World Football: 10 of the Greatest Single-Game Performances so Far This Season

Mancunian teams are leading the Premier League, Bayern Munich have raced away to first in Germany as Barcelona get into gear in a La Liga currently topped by Real Betis. While in France and Italy the early-going is tight with several teams taking shots at each other as they try to break free.

These are just the main headlines in Europe's major leagues around two months into the 2011/12 campaign, while of course throughout the continent and further afield across the world in domestic, European and international competitions there are all sorts of storylines to catch the eye.

In amongst these have been individual, single-game player performances that have lit-up the season so far, contributing to the shaping overall picture of things, and of course providing entertainment in their own right.

Full disclosure, I have not seen or heard enough of the goings-on in the MLS or the Turkish or Romanian divisions (to name but a few) to speak about a definitive list of the greatest single-game performances so far this season, and even in Europe's major leagues there are obviously some that will have escaped my notice. So please feel free to suggest those great performances not included here.

But here I present a list of 10 of the greatest single-game performances that have grabbed my attention for a variety of reasons. The majority come from league games, with a few notable highlights from European competition too.

Edin Dzeko Scores 4 as Manchester City Thrash Tottenham 5-1

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 5 Manchester City - Premier League - 28th August

It was ridiculous that some people were already writing of Edin Dzeko in the first few months after his arrival at Manchester City in January. It takes a little time for foreign players to settle in a new country, and the former Wolfsburg player was hardly awful in his opening impressions at City.

For those that had any lingering doubts about the Bosnian striker's ability to perform in the Premier League, Dzeko thoroughly dispelled them with a four-goal haul against Tottenham Hotspur in a comprehensive victory by his City side.

Spurs had begun brightly but on the 34th minute mark Dzeko took advantage of Younes Kaboul's lack of concentration to put away Samir Nasri's cross. Dzeko added a second before halftime and a third 10 minutes into the second-half.

Sergio Aguero wrapped up with the game with City's fourth, but the pick of the goals was Dzeko's own fourth, a superb curling effort from outside the penalty box that wrapped things up.

Claudio Pizarro Scores a Last Minute Winner to Edge Hertha Berlin 2-1

Werder Bremen 2 - 1 Hertha Berlin - Bundesliga - 25th September

Claudio Pizarro hit his second double of the season so far in the 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin, taking his side to second in the Bundesliga. The Peruvian's second strike came late into injury time.

The importance of that goal should not be underestimated for Bremen, as the three points keeps them just two points behind Bayern Munich in the league table. Even at this early stage, further dropped points could see them run away with it.

After a difficult season last time around, Bremen's overall title credentials remain to be seen, but with Pizarro they have a proven Bundesliga goal-threat capable of making a big difference for them. As seen here.

Pizarro's first, and Bremen's equaliser, wasn't the prettiest of goals with Berlin's keeper Thomas Kraft making something of a meal of it. The striker then later had a goal unfairly disallowed, but he kept at it.

Deep in injury time, a corner was flicked on towards the back-post where Pizarro positioned himself nicely to glance it in.

Michel Vorm Earns Swansea's First Premier League Point Against Wigan

Swansea City 0 - 0 Wigan Athletic - Premier League - 20th August

After an opening weekend 4-0 loss away to Manchester City it was a case for Swansea City of picking themselves up, dusting themselves down and moving on. Despite the scoreline they had played decently so there was no reason to be demoralised, but it was still important to get some points on the board sooner rather than later for the newly promoted Welsh club.

Their first win would come just under a month after their following game, a 0-0 draw at home to Wigan Athletic, but getting off the mark was important and they had their new goalkeeper Michel Vorm to thank for that.

The Dutch goalkeeper, newly arrived in the summer from Utrecht, kept Swansea in the game with some good saves in a tight battle with Wigan. The Swans could have taken the lead themselves with chances of their own but could not find the back of the net. Then with just under 20 minutes left they could have lost it all when Wigan won a penalty.

Ben Watson took the spot-kick and aimed for the bottom corner but Vorm dived low to his right and kept it out. Perhaps it was not too surprising for a goalkeeper regarded as something of a penalty-saving expert. But it secured Swansea their first Premier League point and showed them they may have a goalkeeper who could make the difference for them in the long run.

Edinson Cavani Scores a Hat Trick as Napoli Beat Milan 3-1

Napoli 3 - 1 AC Milan - Serie A - 18th September

A loss and a draw in the two games since has meant Napoli hasn't built on the 3-1 win over AC Milan as they may have liked. Nonetheless, any win over the reigning Serie A champions is not to be sniffed at, nor is the hat trick performance that won it.

Edinson Cavani has been a key player in transforming Napoli into legitimate scudetto prospects and it is performances like this that are why.

The Uruguayan was left unmarked to score his team's equaliser, slotting the ball between Milan keeper Christian Abbiati's legs. The second came after a great counter-attacking run from Walter Gargano that saw Cavani proceed to sweep it home with considerable aplomb.

Then after feeding Ezequiel Lavezzi down the right for him to cross it, Cavani reacted quickest to a rebound to volley it in.

