The 22/23 UEFA Champions League group stage concluded this week, bringing to light a quick statistical overview of player performances.
Lionel Messi is the highest-rated player in the world, with Mehdi Taremi, Leroy Sane, Robert Lewandowski, and Kylian Mbappe rounding out the top five.The 35-year-old Paris Saint-German star in the competition has four goals and four assists in five games and a sofascore rating of 8.32, the highest of any other player.
Seconding the Argentine playmaker is Iranian and FC Porto star Mehdi Taremi, who was a revelation for the Portuguese giants in beating off competition from Club Brugge, Bayer Leverkusen, and Atletico Madrid in the group stage.
Scoring at least once against each opponent to bring the total to five goals and two assists in five games.
Leroy Sane, who has played the majority of Bayern Munich's games, ranks third with an 8.03 rating, just below Mehdi (8.04).
The 26-year-old scored four goals and assisted once in four games for the German champions.
The list is completed by Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe, who were dominant in attack for their respective teams, scoring 5 and 7 goals, respectively.
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Pep Guardiola opens up on how he selects his Man City centre-backs for each game
Pep Guardiola has explained the tactical decisions he makes when reducing Manchester City's five centre-back options to two starters for each game.
Guardiola currently has five fit center-backs but only two starting spots, though he has been able to play another at full-back while Kyle Walker is out.
Manuel Akanji has made a good start since joining the club in the summer, while Nathan Ake is in his best form as a City player. The pair are competing for a spot in Guardiola's starting lineup alongside Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, and John Stones, with the manager insisting on Friday that all five options could play every game if necessary.With so many options, Guardiola explained how he adapts his two center-backs for the tactical challenges he anticipates with each match, while also attempting to keep all players as happy as possible.
He elaborated: "Sometimes you suspect we'll need more build-up for the way they might defend, while another wins more duels to have more characteristics to win more defensive duels. I want everyone involved, and there isn't much difference between them. They are all very good, and each has their own set of skills. There isn't much of a distinction between them."
Further into his reasoning, Guardiola stated that Dias, for example, would not be selected in bigger games due to his experience and level of performance."Not specifically, Ruben has been 100 percent reliable since his arrival," Guardiola said. "But now we have Manu, John, and we don't have Kyle [Walker], but even he can play center-back, so I rely on all of them, and I don't have a specific problem with this one." Always is how they perform and communicate with one another, the players who win more individual duels or others who pay more attention in the line, with his full-back or the holding midfielder.
"Everyone has his special abilities. Sometimes I believe who I need today for that reason rather than another. However, everyone can play all of the games in different situations. They've proven it before, so it's not a problem."Guardiola also lavished praise on midfielder Rodri, claiming that the Spaniard can improve even further than he is currently performing.
"The reality is that he has made an incredible, incredible step forward as a player since he arrived," Guardiola said.
"I believe he can still improve; he sometimes relies too much on his physicality, and he still has to understand what the game requires at all times." He will improve with his age and energy. He's so important to us, and he's a fierce competitor in big games. We are extremely pleased."He's by far one of the best [in his position], but I don't like to say best because I like to push people, and we know he can be better. We talk about doing your best every day, trying to be better than yesterday, but the reality is just showing up every day. He played the second half [against Sevilla], and his interaction with Gundo was excellent. He performed admirably."
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