Every Major European Team's 2014/15 Player of the Season so Far
We're just over halfway through the season across Europe, and the continent's major clubs are either living up to expectations, overachieving or enduring disappointments.
Still, each and every one has gifted individuals, and it is those players who continue to try and drive their teams forward in a bid to reach new highs.
Who are the standout performers, though? And who is headed for their club's Player of the Year trophy?
It's a little easier to work out some over others, but here's our attempt.
Premier League
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Arsenal: Alexis Sanchez
A nice easy one to kick us off. Alexis Sanchez has been nothing short of a revelation since his move to English football from Barcelona in the summer, scoring 18 goals for Arsenal and creating several more. He seems perfectly suited to the Premier League and has made a mockery of those claims that foreign players need time to settle into the division.
Chelsea: Nemanja Matic
We're spoilt for choice when it comes to Chelsea's star-studded squad, but despite the influences of Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and others, we're going to go for the man who holds it all together. Nemanja Matic has been a titanic figure in the centre of the pitch for Jose Mourinho this season, and the Serbian has arguably become his club's most important performer.
Liverpool: Raheem Sterling
Like Chelsea, picking Liverpool's best player this season is a difficult task; unlike Chelsea, it is because there aren't really too many candidates. Jordan Henderson has been pretty consistent, Steven Gerrard is determined to impress in his final season with the club and Philippe Coutinho has improved as the season has gone on, but Raheem Sterling takes the honours for impressing in a variety of positions and scoring six goals for a side missing last season's striking power.
Manchester City: Sergio Aguero
Injury has robbed us of the opportunity to see him recently, but when fit, Sergio Aguero has been in stunning form for Manchester City, with his treble in the crucial Champions League comeback against Bayern Munich easily one of the moments of the season so far. He's been in lethal form in the Premier League, too, with his four-goal haul against Tottenham Hotspur standing out among other stellar moments.
Manchester United: David de Gea
Like Sanchez and Arsenal, this is another pretty easy one. It is impossible to tell just where Manchester United would be in the table if it wasn't for goalkeeper David de Gea, but you can say with some certainty that it wouldn't be the top four. The Spaniard's game has reached new levels this season, as he's established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the game, and he looks like he's only going to get better.
Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Kane
You can file the Spurs striker Harry Kane under "surprises of the season," too. The young Englishman has impressed everyone this campaign, and he has scored 16 goals in all competitions for a team that has found the answer to their frequent striking problem right under their nose. Kane's development has been rapid, and an England call-up must surely be next.
La Liga
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Atletico Madrid: Koke
Only one man has registered more assists in La Liga this season that Atletico Madrid's Koke, and you might just be able to see his picture above. We'll come to Cristiano Ronaldo later, though, as on the other side of the Madrid divide, Koke is blossoming into a fantastic all-round midfield player—one who is capable of loading the bullets for the likes of Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann to fire home.
Barcelona: Lionel Messi
Some people might tell you that Lionel Messi hasn't been in top form this season, but he's still managed to score 25 goals in 28 games for club and country, hit three hat-tricks in the space of four games in November and December and become the Champions League's all-time leading goalscorer. Not a bad record.
Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo
A player who continues to rewrite the history books, Cristiano Ronaldo is top of both the goalscoring and assists chart in La Liga this season, he has 35 goals in 30 appearances for club and country and only failed to find the net in one of his 18 matches between late August and late November. Staggering.
Sevilla: Carlos Bacca
Only Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar have scored more goals in La Liga than Sevilla's Colombian forward Carlos Bacca this season, with the 28-year-old following up last season's haul of 21 goals in all competitions with another impressive campaign to establish himself as one of the deadliest forwards in the division. Sevilla's challenge for a Champions League place is largely down to him.
Valencia: Nicolas Otamendi
Holding the joint-second best defensive record in La Liga, Valencia's challenge for the Champions League places has largely been based around their form at the back this season. Along with impressive goalkeeper Diego Alves, Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi has been key to that solidity and has even popped up with two goals, too, including the winner against Real Madrid.
Serie A
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Inter: Mauro Icardi
In a disappointing season for Inter, one of the few bright spots has been the form of the 21-year-old Argentina international forward Mauro Icardi, who has enjoyed something of a breakout season after impressing in fits during the previous campaign. Icardi has scored 14 goals in all competitions to establish himself as Inter's leading light, and more goals are surely on the way.
