Every Major European Club's MVP So Far This Season
We are at the approximate halfway stage in Europe's top leagues, and it's at this point where the pattern for the season ahead becomes clear.
Manchester City and Barcelona are dominating their leagues, so therefore become UEFA Champions League favourites; Real Madrid and Monaco are enduring falls from graces and likely won't recover; while Bayern Munich and Juventus are in strong positions despite not playing well, and they might just begin to boil at the right time.
We've taken stock of every top European club's first half of the season and selected an MVP—a most valuable player. In essence, it's the player each club would struggle the most without, the one they rely on more than others.
The results are illuminating and reveal the area of the pitch each club is perhaps most reliant on, or highlight certain players who supersede their "positions" to impact in all three phases on the pitch.
Arsenal: Mesut Ozil
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The pool of players to pick from for Arsenal's MVP was pretty slim.
Usually Alexis Sanchez would be odds-on for the award, but his commitment to the cause has seemed lacking, while Aaron Ramsey's hamstring injury just before Christmas cut short a strong campaign.
That leaves Mesut Ozil with a clear route to the midseason award, with his sparkling displays against Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Chelsea fresh in the memory.
The 3-4-3 formation may not suit everyone at the club, but it gives the Germany international license to drift across the formation and pinpoint areas of weakness.
His clever touches, slick passing and penchant for the spectacular goal are all incredibly endearing qualities.
Atletico Madrid: Jan Oblak
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Atletico Madrid's struggle for goals this season has placed a huge amount of pressure on the defensive setup, with clean sheets often a must if the team are to win the game.
That's brought Jan Oblak into the game far more often than he probably appreciates, but he's responded with a string of spectacular saves—as we've come to expect from one of the world's finest goalkeepers.
Perhaps in six months, with Diego Costa now signed to help take the onus off the rearguard, Atletico's MVP will come from a more positive area of the pitch.
Barcelona: Lionel Messi
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This one won't surprise you.
Lionel Messi has again been crucial to Barcelona's attacking efforts, and although his role (and the team's style) has changed under manager Ernesto Valverde, he's having just as much influence as ever.
Playing as a loose striker or No. 10, he spends much of his time at walking pace but then bursts into life when the time is right. That has led to a crazy haul of 16 goals and seven assists from 18 La Liga matches; dancing past defenders and finding the corners in the same way he always has.
Still unstoppable.
Bayern Munich: Joshua Kimmich
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Joshua Kimmich's contributions at both ends of the pitch for Bayern Munich pave the way for him to win this award.
As a converted midfielder, his attacking prowess from right-back was always going to be his obvious strength, and in particular it's been his crossing that has impressed most. Some of the balls he drops onto Robert Lewandowski's head are nothing short of perfect.
What's (pleasantly) surprised is his defensive ability, with the 22-year-old showcasing the sort of awareness and tracking that wasn't expected of him just yet.
The full-back role is one of the most impactful in today's game if you have multi-talented players, and Kimmich is a case in point.
Borussia Dortmund: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goals and assists have served different purposes for Borussia Dortmund throughout a rocky first half of the season.
Early on, when they were flying under then-head coach Peter Bosz, he was piling the misery on teams by scoring freely; before November had even started, the Gabon international had netted two braces and two hat-tricks in all competitions.
Then, as things started to capitulate and Dortmund sought new leadership from Peter Stoger, Aubameyang stepped up with crucial involvements against both Mainz and Hoffenheim to end the Hinrunde on a much-needed high.
Various injuries have severely impacted BVB over the last five months—Mario Gotze and Lukasz Piszczek's have been particularly harmful—but Aubameyang's goalscoring means that despite the drama, they enter the Ruckrunde third in the league.
Chelsea: Cesar Azpilicueta
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There will be some out there who scream the name "Eden Hazard" at this point, and while he would be a worthy selection, there's another who has proved himself inseparable from Blues success.
The impact Cesar Azpilicueta has in every third of the pitch is astounding. Any strong defensive performance is sourced from him—and at times he goes above and beyond in one-on-one situations to ensure Chelsea keep things watertight—while Alvaro Morata has scored directly from his crosses six times already.
How much more of an impact could you reasonably expect any player to have?
