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With the Champions League marking the beginning of a period of minor depression for football fans all over, we take a look, for the last time this season, at the best midfielders for the month of May.
Franck Ribery
Undoubtedly Bayern’s player of the season among a wealth of impressive talent, Ribery’s credentials were all too evident throughout the month of May. He started the month with a Man of the Match display against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, in which they humiliated the Catalans, scoring 3 past them without reply. Ribery tortured Daniel Alves all night long with his brilliant pace and agility on the flanks, bagging an assist in the process. He continued that rich vein of form into the next match, a 3-0 league victory against Augsburg, scoring a brace and getting another Man of the Match in the process. He then made it a hat-trick of Man of the Match awards in arguably his performance of the month, scoring 2 and assisting 2 in a 4-2 comeback win over Borussia Monchengladbach. He then capped off a perfect month by claiming the UEFA Champions League, and also by winning the UEFA Player of the Year award.
Cristiano started the month in blistering fashion, grabbing 2 goals in a stellar performance against Real Valladolid in a 4-3 home win. He then put in a second successive Man of the Match display, providing 2 assists and scoring one in a 6-2 demolition of Champions League quarter-finalists Malaga. After a lackluster showing in a drab draw against Espanyol, Ronaldo scored early on in the Copa del Rey final against Atletico Madrid, but he then received a red card as Atletico overturned the deficit to win 2-1. Overall, a good month for the Portuguese phenomenon, netting 3 Man of the Match awards in 4 matches.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Few would argue with the fact that Schweinsteiger is one of the most reliable, consistent and effective midfielders on the planet. Xavi, Messi and Iniesta got a taste of just that as he, alongside the robust Javi Martinez, ripped Barca’s tiki-taka into shreds over two legs. Schweinsteiger’s intelligent pressing, excellent passing and fantastic stamina more than made up his lack of goal scoring, making him an indispensable part of the seemingly indestructible Bayern juggernaut.
Alexis Sanchez
After losing his place in the starting 11 due to inconsistent and unconvincing performances, Sanchez showed glimpses of his form from his days at Udinese, scoring in 3 consecutive La Liga matches in wins against Real Betis, Atletico Madrid and Espanyol. The pressure of playing for a trophy being lifted, Sanchez played with new found freedom on the channels, which clearly showed in his strong performances in Barcelona’s last 3 matches.
Santiago Cazorla
As Arsenal huffed and puffed to get rid of the eternal chokers tag that has plagued them for eternity, it took some good old Spanish composure to help them safely secure a Champions League berth. Cazorla has impressed throughout the season, and was instrumental in Arsenal’s performances in the month of May. After a more than decent performance in the 1-1 against eventual champions United, Santi switched gears and helped Arsenal beat QPR, the first of the 3 must win games for Arsenal in May. He then put in the perfect performance, providing all 4 assists in a 4-1 drubbing of Wigan, and then ended the season with another good performance in a win a 1-0 against Newcastle. Cazorla’s presence across the attacking midfield slots has provided a touch of inventive genius, and his frequent attempts to play long key passes have added another crucial dimension to Arsenal’s game.
Arturo Vidal
A massively impressive season from the Chilean maestro saw him end the it with a string of eye-catching performances in the month of May. After scoring one of the two goals in the away win against Torino, Vidal put in a brilliant shift against Palermo, scoring the only goal of the game in a match where he also won the Man of the Match award. After making a minor cameo appearance against Atlanta, Vidal continued from where he had left off, providing the assist for the solitary goal in another man of the match performance against Cagliari. Vidal’s superb positional play and immaculate tackling have always bought him admirers, but his overall technical and tactical attributes make him one of the most complete players around. His excellent form, though, might just have the big clubs bustling to get his signature.
