The club season in European football is now well underway with most of the domestic leagues having played nearly a 1/3 of the matches. The international break is always a good moment to take a look at what’s been done thus far, and with 10 or more games under the belt for most of the players, we’ll make a quick overwiev of the players wit the highest average Sofascore rating in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
10 – Mohamed Salah, Liverpool – Sofascore rating: 7.82
We kick off the journey with the Egyptian king from Liverpool. Amidst many questions regarding his expiring contract at Anfield, arrival of a new manager and a start of a new era in Liverpool, many saw Salah closer to the exit door than he currently seems. Mo recorded an astonishing 14 goal involvement in 11 apps (8G+6A), leading Liverpool’s attack that has so far guided the Reds to the top spot of the Premier League standings.
At the age of 32, Salah is showing that he stills has very much to say, even at the highest level. Will he continue to do it for Liverpool or will he move, nobody can tell just yet.
9 – Lamine Yamal, Barcelona – Sofascore rating: 7.85
If there was any place for doubt after what he did during the summer at the Euros, the start of the new season made it perfectly clear – Lamine Yamal is, at the age of 17, already a world class player set to take over at the biggest stages. Barcelona are enjoying an excellent start to the new season with their faith turned completely around by new manager Hansi Flick. Yamal’s part in that process is not to be neglected, with the youngster recording 12 goal involvements in as many appearances, and only one player (Lazio’s Nuno Tavares) in the Top 5 leagues handing more assist than him (7).
Early signs suggest we will see a lot of Lamine Yamal on various top lists in the years to come.
8 – Joshua Kimmich, Bayern München – Sofascore rating – 7.88
Much like Mo Salah, Joshua Kimmich‘s contract situation with Bayern is not completely clear as it expires in the summer, but no agreement has been reached regarding the renewal (per reports, at least). However, that doesn’t stop the German midfielder when it comes to delivering consistent performances of the highest standard. His importance for Vincent Kompany is easily reflected in the fact that he is yet to miss a single minute of Bundesliga action this season, with Bayern already creating a decent gap at the top after suffering no losses in the opening 10 rounds (8W 2D).
He completes a staggering 109 passes per game on average dictating Bayern’s rhythm. 2.3 key passes every game, 2 assists, 4 big chances created, all whilst recovering 7.3 balls per game… when they say “get yourself a man that can do all”, they really mean “get yourself a Joshua Kimmich”.
7 – Bukayo Saka, Arsenal – Sofascore rating – 7.89
Arsenal‘s finest fem seems to have found a new level of his game. Nearing in on his 200th Premier League appearance, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Saka is only 23. He’s still very much on the process of development and maturing as a footballer, so his “final” version might really be something to behold. He’s a true force on the wing for Arsenal this season with a double-digit number of goal involvements (3G+7A). He’s second in big chances created in the top 5 leagues with 13, and only Barcelona’s Raphinha having created more for his teammates.
When Saka plays, good things are bound to happen for the Gunners. For many years to come.
6 – Ousmane Dembélé, PSG – Sofascore rating – 7.90
That Ousmane Dembélé is a serious baller is no news, but the feeling throughout his career, especially at Barcelona, was always that there was something missing. His spell in Spain was always hampered with injuries which seem to be behind him at PSG. Besides that, his new manager Luis Enrique often uses him in a new, more central role, allowing him to further express his flair and creativity.
He’s on 5 goals and another 4 assists in just 10 rounds of Ligue 1, with his rising numbers of shots and key passes clearly indicating the impact he has on PSG’s game after Kylian Mbappé‘s departure.
5 – Achraf Hakimi, PSG – Sofascore rating – 7.93
Another player who’s profited with Luis Enrique taking over at PSG, Achraf Hakimi is a force to be reckoned with on the right side of the pitch. Spending most of his time on the opponent’s half due to PSG’s offensive, possession-based setup, his attacking, especially playmaking numbers are off the charts. Even though 3 assists may not be that much, he got his teammates into 8 big chances this season and delivers 3 key passes each game in Ligue 1. To all of that, he adds 5.4 ball recoveries and 4 duels won per game.
4 – Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen – Sofascore rating – 7.99
ACL injury is probably on the very top of the worst injuries that can happen to a footballer. A long recovery that slows down the development of a footballer, the knee injuries become a recurring problem and sometimes leave a lot of questions affecting the players confidence and mindset. So, when in March 2022 Leverkusen‘s wonderkid Florian Wirtz tore his ACL, many thought we won’t be able to see him fulfill his potential.
Wirtz, however, found a way to return even stronger. Last season he lead Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga title, and now he’s just continuing where he left it last season. 4 goals and 2 assists in 10 matches, along with 6 big chances created and 2.6 key passes per game and 3.3 successful dribbles. A player capable of creating wonders in the tiniest of spaces, an unstoppable force in the final third. It’s a matter of time before we see him in some of the world’s biggest clubs.
3 – Raphinha, Barcelona – Sofascore rating – 8.01
Probably the world’s hottest topic this season, Raphinha‘s spectacular glow-up is the talk of the town. Whether he’s starting as a left wing or a number 10, his very appearance on the pitch guarantees goals – 7 goals and 6 assists in the 13 LaLiga matches, to be exact. With another 5G and 2A in 4 Champions League matches, one wouldn’t be crazy to suggest that, at this moment, Raphinha might be the world’s best footballer. Long may it continue!
2 – Harry Kane, Bayern München – Sofascore rating – 8.16
Goals, goals, goals… has there ever been a better description of Harry Kane‘s game?
47 goals in 43 Bundesliga appearances for the England captain since his arrival last season. 11 in 10 this season. Besides guaranteeing a goal per game, he’s already on 5 assists in the Bundesliga as well (having made 8 last season). He just seems to be doing everything right for Bayern this season and is confirming once again that he is undoubtedly a player of the highest class, rather than a goalscoring machine.
1 – Omar Marmoush, Eintracht Frankfurt – Sofascore rating – 8.33
We opened with an Egyptian, we close with an Egyptian. Words can do very little justice to Omar Marmoush‘s football this season, but we’ll give it a go hoping that numbers can help.
10 games. 11 goals. 7 assists. Only two Bundesliga games in the season without a goal involvement and 5 in which he both scored and assisted. We saw some flashes of his brilliance last season, when he scored 12 goals and 6 assists, but he’s now taken it to a whole new level, already equalling the tally after less than one third of the season. Should he keep this spectacular level throughout the season, it will certainly be one of the greatest individual campaigns we’ve ever witnessed.
Bonus track – Highest-rated players from other European leagues
It’s always interesting to see how players outside the traditional top 5 leagues are doing. The story is very similar to last season’s, with PSV Eindhoven midfielder Joey Veerman topping all the charts. We can see by the rating, however, that Omar Marmoush would keep the top spot, while Sporting’s talisman and probably Europe’s most wanted player at the moment, Viktor Gyökeres would just squeeze Harry Kane out of the podium.
The three Sporting Lisbon players in the top 10 suggest Ruben Amorim certainly knew how to use the players at his disposal, a sight that Manchester United fans will certainly welcome.
The race continues with the usual suspects settled nicely and a few new faces making room for themselves. It will be interesting to see these standings at the end of the season!