10 most effective players in Europe so far this season

We are halfway through the current season and we have seen goals galore in all the major leagues across Europe as well as in European competitions.So which players have been involved in the most number of goals for their teams this season? Find out in this list of the top 10 most effective attacking players in Europe statistically.Criteria for selection:The total number of goals and assists provided is considered.Only players from the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are considered.To maintain uniformity only league competitions and the European Competitions (UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League) are considered.No goals in the qualification and playoffs rounds of European competitions are counted.For uniformity, goals for the first half of the league season are considered. For example, the goals scored by a player in the English Premier League for the first 19 games and for a player in the Bundesliga the first 17 games.In case of a tie between two players, the player with fewer games or minutes is given preference.Honourable Mentions: Paulo Dybala (Palermo) – 10 goals and 6 assists in 19 appearances (16)Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) - 12 goals and 4 assists in 19 appearances (16)Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) – 12 goals and 4 assists in 20 appearances (16)Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) – 10 goals and 6 assists in 20 games (16)Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli) – 12 goals and 4 assists in 25 appearances (16)

#10 Kevin De Bruyne 18

6 goals and 12 assists in 23 appearances

A year ago, Kevin De Bruyne was not good enough to play for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and was shipped off to Germany. De Bruyne settled into his new team with relative ease and has been pivotal to their good season so far.

The Belgian leads the assists table in Germany with 10 to his name in the league and has also chipped in with three goals. His performance has helped Wolfsburg to stay second in the table with a six-point advantage over third-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

The former Chelsea man was also voted the best attacking midfielder in the league ahead of the likes of Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze, Roberto Firmino, Halil Altintop and Hakan Calhanoglu.

The 23-year-old was also impressive in Wolfsburg’s Europa league campaign with two assists and three goals.

#9 Neymar 18

15 goals and 3 assists in 21 appearances

Neymar didn’t have a great first season at Barcelona in terms of goal scored, but this season he has taken some of the weight off Lionel Messi’s shoulder.

At the halfway point, Neymar scored 12 league goals and provided 3 assists. He is also the third highest scorer in the league behind the prolific Messi and Ronaldo. In the Champions League, Neymar has scored three goals in five appearances and these numbers are despite the fact that Luis Enrique used Neymar as a substitute in some games.

This is only Neymar’s second season in Europe and so, it is very likely that in the future, he will soon score a lot more than he already has.

#8 Cesc Fabregas 20

4 goals and 16 assists in 24 appearances

When Cesc Fabregas returned to the Premier League, he picked up from where he left off. The former Arsenal captain has been key to making Chelsea’s attack click and more importantly, he formed an instantaneous and prolific partnership with his international teammate Diego Costa.

Fabregas is the highest assist provider in Europe with 13 in the league at the halfway point and 3 more in the Champions League. His good set piece delivery and Chelsea’s threat from attacking them has helped in raising the numbers.

In addition to providing these assists, he has scored 2 league goals and champions league goals each. He was discarded by Barcelona, but turned out to be a great signing for Chelsea.

#7 Alexis Sanchez 20

13 goals and 7 assists in 23 appearances

Sanchez was deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona and was discarded to Arsenal. But it turned out to be a huge gain for the English club.

The Chilean has been one of the standout performers for the Gunners in the Premier League this season and is an early contender for the player of the season.

Sanchez got off to a slow start to his Arsenal career, but once he found his rhythm, there was no looking back.

The 26-year-old has often single-handedly dragged Arsenal across the line when they were not at their usual best and now with the team playing better and with the return of many key players, he could get even better.

At the halfway stage in the Premier League, Sanchez had nine goals and five assists to his name in 18 games, while in Europe he had 3 goals and 1 assist in the five group stage games he played.

#6 Carlos Tevez 21

16 goals and 5 assists 24 appearances

Age doesn’t seem to be catching up with Carols Tevez. The Argentine hit the ground running after his move to the Serie A and finished the previous campaign with 19 league goals. But this time around at the halfway point, Tevez already has 13 league goals. The thirty-year-old currently leads the scoring charts in the Serie A and is on course to win the golden boot.

