Champions League Player Rankings After Matchday 1
Welcome to the first edition of our UEFA Champions League player power rankings, in which we order the competition's Top 20 players by way of performances.
The criteria is simple: We pick the 20 best players on the basis of form and performances in European games only. Given we're only a week in, this first edition details the 20 best showings from Tuesday and Wednesday.
Take a look and see if you agree with our selections, and if you feel we've missed anyone out, let us know in the comments below.
Honourable Mentions
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There were about 50 excellent individual showings over the course of the first scintillating Matchday. Here are those who just missed the cut:
Javi Manquillo, Liverpool
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
Wojciech Szczesny, Arsenal
Dennis Praet, Anderlecht
David Alaba, Bayern Munich
Danilo, FC Porto
Alex Sandro, FC Porto
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund
20. James Rodriguez, Real Madrid
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James Rodriguez scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Real Madrid at the first time of asking, but it was his overall game that impressed the most.
His opportunistic finish is worth commending, but what truly warmed Los Merengues' fans hearts was his all-action approach, tackling ability and athletic display in midfield.
Perhaps Carlo Ancelotti will just mould James into another Angel Di Maria?
19. Jackson Martinez, FC Porto
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Jackson Martinez is always a menace due to his immense physical gifts, and BATE Borisov were on the receiving end of his raw power and disruptiveness on Wednesday night.
He scored one and struck the woodwork twice in a 6-0 win for FC Porto. Yacine Brahimi (featured later in our rankings) will get all the attention, but Jackson was dominant throughout.
18. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
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Eden Hazard was predictably slippery in Chelsea's draw with Schalke, but these are the games in which fans want him to step up, take control and single-handedly change with a goal.
It's what stops him from moving high into our rankings early on, but he did grab an assist for the Blues' opener through Cesc Fabregas.
17. Gerard Pique, Barcelona
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Gerard Pique has struggled for form over the past few years, but this was a very encouraging performance from the 27-year-old defender.
He dealt with APOEL Nicosia's piercing strikes, defended the wide areas well and passed cleanly. The big test will come later when a foe more formidable than the Cypriot outfit comes to town, but for now, Luis Enrique will be very pleased.
Barcelona are yet to concede a goal this season.
16. Chori Dominguez, Olympiacos
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Olympiacos claimed a famous victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, with goalkeeper Roberto excelling and Kostas Mitroglou slotting back into UEFA Champions League life without issue.
The main story, though, was Chori Dominguez's relentless performance in midfield for the Greek outfit, who pushed and pressed throughout. Eyebrows were raised in unison when he was taken off early.
15. Lasse Schone, Ajax
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Lasse Schone might just be Ajax's best player now Daley Blind has departed, and he's certainly rising to the mantle in style this season.
His equaliser from a free-kick was a beautiful strike, and he later hit the post as the Dutch side pushed for a surprise winner against a shell-shocked Paris Saint-Germain.
14. Julian Draxler, Schalke
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Julian Draxler aced his audition in the British spotlight on Wednesday, putting Chelsea's defence to the sword at times with minimal touches.
He's physical and aggressive when he needs to be, but by default, he's a technically talented star who changes the flow of games at will. He picked up a wonderful assist for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's goal.
13. Maicon, Roma
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Maicon took us back to the good old days on Wednesday, surging forward from right-back and pushing Kirill Nababkin to his absolute limit.
Nababkin was actually substituted at half-time due to the Brazilian's dominance on that flank, but his replacement, Georgi Schennikov, hardly fared any better.
12. Philipp Lahm, Bayern Munich
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It takes a special type of player to play three different positions in three different formations in one game. It takes an even more special player to not bat an eyelid at the continuous change.
Philipp Lahm played all over the shop for Bayern Munich in their victory over of Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola tinkering with his system meticulously until a goal finally occurred.
Better yet, it was Lahm's cross that setup Jerome Boateng's winner.
