Picking a World Football Best XI for December
Despite December being a short month for most of the European leagues, we still witnessed a plethora of impressive individual performances over the last 30 days.
Players from dominant clubs such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Chelsea found their way on to this list, but so did a few stars who enjoyed good spells of form at lesser-known clubs.
Due to the English Premier League's continuation of play throughout the holiday season, five players from the English top flight were chosen for our Team of the Month.
Continue reading on to see who else cracked our best 11 from the month of December.
GK: David De Gea, Manchester United
1 of 11
Thanks to the play of David de Gea in goal, Manchester United have enjoyed a terrific amount of success over the last month and-a-half.
De Gea turned in a massive shift in the 3-0 win over Liverpool on December 14, as he produced eight saves in the rivalry showdown.
The 24-year-old Spaniard also preserved three points against Stoke back on December 2 with a last-minute save on Mame Biram Diouf.
In six league games during the month of December, De Gea conceded four goals for the Red Devils.
DEF: Jetro Willems, PSV Eindhoven
2 of 11
Entering the Eredivisie's winter break, PSV Eindhoven have a four-point cushion atop the league on Ajax.
In the month of December, PSV pulled off three thrilling league wins over FC Dordrecht, Twente and Feyenoord. In all three of those games, Jetro Willems was a key contributor.
The Dutch left-back racked up four assists in those three matches with two of them coming in the 3-1 road triumph over Dordrecht on December 6.
In 14 league games this season, Willems has tallied seven assists to go along with the three he has earned in UEFA Europa League action.
DEF: Stefan Savic, Fiorentina
3 of 11
Stefan Savic only played in three matches in December, but he was a massive presence at the back in all of them for Fiorentina.
In the 0-0 draw with Serie A leaders Juventus, Savic contributed three clearances and three interceptions in front of the home support at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
To finish off the month, Savic scored a goal against Cesena and earned an assist in the 1-1 draw with Empoli.
Thanks to a five-game unbeaten run in the league, Fiorentina are now up to eighth place in the Italian top flight with fifth-place Lazio only three points ahead.
DEF: John Terry, Chelsea
4 of 11
Another center-back who enjoyed a stellar final month of the year on both sides of the pitch was John Terry.
The Chelsea defender helped the Blues earn four clean sheets during the extremely busy month. He also scored in consecutive matches against Stoke and West Ham.
Following Sunday's 1-1 draw with Southampton, Chelsea are owners of a four-game unbeaten streak and lead Manchester City by three points in the English Premier League title race.
DEF: Juan Bernat, Bayern Munich
5 of 11
The Bayern Munich machine kept rolling along without a hitch in December, as the Bavarians conceded on one occasion in five matches.
Juan Bernat played every single minute of the five games in which Bayern outscored their opposition 12-1.
His best performance of the month came in the 2-0 win over Freiburg, as he played a key role in attack with five shots.
As the calendar flips over to 2015, Bayern are on track to capture another Bundesliga title, and they have a strong chance of hoisting the UEFA Champions League trophy in May.
MID: Nemanja Matic, Chelsea
6 of 11
Speaking of footballing machines, Nemanja Matic has been a dominant force in the defensive part of midfield for Chelsea all season long.
The 26-year-old is averaging 3.8 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game for the English Premier League leaders in 18 matches.
The scary part about his form is that he is better on the road for the Blues, as he is averaging 4.3 tackles on his travels this season.
Matic's most dominant showing of December came in the 2-0 win over Stoke, when he made nine tackles and committed a single foul over 90 minutes.
MID: Denis Cheryshev, Villarreal
7 of 11
The yellow submarine was firing on all cylinders in December, as Villarreal reeled off three impressive wins over Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna.
The power behind the three-game winning streak was Denis Cheryshev, who contributed one goal and two assists during that span.
Cheryshev's impact was felt beyond the scoresheet, as he relentlessly ran at opposing defenses in search of creating as many attacking moves as possible.
Expect to see more of this out of the 24-year-old Russian in 2015 with Villarreal in the hunt for a European berth.
MID: Santi Cazorla, Arsenal
8 of 11
Santi Cazorla's stellar final month of 2014 flew under the radar a bit in England with Chelsea and Manchester United dominating the headlines.
Cazorla provided the Gunners with four goals and an assist during the long December fixture list with his best showing coming against Newcastle United on December 13.
In the 4-1 statement win at the Emirates Stadium, Cazorla scored in the 54th and 88th minutes to help put away the visiting Magpies.
The Spanish midfielder finished off his month with a strong performance against West Ham United, as he made eight key passes, took four shots and finished off a goal from the penalty spot in the 41st minute.
MID: Wayne Rooney, Manchester United
9 of 11
Wayne Rooney excelled in a deeper role for Manchester United in the six matches played by the club over the last 30 days.
Rooney's standout match from the set came on Boxing Day, when he scored twice and assisted on a third goal in the Red Devils' 3-1 win over Newcastle United.
The Englishman also scored against Liverpool, and he contributed to one of the two goals netted against Southampton at the start of the month.
The most impressive quality of Rooney's game over the last month has been his exchange play with the likes of Juan Mata, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie. If he stays in form for the rest of the season, United will easily finish in the top three.
FW: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
10 of 11
Cristiano Ronaldo's blistering form extended into his final matches of 2014, as he scored six goals in three matches.
Ronaldo started his month off by netting a hat-trick at the hands of Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu and he ended it by lifting the Club World Cup with his Real Madrid teammates.
Sandwiched in between those two accomplishments were a brace against Almeria and a goal on the road at Ludogorets in the UEFA Champions League.
With the business end of the 2014-15 campaign rapidly approaching, expect Ronaldo to earn some more hardware to cap off his superb season.
FW: Alexandre Lacazette, Lyon
11 of 11
Alexandre Lacazette couldn't have asked for 2014 to end in a better fashion.
The 23-year-old Frenchman ended the calendar year with three consecutive braces in three straight victories for Lyon.
He started his run with two goals against Evian Thonon Gallard on December 7 and followed that performance up with braces against Caen and Bordeaux.
The six strikes pushed Lacazette's season total up to 17 in 19 Ligue 1 appearances.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from WhoScored.com.
