November was a memorable month for highly rated Germany youngster Julian Draxler. The Schalke midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League table toppers Arsenal recently and the Gunners faithful will have been left salivating over his Bundesliga displays in the last month, in which he won 3 WhoScored man of the match awards in his 4 appearances, picking up 1 goal and 3 assists in the process.
His best performance of the month came in Schalke’s 2-0 win over Hertha Berlin at the beginning of November, when he scored a 9.4 out of 10 having netted late on, completed 8 successful dribbles and executed 1 key pass. In fact, his worst display came in the 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt, but even then Draxler managed a rating of 8.4 that is impressive in itself.
With a WhoScored strength of ‘dribbling’, it’s little surprise to have seen the youngster run past an opponent an average of 7.8 times per game last month, with only Franck Ribéry (10.5) doing so more of every player in Europe's top 5 leagues. Boasting an average rating of 9.0 from November, the 20-year-old was WhoScored’s player of the month and he thus takes his place on the left-wing in the European team of the month, keeping Cristiano Ronaldo (8.94) and Heung-Min Son (8.87) out of the XI.
The pairing excelled over the month, only to miss out as Draxler made all 4 of his appearances on the left-wing and was Europe's highest rated player in November. Ronaldo and Son, having both played in the same position, were unfortunate to not make the cut due to the stunning performances of the Schalke midfielder.
However, while 1 Real Madrid star failed to make the cut, another made it into the team with Gareth Bale thriving over the past month. Football’s most expensive player may have taken some time to settle into his new surroundings, but he enjoyed a productive November having helped himself to 4 assists and 4 goals, including a perfect hat-trick in Los Blancos’ 4-0 win over Valladolid on Saturday night.
Bale’s 4 assists in 4 appearances was the most in Europe’s top 5 leagues over the month, while his average rating of 8.6 was the highest of every right winger in November as he aims to end a memorable 2013 on a high. In the middle of the midfield is Ivan Rakitic and Paul Pogba, with both players scoring an average of 8.4.
Rakitic has been instrumental in Sevilla’s upturn in fortunes having helped himself to 3 assists as Los Nervionenses won 3 of their 4 matches in November, moving the side up to 8th in La Liga. Pogba was similarly impressive for Juventus, who now sit atop Serie A. The young Frenchman had a significant impact in this, having netted twice and providing 1 assist to reinforce his 2 man of the match performances for Antonio Conte’s side.
That midfield quartet would be more than talented enough to provide the ammunition for front pairing Max Kruse and Sergio Agüero, the pairing having netted 5 league goals between them in November. Kruse hasn’t seen his performances go unnoticed with the 25-year-old now a regular in the Germany national squad. His most notable outing in the month came in Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 2-0 win over Hamburg, where he netted twice and ended the encounter with a 96% pass success.
Agüero’s stand out display came in Manchester City’s 7-0 rout of Norwich at the beginning of the month in 1 of only 4 10-out-of-10 performances from Premier League players this season. The Argentine netted 1 and grabbed 2 assists in the win in what was a highly successful November for the Citizens as the strike partnership of Agüero and Álvaro Negredo continues to blossom.
For the second successive month, Ricardo Rodriguez was the best left-back in Europe’s top 5 leagues. The Swiss youngster secured 2 man of the match awards as Wolfsburg went November unbeaten, which included an impressive 2-1 win over an underperforming Borussia Dortmund. Despite being just 21 years old, Rodriguez continues to perform at a level more advanced than his age suggests, highlighted in his average WhoScored rating of 8.01, the highest of every Wolfsburg player.
Christophe Jallet is on the opposite flank as a result of 2 solid displays for PSG in November as the Parisian outfit continue their march towards a 4th Ligue 1 crown. His average of 2 key passes per game was bettered only by Antonio Barragán (2.5) and Patrick Ochs (2.3) of every right-back in Europe top 5 leagues as he staked his claim for a regular starting spot under Laurent Blanc.
Loic Perrin and Sokratis make up the backline after a number of noteworthy displays for Saint-Etienne and Dortmund, respectively. Perrin ensured that his side conceded just twice in 4 Ligue 1 games last month, while his 2 goals against Reims at the weekend, both headers, emphasises his statistically calculated strength of ‘aerial duels’.
In the absence of Neven Subtotic and Mats Hummels, Sokratis’ run of first team football has been lengthier than he might have anticipated, but he’s taken to his starting role well, having won 4 aerial duels per game and made an average of 3.8 tackles and 5.8 clearances in November. In between the sticks is Genoa’s Mattia Perin, after a remarkable month for the goalkeeper. The young Italian made a total of 26 saves, the most in Europe’s top 5 leagues, while the 21-year-old won 3 man of the awards from Genoa’s 4 Serie A fixtures, including a memorable display in the 1-1 draw with Milan where Perin denied the charismatic Mario Balotelli from the penalty spot in the first half of the encounter.
However, it was Draxler who excelled in November following a string of fine outings for Schalke. The youngster has begun to prosper and live up to his potential as part of the attacking trio behind the lone frontman for Schalke and it comes as little surprise to see a number of top teams on the continent linked with a move him as the January transfer window edges ever closer.
Who were November's best performers in your opinion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