11. Carlos Tevez, Juventus
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Carlos Tevez ended a five-year UEFA Champions League scoring drought on Tuesday night, impressing B/R's Jerrad Peters in the process:
"With his Juventus side facing a tidy, responsible Malmo outfit, Tevez finally ended his five-year drought in Europe's most prestigious club competition when he opened the scoring in the 59th minute.
He added a second in the final minute of the match to seal the three points in a 2-0 win for the Bianconeri.
"
10. Joe Hart, Manchester City
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Spare a thought for Joe Hart, who navigated 89 minutes at the Allianz Arena without conceding a goal only to be fooled by a cruel deflection off Mario Gotze's back.
He'd been formidable until that point, allaying concerns that he's not cut out to be a top-level 'keeper and avenging the mistakes of last year against Arjen Robben and Co.
He deserved a clean sheet here.
9. Juan Iturbe, Roma
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Rudi Garcia was delighted with his pair of wingers on Wednesday night as they carved CSKA Moscow in twain: "We played like we wanted to play. We knew that it would be possible to build good chances playing through CSKA's lines and we did that, exploiting the speed of Juan Iturbe and Gervinho," he told reporters (h/t Goal.com).
Iturbe, a summer signing for a hefty fee, is already winning the sceptical fans over with some strong showings.
8. Ciro Immobile, Borussia Dortmund
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Ciro Immobile played superbly against Arsenal and was central to the pressing and harrying of Arsene Wenger's defensive line.
He scored a miraculous opener—though, in typical Immobile fashion, he did manage to kick it against his own shin in the build-up—and it's clear his confidence is growing at Signal Iduna Park.
7. Alberto Moreno, Liverpool
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Liverpool are really beginning to reap the benefits of having a top-quality left-back now, with Alberto Moreno saving the day against Ludogorets.
His consistent surging forward is a problem for opposing defenders, and his cross late on found Mario Balotelli for the opening goal. The Spaniard has settled well after an error on his debut against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
6. Aurelien Chedjou, Galatasaray
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If you're grouped with Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, the last thing you want to do is lose at home to the de facto fourth-best team in your group.
That's what Galatasaray nearly did on Tuesday, and it took centre-back Aurelien Chedjoua—summoning the spirit of Eden Hazard—to set up a late equaliser for Burak Yilmaz.
Cesare Prandelli owes Chedjou big time.
5. Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich
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Jerome Boateng scored the winner against his old club Manchester City and was integral to his team keeping a clean sheet in the process. If that's not grounds for the Man of the Match award, we don't know what is.
His strike was deflected in off Mario Gotze's back, flummoxing Joe Hart with an altered trajectory, but it was a just reward for Bayern Munich's pressure and a deserved bonus for the player himself.
4. Sergi Samper, Barcelona
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OK, so it's APOEL Nicosia at home, but Sergi Samper gave the Nou Camp plenty of reasons to get excited on Wednesday evening.
The 19-year-old played the holding role in Luis Enrique's 4-3-3 and was trusted by his centre-backs to defend the middle and play out under pressure.
His final statistics line, per WhoScored.com: five tackles, 118 touches, 83 percent pass accuracy and a 102 total passes.
3. Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
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Gareth Bale was in scintillating form against Basel, swapping wings throughout and causing the defensive line problems with his pace, trickery and elusiveness.
His goal, a scintillating effort in which he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper before tapping home, was the icing on the cake of a wonderful performance.
2. Gervinho, Roma
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When you give Gervinho space, he tortures you—that's exactly what happened when Sergei Ignashevich and CSKA Moscow's torrid defensive live awarded the Ivorian all the time in the world to wreak havoc.
The former Arsenal man picked up two goals and an assist in a scintillating showing, with one strike in particular a trademark dribble and finish.
1. Yacine Brahimi, FC Porto
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We give it a year until Yacine Brahimi, FC Porto's deadly dribbling machine, is at a top, top club in European football.
He proved his worth for Algeria at the World Cup and won a move to the Dragao as a stepping stone. Transfers from there are by no means a sure thing, but based on his hat-trick performance against BATE Borisov, the sniffing around will have already started.
