Champions League Player Rankings After Matchday 5: Hazard, Alexis, Cavani Star
Welcome to the fifth edition of our UEFA Champions League player rankings, in which we order the competition's top 20 players so far.
The criteria is simple: We pick the 20 best players on the basis of form in European games only.
Now, with five weeks under our belts, form is beginning to take shape and we've got some "regulars" who've been superb throughout the opening stages.
We have a new No. 1 as the previous incumbent Philipp Lahm exits the ranking after breaking his ankle. Who replaces him, and how does another manic set of action change the standings?
Dropping out
1 of 21
Thomas Muller, Bayern Munich—didn't get on the pitch as Die Bayern went down to 10 men against Manchester City.
Marcelo, Real Madrid—rested in favour of Fabio Coentrao for Los Blancos' trip to Switzerland.
Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund—out for the year with torn ankle ligaments.
Philipp Lahm, Bayern Munich—out for the year with a broken ankle.
20. Gervinho, Roma
2 of 21
Last Week: 15
Differential: -5
Gervinho is now clinging on to our top 20 by a thread following an average performance against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.
Roma as a team were very slow and monotonous, gaining advantage in the game only due to a masterful Francesco Totti free-kick from the edge of the area.
Gervinho, usually so direct and incisive, barely got going in the cold.
19. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
3 of 21
Last Week: New!
Differential: -
Sergio Aguero single-handedly kept Manchester City in possession of their own destiny on Tuesday night, putting in a stellar performance against Bayern Munich to cause a 3-2 upset victory.
The Argentinian scored a sublime hat-trick, made himself busy and consistently forced errors from Die Bayern's established, world-class players. When it came down to it, his finishing was superb.
18. Ciro Immobile, Borussia Dortmund
4 of 21
Last Week: 13
Differential: -5
Ciro Immobile got the start against Arsenal but struggled, just as the entire Borussia Dortmund side did, to have any (positive) impact upon the game.
The Italian came within inches of scoring to level the game after a wicked right-wing cross came his way, but he failed to convert and turn the tide of the game.
17. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
5 of 21
Last Week: New!
Differential: -
Alexis Sanchez: game winner.
After falling out of our top 20 earlier in the campaign, Alexis' two excellent showings against Anderlecht and Borussia Dortmund bring him back into the elite.
His finish to secure the result on Wednesday evening was a delight, firing from between three BVB players and finding the far corner with aplomb.
16. Juanfran, Atletico Madrid
6 of 21
Last Week: New!
Differential: -
Juanfran has been quietly impressing this season in both La Liga and UEFA Champions League play, and his impact in Atletico Madrid's 4-0 win over Olympiakos earns him a spot in our top 20.
Impeccable defensively as usual, the Spaniard also added his third assist of the European campaign as he teed up Mario Mandzukic for a third, hat-trick-clinching goal.
15. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
7 of 21
Last Week: 19
Differential: +4
Cristiano Ronaldo drew level with Raul Gonzalez with 73 goals in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening, leading his team past Basel in Switzerland.
It perhaps wasn't the landslide victory many were expecting—Los Blancos only managed a 1-0 win—but Carlo Ancelotti's men were already through to the knockouts. Ronaldo did the minimum required.
14. Edinson Cavani, Paris Saint-Germain
8 of 21
Last Week: New!
Differential: -
Edinson Cavani is in the groove, and he's hitting winning goals.
He scored both deciding goals in back-to-back matches against APOEL Nicosia and against Ajax netted two from the flank, despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning the XI.
The Uruguayan, finally, is scoring on a consistent basis.
13. Luiz Adriano, Shakhtar Donetsk
9 of 21
Last Week: 8
Differential: -5
Luiz Adriano's incredible run of scoring came to a predictable halt this week, but even still, to go from scoring eight goals in two games to drawing a blank is disappointing.
Shakhtar Donetsk, through to the round of 16 before a ball was even kicked on Tuesday, took their foot off the gas and allowed Athletic Bilbao to sneak past them at the Donbass Arena.
12. Lucas Moura, Paris Saint-Germain
10 of 21
Last Week: 11
Differential: -1
Lucas Moura returned from injury off the bench for Paris Saint-Germain this week. He looked decent enough, not too sharp, but improving physically and ramping up his preparation for the weekend.