A superb hat trick demonstrating Cavani's quality as one of the best strikers playing in Europe today. If he can continue to replicate this form in the big games, there is no telling what Napoli might do this season.

Ondrej Celustka and Trabzonspor Upset Inter Milan in the Champions League

Inter Milan 0 - 1 Trabzonspor - Champions League - 14th September

Sometimes a great performance is one defined by a great moment. For grabbing the goal that caused the upset of the Champions League so far, Trabzonspor's Ondrej Celustka deserves recognition. Not just for the way Celustka scored the winning goal, but for the calm and class he showed in doing so.

Inter's failure to clear from a corner saw the ball drop to Halil Altintop who's volleyed shot hit the woodwork. The ball then found its way to Celustka.

The Czech defender controlled the ball and pushed away from the advances of Lucio, veering to the left of the penalty area. The Inter centre-back looked to be shepherding Celustka away from danger when the latter stretched slightly and with his left foot steered the ball across the face of the goal and into the bottom corner.

Celustka played his part too as his side kept a clean sheet, albeit with a touch of fortune. Still, for a side that only qualified for the Champions League when fellow Turkish club Fenerbache were kicked out, Trabzonspor should be applauded for grabbing a win against one of European football's top clubs.

Wayne Rooney Scores 3 in Manchester United's 8-2 Destruction of Arsenal

Manchester United 8 - 2 Arsenal - Premier League - 28th August

There were several star turns for Manchester United in the most astonishing result of the Premier League season so far. The pick of the bunch, though, was just about Wayne Rooney, playing a big role in the dismantling of an extremely shaky Arsenal side and scoring a hat trick in the process.

Rooney's display typified everything that went right for United that day. The first two of his goals were both superbly executed free-kicks, with the first especially a treat for its training ground practice come true spectacle. Ashley Young stopped Rooney's short pass dead, allowing him to aim it towards the top left corner just beyond the full reach of Wojciech Szczęsny.

United's seventh and Rooney's third was a calmly taken penalty by the England striker. All three of his goals were from dead-ball situations, but were a great demonstration of the quality with which Rooney plays when he is in top form.

Dries Mertens Hits 4 in PSV's 7-1 Demolition of Roda JC

PSV Eindhoven 7 - 1 Roda JC - Eredivisie - 24th September

It is not especially out of the ordinary for one of the big clubs of Dutch football to give a fellow Eredivsie side a bit of a hammering every once in a while, but you still can't help but take notice of these games, especially when one player scores four times.

Dries Mertens did so for PSV, four shots for four goals against Roda JC. The fourth came from the penalty spot but the others saw Mertens cause the Roda defence all sorts of problems.

It took Mertens' league tally to 11 already this season, and in this sort of form Roda will not want to see him again soon.

Javier Pastore Inspires PSG to a 3-0 Win Away at Montpellier

Montpellier 0 - 3 Paris Saint-Germain - Ligue 1 - 24th September

Having spent €43m to sign Javier Pastore from Ligue 1, PSG would have hoped for a pretty quick return for their purchase and the Argentinian has duly delivered.

Pastore has scored four and set two up in his five Ligue 1 appearances so far, the third and fourth coming in an impressive 3-0 victory away at Montpellier, a club who have begun the season very brightly themselves.

Of Pastore's two goals the first was the highlight, striking in a sweet volley from Siaka Tiene's assist. His second saw him capitalise on poor Montpellier defending to race away and score.

Besides his two goals Pastore displayed a growing understanding with his new teammates as they controlled the game throughout. He combined with Nene in one instance only for his shot to go just over the crossbar. Nonetheless a superb away victory.

Asmir Begovic Denies Liverpool as Stoke Hold on for a 1-0 Win

Stoke City 1 - 0 Liverpool - Premier League - 10th September

After Liverpool and their cavelcade of new signings' good start to the season they come up against a brick wall at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke City. In especially good form that day was Asmir Begovic.

Liverpool were all over Stoke for the majority of the game but Begovic stood firm. A good double save denied Jordan Henderson at one point before another period of pressure saw the goalkeeper get back to stop a rebound.

Begovic then tipped one wide from Suarez before getting a little lucky when he clashed with his own defender Ryan Shawcross. But when you're in the sort of form Begovic was that day you deserve your luck.

Lionel Messi Kickstarts Barcelona's Season in a 5-0 Win over Villarreal

Barcelona 5 - 0 Villarreal - La Liga - 29th August

Cesc Fabregas has shone brightly since returning to the club from Arsenal, but as per usual, it is hard not to think Lionel Messi when you think about Barcelona. In the first game of the season he was his typical brilliant self in a convincing 5-0 win over Villarreal, a side who getting such a big win over is still even a pretty big deal for Barca.

Messi's first major contribution was setting up Fabregas for his goal, dropping deep before timing a perfect pass into the path of the midfielder who coolly slotted home.

In the second half, Messi continued to torment Villarreal and on the 52nd minute scored his first of the game and the La Liga season, combining well with Andres Iniesta before rounding Diego Lopez. The Argentinian's second saw him link up in a smart one-two with Thiago before firing home.