Inter Milan: Mauro Icardi
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Inter Milan's MVP is a tough choice. Despite the recent slide in form, their 2017-18 has been spectacularly successful overall, and that's because they've got players in form in every area.
Samir Handanovic has been incredible in goal, producing performances that secure Inter points (such as in the Milan derby) when it feels they have no right to, while Milan Skriniar is a centre-back who does everything superbly and feels a good bet for Serie A signing of the season.
However, 18-goal Mauro Icardi has to be the pick. There are games where Inter aren't playing fluently, and bang—he converts a half-chance to give the Nerazzurri the lead.
His ability to conjure goals from nothing has been a major factor in his team's impressive win tally.
Juventus: Medhi Benatia
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Usually, we would be looking straight at Paulo Dybala or Gonzalo Higuain for this award, but both have been patchy this season, and neither has been consistently reliable enough to be named MVP.
Instead, it came down to a battle between Miralem Pjanic, who has been incredibly productive from midfield, and Medhi Benatia, whose rock-like presence in defence has restored Juve's unbreakable demeanour. We've plumped for the Morocco international.
He's playing his best football since that spectacular season at Roma, and he has been crucial in his side's ridiculous run of just one goal conceded in 11 games played in all competitions.
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah
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Regardless of Philippe Coutinho’s blockbuster transfer to Barcelona on Saturday, Liverpool’s MVP so far has been 22-goal Mohamed Salah.
The Egypt international's second crack at the Premier League has been far more successful than his first, and while some were concerned about the £36.9 million fee the Reds paid Roma for his services, he now looks like the bargain of the summer.
A constant stream of chances has been the source of his power; he's not the most clinical player, but as long as he continues to convert two per game, who's complaining?
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne
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Manchester City have been superb in every area this season, but the choice for their MVP came down to two players who play similar roles: Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva.
The two roaming midfielders represent the dual heartbeat of this Pep Guardiola side, with their tasks so similar and their influence so great that it's hard to separate them.
However, De Bruyne's high points have arguably been higher (the away goals against Chelsea and Leicester City, for example), while Silva's absence over the festive period didn't harm City too much.
This gives the Belgium international a slight edge here.
Manchester United: David De Gea
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Much was made of Manchester United’s vaunted defence at the beginning of the season, but the truth is many of the clean sheets leaned more heavily on goalkeeper David De Gea than anyone else.
The Spain international is best known for his incredible reflex saves and use of his legs in close quarters, and this campaign has seen him put on a true clinic in this regard.
Everyone remembers the stops against Arsenal, but he's been pulling those off with regularity, with Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney just two of the strikers who have been left dumbfounded by his darting movements.
Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and, more recently, Jesse Lingard have all been crucial to United this season, but no player has consistently been worth more points than De Gea.
Paris Saint-Germain: Edinson Cavani
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Neymar is a seductive option here, but it's Edinson Cavani's outrageous goalscoring form that has ensured Paris Saint-Germain are well clear at the top of Ligue 1.
The fact he's averaging more than a goal a game is frankly ridiculous (19 in 17 starts), and there are hopes he can break Zlatan Ibrahimovic's single-season Ligue 1 record of 36 in 2018.
His habit of missing the easy chances and scoring the seemingly impossible ones means he'll never be embraced as an elite striker by all. When you net at the rate he does, though, the team won't go shy of silverware.
Real Madrid: Luka Modric
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This was a tough choice—and not for the right reasons.
So many of Real Madrid's usual superstars have been below par this season, which is why they're so far off the pace in La Liga's title "race" and only finished second in their UEFA Champions League group.
Picking through the reasonable performers didn't take long, and we've gone for Luka Modric—who has at least looked a semblance of usual self at times—over Raphael Varane or Gareth Bale. Had the latter played a bit more, he would probably have got the nod.
Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Kane
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It's no surprise that Harry Kane's among the best players in the Premier League again or that he's the top scorer in the division. He, more than any other striker in England, fits the old cliche of "guaranteed goals."
What's scary about his output is that he's famed for starting seasons slowly and steadily heating up, ending in a blitz of goals. In 2017-18, though, he's managed 18 in the league at the approximate halfway point, meaning his best might be yet to come.
Look out, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Shearer: That single-season goal record (31) is under serious threat.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