Juventus: Carlos Tevez
The eye-catching displays and frequently spectacular goals of Paul Pogba make the Frenchman difficult to overlook, but there is a sense that Carlos Tevez seems to have fallen back in love with football during this season, with the Argentinian topping the Serie A scoring charts with 11 league strikes (16 in all competitions) and making five more.
Lazio: Antonio Candreva
In recent weeks, Felipe Anderson has really come to the fore for Lazio as they seek to cling on to Serie A's last remaining Champions League place, but throughout the season, it has been Antonio Candreva who has been his side's driving force. The impressive midfielder has scored three goals in 2014/15 and is Serie A's leading provider with seven assists.
Milan: Jeremy Menez
Fernando Torres was supposed to be the headline arrival at AC Milan this season, but instead, it has been Frenchman Jeremy Menez, who has been taken to the hearts of the San Siro supporters. Menez has scored nine league goals—including strikes against Lazio, Inter and Napoli—in 18 appearances this season.
Napoli: Jose Callejon
An unqualified success since moving from Real Madrid in 2013, this has been a season of steady improvement from Jose Callejon, a Spain international who seems to have found a home in Serie A. With nine league strikes this season, he shares Napoli's top-scorer status with Gonzalo Higuain and is on the way to repeating last season's 20 strikes in all competitions.
Roma: Adem Ljajic
Second-placed Roma are pretty good at sharing the goals around, with the veteran Francesco Totti coming to the fore recently with both goals in the Rome derby draw with Lazio. It is a man 15 years his junior who claims the honour, though, with Adem Ljajic's six goals this season already matching his total for the whole of the last campaign.
Bundesliga
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Bayer Leverkusen: Karim Bellarabi
Eight league goals and his first caps for Germany make this a pretty successful season so far for Karim Bellarabi, who hasn't looked back from the moment he scored in the first minute of Leverkusen's first match of the season against Borussia Dortmund. Last season's loan spell at Braunschweig appears to have done the 24-year-old the world of good, and he'll be eyeing more success in 2015.
Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben
One of the finest wingers in the game today, Arjen Robben's 10 Bundesliga goals in the first half of the season were only beaten by the 13 scored by Frankfurt's Alexander Meier. He's managed 14 strikes in all competitions for club and country, ensuring that he is on course to beat last season's tally of 21.
Borussia Dortmund: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
With Dortmund stationed in the relegation zone during the winter break, it is tempting to say that no one really deserves this award. But nine goals this season mean Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has impressed many—not that that has been difficult to do, given the performances of some of his team-mates.
Schalke: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Ten goals in 23 appearances in all competitions make Cameroonian Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting Schalke's top goalscorer this season, a record that isn't too shabby when you consider that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is at the club, too. Choupo-Moting will be one of the main men charged with trying to fire his club into the Champions League places during what looks set to be a tight second half of the season.
Ligue 1
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Lyon: Alexandre Lacazette
Ligue 1's leading scorer this season by a huge margin, Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette has seen his stock rise considerably. He's scored 21 goals in 21 games in all competitions so far this campaign, including 19 in the league. That has also ensured his place in the France squad, and the 23-year-old will certainly be a man to watch for the remainder of the season.
Marseille: Andre-Pierre Gignac
Sitting on seven league goals fewer than Lacazette is Andre-Pierre Gignac of long-time league-leaders Marseille, who are now second to Lacazette's Lyon by one point. In what looks likely to be a fascinating title race in the second half of the season, Gignac's goals are certain to be crucial for Marcelo Bielsa's men.
Monaco: Dimitar Berbatov
The times of largesse at Monaco might be over, but they do still have Dimitar Berbatov hanging around. The Bulgarian has managed five goals this season and a recent injury absence showcased just how much his team miss him when he is not there. If they are to improve in the second half of the season, then he'll be key.
Paris Saint-Germain: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura and Marco Verratti might have impressed at times this season, but even though he's been injured, you simply can't overlook Zlatan Ibrahimovic as PSG's best player. Sixteen goals in 20 games for club and country indicate that he's a deserving winner, too, and he wouldn't accept being second best, would he?
