised world-class centre-forwards netted braces against their respective opponents in 2-1 victories. The Poland international scored Bayern's two goals against PSV Eindhoven, and the France international (who had been held scoreless up until Matchday 3) got a couple of crucial goals against FC Rostov.

Lewandowski was the matchday's biggest mover—rising six spots—and Griezmann climbed five spots after his goalscoring outburst.

Radamel Falcao—a once-feared footballer who had successive unsuccessful loans spells with Manchester United and Chelsea—was thought to be finished at the highest level, but the striker, known as El Tigre, still has bite. The 30-year-old notched two goals for AC Monaco against CSKA Moscow in a 3-0 win, boosting the principality side's lead atop Group E.

If Monaco are to pose any threat in the Champions League moving forward, they will need habitual showings like Matchday 4's from the ageing Colombia international, who enters the rankings after an extended absence.

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 Rankings | Matchday 3

Rank	Player	Club	Pas	Cre	Fin	Pro	Ovr
1	Alexis Sanchez	Arsenal	23	23	23	23	92
2	Edinson Cavani	Paris Saint-Germain	22	22	22	24	90
3	Luis Suarez	Barcelona	22	22	23	22	89
4	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	21	21	23	23	88
5	Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	21	22	22	23	88
6	Moussa Dembele	Celtic	20	20	23	24	87
7	Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	21	22	21	21	85
8	Arkadiusz Milik	Napoli	19	19	22	22	82
9	Bryan Ruiz	Sporting Lisbon	20	21	21	20	82
10	Paulo Dybala	Juventus	19	21	20	21	81
11	Gonzalo Higuain	Juventus	17	19	22	22	80
12	Antoine Griezmann	Atletico Madrid	18	20	21	20	79
13	Maxwel Cornet	Olympique Lyonnais	20	19	20	20	79
14	Andreas Cornelius	Copenhagen	18	20	20	20	78
15	Luuk de Jong	PSV Eindhoven	20	19	19	20	78
16	Goncalo Guedes	Benfica	19	20	20	18	77
17	Dmitry Poloz	FC Rostov	19	19	19	20	76
18	Andre Hahn	Borussia Monchengladbach	19	18	19	18	74
19	Javier Hernandez	Bayer Leverkusen	17	18	19	20	74
20	Vincent Aboubakar	Besiktas	19	19	18	18	74
21	Jonathan Cafu	Ludogorets	17	18	19	18	72
22	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	18	18	17	17	70
23	Andre Silva	FC Porto	18	18	16	17	69
24	Luciano Vietto	Sevilla	16	17	15	17	67
25	Thorgan Hazard	Borussia Monchengladbach	17	18	17	16	67
26	Islam Slimani	Leicester City	17	16	15	18	65
27	Bas Dost	Sporting Lisbon	16	16	16	16	64
28	Radamel Falcao	AS Monaco	15	15	16	17	63
29	Fernando Torres	Atletico Madrid	16	16	16	15	63
30	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	14	15	15	16	60

Notable Omissions

• Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
• Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid

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