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The Best-Performing XI In Europe’s Top Five Leagues Has Been Revealed

The Best-Performing XI In Europe’s Top Five Leagues Has Been Revealed

Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and Roma centre-back Chris Smalling all feature in the team.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Lionel Messi is statistically the best-performing player in Europe's top five leagues as he headlines a star-studded best XI of the season so far.

The Barcelona superstar, 32, scooped his record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or award last month ahead of Virgil van Dijk.

And Messi, who has scored 16 times in 20 appearances this season, has received an 8.6 rating from WhoScored.

The publication's team, which is lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, features Stade Brestois' Gautier Larsonneur (7.3 rating) between the sticks.

Leicester City's Ricardo Pereira (7.6 rating) is out at right-back and Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies (7.4 rating) has locked down the left-back position.

Liverpool star Van Dijk and Roma's Chris Smalling, on loan from Manchester United, are the centre-back partnership and hold a 7.4 rating each.

Messi takes up his place out on the right wing, while fierce rival and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (7.9 rating) is out on the left.

Featuring in the four-man midfield alongside Messi and Ronaldo are Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (8.0 rating) and Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria (7.8 rating).

The team's strike partnership consists of RB Leipzig Timo Werner (7.9 rating) and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (8.1 rating).

WhoScored

Lewandowski, 31, has been in scintillating form for his club this season and has scored 30 times in 25 appearances.

The Polish striker overtook ex-Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes in the all-time Bundesliga goalscoring chart last month.

And Heynckes, who managed Lewandowski in the 2017-18 campaign, says that the Bayern Munich star has shown how much of a "world-class player" he is this season.

The 74-year-old German told Deutsche Presse-Agentur: "He deserves to overtake me. It was a privilege for me to have worked with him.

"What impressed me about Robert was his professionalism, ambition, passion, drive and fitness levels. He's shown, particularly this season, what a world-class player he is."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Angel Di Maria, Football, Robert Lewandowski, Ricardo Pereira, ​Alphonso Davies, Lionel Messi, Chris Smalling, Timo Werner, Virgil Van Dijk, Kevin de Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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