Tevez is also among the highest assist providers in the league with five to his name. The highest tally is seven and it belongs to Antonio Candreva of Lazio.

The biggest improvement for Tevez, this season was his performance in Europe. The striker went through a dry patch in Europe and he scored his first Champions League goal since 2009, when he scored a brace against Malmo.

#5 Alexandre Lacazette 22

17 goals and 5 assists in 19 appearances

Olympique Lyon are currently leading the Ligue 1 table and a fair share of the credit goes to the efforts of their 23-year-old striker Alexandre Lacazette.

Despite Lyon’s absence from European competitions, Lacazette has scored 17 goals this season in his league appearances alone and also has given five assists, and out of these 17 goals, only four have come from the spot.

The Frenchman’s performances have attracted strong interest from other European clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal, and Lyon will be hoping to keep their prized asset with them at least till the end of the season in an attempt to win the league.

Lacazette currently leads the scoring charts in Ligue 1 ahead of the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani and is also joint second in the assists table.

#4 Karim Benzema 23

14 goals and 9 assists in 22 appearances

Karim Benzema’s tally of assists is an indicator of his all round importance to the Real Madrid team. Los Blancos are not short of goal-scoring players and with Benzema in the side they have a striker who can score as well as set up the other players.

Benzema has nine goals and eight assists in the La Liga from the 17 games he played, while in the Champions League he has five goals and 1 assist.

The Frenchman has turned out to be a big game player for Real Madrid. He scored three goals against Liverpool in two Champions League group stage games and also scored a goal in El Clasico. His fine form has kept Javier Hernandez rooted to the bench for the majority of the season.

#3 Sergio Aguero 23

19 goals and 4 assists in 20 appearances

Ideally Sergio Aguero’s tally should be much more than the figure above, but sadly that is not the case. Aguero has suffered several injury setbacks throughout his Manchester City career and that was the case this season also.

Aguero missed the majority of City’s December fixtures and also played the first few games of the season from the bench. Despite this, the Argentine has scored 14 league goals and 5 Champions League goals. Out of his five Champions League goals, three of them were against Bayern Munich in a single game and this was also crucial for City’s advancement to the knockout stage.

The City striker has scored two goals each from the spot in the league as well as the Champions League. In addition to his goals, he has provided three assists in the league and one in the Champions League.

Despite his injuries, Aguero is currently second in the Premier League’s Golden Boot Race.

#2 Lionel Messi 37

27 goals and 10 assists in 25 appearances

Lionel Messi leads Sergio Aguero by a margin of 14 goal involvements. This alone shows why Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are in a class of their own.

The Barcelona man got off to a slow start in the league this season, which is in comparison to his own standards. Despite this, he has scored 19 league goals in as many games and provided 8 assists. He also broke Telmo Zarra’s long-standing record to become the all-time leading goal scorer in the La Liga.

Messi didn’t have a sluggish start in the Champions League though. He was on the top of his game throughout the group stages and also went on to break Raul’s record for the most goals in the competition. He has 8 goals and 2 assists in the Champions League this season.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo 43

33 goals and 10 assists in 24 appearances

The Ballon d’Or winner has been in scintillating form this season for Real Madrid. Ronaldo has started 18 of Real Madrid’s 19 league games so far and has scored a massive 28 goals in those 18 games. In addition to this, he has also provided 9 assists in these games. With these numbers, he currently leads the top scorer and top assists charts for this season in La Liga.

In the UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo played all six of Real Madrid’s group stage games and has scored five goals and provided 1 assist.

So far this season, Ronaldo has scored four hat-tricks and on one occasion he went on to score a fourth goal.

Out of Ronaldo’s 33 goals for the season, 10 have come from the spot. 8 of these penalties were in the league and two of them in the Champions League.