We are now two-thirds of the way through the Champions League group stage and while there is still a lot of soccer left to play, we have a big enough sample size now to be able to break down the top class of players in the tournament so far. The real fireworks will come later but for now, here is a look at the four players that have impressed the most so far in Champions League to this point.
Hulk
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Zenit Saint Petersburg beat up on the competition in Group H of the Champions League, which has proved to be a rather easy group. Zenit is joined by Valencia, Gent and Lyon in Group H. Hulk was among the biggest reasons for their success as he scored three goals with four assists. The Brazil international has been criticized over the years for not showing up on the biggest stages for both his club and national side, but he has changed that outlook with strong performances in every single Champions League appearance for Zenit. To this point, he has been the top performer in the tournament. Zenit managed to score a whopping 10 goals in group play; no other team in Group H managed to score more than five in their four games of action.
Artem Dzyuba
Zenit Saint Petersburg
The numbers prove that Hulk has not had to do it alone up front for Zenit as fellow forward Dzyuba has registered four goals and an assist despite playing fewer minutes than his counterpart in the tournament. The 27-year-old Dzyuba has complimented Hulk well and made Zenit’s firepower that much more explosive up front. Both forwards will need to step up again in the elimination stages in order to stay hot. They have enough talent to be considered a sleeper pick to win the tournament outright but right now their focus is on winning one game at a time as they continue to look more dangerous with every passing win.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas deserves a ton of credit for Real Madrid’s success as he has yet to concede a single goal. However, Ronaldo has been at it for a long time and he was on fire again in the Group Stage with five of his club’s seven goals. Their +7 goal differential was the best of any team in the Group Stage except for Bayern Munich.
Navas himself has recorded four clean sheets but his side wouldn’t have won those games without at least a little offense and Ronaldo has delivered. Real Madrid’s attack has stuttered at times this season but Ronaldo has been very reliable. If he can get a little more help in the knockout round then his side will once again be considered a legitimate contender to win it all.
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Neymar
Barcelona
There were so many question marks about how Neymar and Luis Suarez would respond up front for Barcelona after Messi was lost to injury those questions were answered promptly. The remaining two pieces of their attacking trident stepped up in big with Neymar continuing to lead the way in the Champions League with a strong performance in the Group Stage. Neymar has recorded two goals and three assists while Suarez has gotten in on the action as well with three goals and an assist. That’s helped push Barcelona to the top of Group E.
Group E has actually been a very high-scoring group – it’s probably seen the most goals of any group – as Barcelona has eight goals, Roma has 10 and Bayer has 11. The good news is they’ve advanced beyond and will have other things to worry about. They might have concerns in other areas heading into the knockout stage but their offense is just fine with Neymar and Suarez both stepping up on the front line. Speaking of Messi, he’s been out of action for almost two months but is nearing a return and should be back within a month.
