It's
December! Man City still haven't lost, Spurs are in a tailspin and the
relegation battle is getting dangerous. Some players have found form at
exactly the right time while others are superb parts of talented units -
Burnley have been fantastic, but is it individual brilliance or the
work of the team?
The Babbello Index is back again (you can read October's rankings here) to award praise to the individuals who truly stood out in the Premier League over the previous month.
The Babbello Index is back again (you can read October's rankings here) to award praise to the individuals who truly stood out in the Premier League over the previous month.
20. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)
Ramsey's
strength is also his weakness and balancing those runs from deep
positions to join in attacks is a tricky business. Four assists in five
games last month suggests that the Arsenal midfielder got it very right,
also making 11 tackles - the same number as Nacho Monreal, who is a
defender. Arsene Wenger said a while ago that he believes Ramsey is
becoming the all-round midfielder that he had hoped he would. He's
certainly on the cusp of it.
19. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
Has been
directly involved in four Premier League goals in his last four games -
two assists and two goals - helping arrest Everton's alarming run of
form. Sam Allardyce has a perfect Sam Allardyce player here -
Sigurdsson's set piece delivery is ridiculous, he can score stunning
goals from long range, as shown against Southampton, and he works
tirelessly wherever fielded. Allardyce's solid setups depend on
individual magic and Gylfi is full of it.
18. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)
Created
the highest number of chances of any player in the league last month
(19) and assisted two goals, having found freedom (or at least a more
advanced role) within Chelsea's change of shape.
Antonio
Conte's switch to a 3-5-1-1 has two defensive, hard-working midfielders
patrolling the centre of the pitch, granting Fabregas licence to focus
on ball retention and creating chances. As the stats show, he's taken
advantage and Chelsea are reaping the rewards.
17. Ashley Young (Man Utd)
He's a
left-back now! That's what it is. A wing-back, maybe. Or is it a winger?
Whatever Young is asked to do, he does it rather well and although the
recently recalled England international isn't the future for Man Utd, or
the solution to that troublesome left-of-defence issue, he has been one
of Jose Mourinho's best players in recent weeks, scoring two goals and
assisting another. The free-kick against Watford was a peach, Clive.
16. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
The
Chilean still hasn't found the kind of sparkling form that we know he's
capable of this season, yet has still scored three goals in his five
Premier League games last month as well as creating 15 chances for
others. Clearly, Sanchez is still one of the most exciting attacking
talents playing in Europe, he's just not quite there.
15. David De Gea (Man Utd)
“I told him after the match that what I saw today was
the best goalkeeper in the world," said Jose Mourinho after De Gea's
incredible shot-stopping, goal-denying performance against Arsenal. De
Gea is as adept at preventing the ball from going past him with his feet
as he is using his hands, turning into some multi-limbed
defensive monster whenever an opposition attack gets near. Only kept the
one clean sheet in November, but a goalkeeper can only do so much.,
14. Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal))
Mustafi
is showing exactly what convinced Arsene Wenger to finally spend a lot
of money on him a couple of seasons ago with some brilliant defensive
performances in Arsenal's now reliable back three. Or at least he - and
Arsenal - were until a mysterious injury, brought on by indefensibly
losing possession near his own box, robbed the German of the chance to
help Arsenal get back into the game against Man Utd. Defending is a team
job but individuals can still stand out and Mustafi has been excellent.
Until that Man Utd game, that is.
13. Nemanja Matic (Man Utd)
The
unsung hero of that United midfield. Matic does a lot of defending
simply by being in the right place at the right time, cutting out
passing options and being tidy in possession. Paul Pogba provides the
silky skills, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford bring pace and De Gea
stops shots but Matic compliments everyone around him, making the team
better as a result.
12 .N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
Kante has
managed to go incognito for a lot of this season, which is surprising
considering how much attention he was given last season and especially
the one before that. He's quietly producing superb performances for
Chelsea, prowling the midfield and breaking up opposition attacks with
the 14 tackles and 11 interceptions he made last month. Since returning
from injury, Chelsea's form has improved too and Cesc Fabregas has been
freed up to get somewhere close back to his creative best too. Kante
made the sixth most successful passes in the Premier League last month -
the top five are all Man City players.
12. Alvaro Morata (Chelsea)
So much
of Morata's intelligent play goes unrewarded and unnoticed. He's always
on the move, dropping into space to allow others the chance to attack,
his first touch and positional awareness are as good as you'll see in
the league and he scores goals too. Three in five games, with one
assist, in November.
10. Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke)
Three
goals and two assists in five games for Shaqiri weren't enough to win
Stoke many points last month but as the main creative and goalscoring
outlet for Mark Huges' team, there's not an awful lot more he can do.
Still only 26 (!), the Swiss forward is often the difference between
defeat and a point and has been the bright spark in yet another
disappointing season for Stoke.
9. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Coutinho
only played three games last month but managed three assists and two
goals, as Jurgen Klopp started mixing up his team's shape to keep his
star-studded frontline in place while adding a bit of defensive steal.
Coutinho has been able to attack from a deeper midfield position thanks
to this switch and can turn up on the edge of the box unmarked, in
space. When he does that, goals happen. One of the most talented
midfielders in the entire league.
8. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
When Ozil
really wants to be, he is amazing. Sure, we've seen the running stats
and Ozil covers a lot of ground, but in the last month we've seen him
make the right runs, make the extra effort to actually win the ball and
get at goal. The German created 13 chances in November, scoring one
himself and assisting three, inspiring the Gunners to an impressive run
of form halted by Mourinho's Man Utd. If only Ozil played like this
every month, perhaps Arsenal wouldn't be having such a hard time of it.
7. Fernandinho (Man City)
When not
on the pitch, Man City aren't quite the same. There's something about
Fernandinho's innate understanding of space, his tempo setting
first-time passes, ability to stay cool under pressure and find others
in space when closed down by several opponents that others simply can't
replicate. Fabian Delph did a reasonable job at copying the role against
West Ham but was just a half-second slower in decision making, meaning
City's build-up didn't pop the way it should in full flow. Fernandinho
made 15 tackles and 356 successful passes last month, which puts him in
the top section of the table for both (third for passes!). You realise
how good he is far more when he's not there.
6. Paul Pogba (Man Utd)
What a
player Pogba is. Man Utd are a different team when he's in the midfield,
driving from box-to-box to create, link and break-up play with his
giant stride and astonishing vision. Some of the passes Pogba makes
belong on a YouTube compilation while the little flashes of skill he
uses to go around and between opponents brighten up every attack he
joins in on. It's such a shame the Frenchman will miss the Man City
derby as his flair and invention may well force Mourinho to turn to the
dark arts - Pogba affects everything that United do well.
5. Raheem Sterling (Man City)
Sterling
is playing like the protagonist in a children's story at the moment, as
though he has found some magic shoes that allow him to score with every
attempt, winning games with the last kick of the game and terrifying
defences with lightning pace. By the time you've finished reading, you
realise that the shoes weren't special! The talent was there all along -
he just had to believe! And now that Sterling does believe, he's
absolutely crushing it.
4. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
It's
taken some time to get going but Hazard is in full flow and few defences
have been able to cope with it. The Belgian has a rare talent, the
ability to stop-start at full speed and twist a defender into tangled
knots. Before they can recover, he's either scored (four goals last
month) or assisted (just the one) - the 32 successful dribbles made by
Chelsea's star player puts him way out in front as best in the league.
3. David Silva (Man City)
Jamie
Carragher believes Silva is Man City's greatest ever player and after
another match-winning performance in which he scored an improvised
volleyed finish following a clever run into space in a packed penalty
area, it's hard to disagree. Silva may only have two assists and a goal
to his name for the previous month but he is the creative genius at the
heart of Man City's fast-passing game and usually either provides the
pass before the goal, or is the one to disrupt the lines of defence with
a quick one-two, dribble and pass into space.
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
The way
De Bruyne shifted the ball from his right foot to completely bin the
Leicester player trying to close him down was special, but the rocket
shot that flew off his left nearly took the goal posts out of the
ground. Only Fabregas created more chances for others than De Bruyne
last month (19 to 17) and the Belgian scored three and assisted two,
helping Man City continue their incredible run of Premier League wins.
One of the best players in world football.
1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Seven
goals in five Premier League games is ridiculous. That Salah has only
been given credit for one assist feels wrong - most of Liverpool's
attacks have been a result of the Egyptian flying away and through
teams, creating goals from almost nowhere. There's no pre-assist
statistic available from Opta yet so you'll have to take my word for it
but Salah had a ludicrous month and is threatening to keep going.
Beware, non-Liverpool defenders!
The Burnley defence
Leroy Sane
Lewis Cook
Will Hughes
Gabriel Jesus
Wayne Rooney
Richarlison
Honorary mentions:
Romelu LukakuThe Burnley defence
Leroy Sane
Lewis Cook
Will Hughes
Gabriel Jesus
Wayne Rooney
Richarlison
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