Laurent Blanc has a massive dilemma once again now, as Lucas should surely trouble the XI this weekend as PSG take on OGC Nice.
11. Nani, Sporting
11 of 21
Last Week: 17
Differential: +6
Nani doesn't pass that often, but when he scores goals like this, we don't really mind.
The Portuguese ace, on loan from Manchester United, skinned about six players before firing into the net against Maribor on Wednesday, meaning his side are in pole position to finish second in their group.
10. Yacine Brahimi, FC Porto
12 of 21
Last Week: 10
Differential: -
Yacine Brahimi failed to replicate his heroics from the last meeting with BATE Borisov, where he scored a scintillating hat-trick and added about €7 million to his price tag.
FC Porto won 3-0 in Belarus largely without Brahimi's services, as Hector Herrera took over the middle of the pitch and delivered an absolute masterclass.
9. Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea
13 of 21
Last Week: 14
Differential: +5
Cesc Fabregas was excellent in the heart of midfield for Chelsea, impressing B/R's Jerrad Peters and making our Team of the Week:
"Cesc Fabregas missed the recent international break with a slight knock, but the Spain midfielder was back to his best for Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old went on to touch the ball a match-high 113 times while completing an impressive 91 percent of his passes.
"
Stats via WhoScored.com.
8. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund
14 of 21
Last Week: 4
Differential: -4
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang versus Per Mertesacker and stand-in centre-back Nacho Monreal should have been a very one-sided affair, but the former failed to truly trouble the Arsenal back line.
Aubameyang's pace is a key asset, and taking on slow defenders is his forte, but barring one run that should have drawn a foul from Mertesacker, he didn't impress.
7. Koke, Atletico Madrid
15 of 21
Last Week: 12
Differential: +5
Koke didn't trouble the scoresheet this week because he didn't have to, but his crosses wreaked havoc from the left as Mario Mandzukic hoovered up a hat-trick.
Goal.com described his footballing intelligence as "on another level" to most other players on the pitch, rarely gifting the ball away and working hard to cover defensively.
6. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Borussia Dortmund
16 of 21
Last Week: 2
Differential: -4
Sokratis Papastathopoulos hasn't played since Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach. They're clearly missing him, as their result this week suggests.
5. Nemanja Matic, Chelsea
17 of 21
Last Week: 9
Differential: +4
Nemanja Matic was dominant in midfield once again, showing his underrated quickness, eye for a tackle and physical superiority for 90 minutes against Schalke.
Per WhoScored.com, he tallied a whopping 93 percent pass-completion rate, recovered the ball six times and made six successful tackles—the most on the pitch!
With the Blues largely countering on a big lead, the Serb's breaking up skills came in very handy.
4. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
18 of 21
Last Week: 7
Differential: +3
Eden Hazard was a bright spark at the Veltins Arena on Tuesday, dancing around defenders and making life very difficult for the Schalke back line.
Chelsea's big win came via other sources—Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic and Willian were chief disruptors—but the Belgian had a good, productive game switching across midfield and starting counter-attacks.
3. Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
19 of 21
Last Week: 6
Differential: +3
Karim Benzema picked up a beautiful assist to match a strong performance against Basel as Real Madrid won 1-0 on Tuesday evening.
He jinked to the byline, beating his man with ease, and fired a low cross into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo who simply could not miss.
Benzema continues to affect games in a positive fashion and stave off the meek challenge from Javier Hernandez.
2. Jackson Martinez, FC Porto
20 of 21
Last Week: 3
Differential: +1
Jackson Martinez hoovered up a chance in clinical fashion as FC Porto beat BATE Borisov 3-0, finishing after amazing work from Hector Herrera.
The Dragoes have secured top spot on their group and a path to the knockout rounds; Martinez's five goals from four starts have had a major say in securing it a game early.
1. Lionel Messi, Barcelona
21 of 21
Last Week: 5
Differential: +4
Lionel Messi takes top spot this week, partly due to his incredible performance against APOEL Nicosia and partly because Philipp Lahm—the previous incumbent—has broken his ankle.
On the night Luis Suarez scored his first goal for Barcelona, the Argentinian stole the show by scoring a hat-trick with his right foot. He's absolutely on fire; he has seven goals and two assists in five Champions League starts.
All statistics in this article are courtesy of WhoScored.com.
