With La Liga only just open for business and Serie A yet to kick off, there were only three leagues to choose from when WhoScored named their All Star team for August. In spite of this, no Ligue 1 players managed to find a way into the side, with six players coming from the Premier League and five from the Bundesliga. Here’s a look at the best performers from the month gone by:
Michel Vorm, Swansea City. WhoScored rating 7.95
Swansea’s new keeper has been exceptional in his first three Premier League games since moving from Utrecht. Although he has picked up 2 clean sheets from 3 of those games, Vorm’s most impressive performance came in the 4-0 defeat at Man City- he made a fantastic 12 saves to prevent the Swans from a real hiding. In total, he has made 16 saves as well as saving 1 penalty kick, and made 3 good claims. Vorm has picked up 2 man of the match awards in his side’s two goalless draws- Swansea will need more of this form if they are to stay in the league.
Chris Lowe, Borussia Dortmund. Whoscored rating 7.86
Lowe made a dream start to his debut season in the Bundesliga. Acquired from fourth division Chemnitz, his role was supposed to be as back-up but injury to regular left-back Marcel Schmelzer meant he started Dortmund’s first two league games of the campaign.
Despite playing superbly, Lowe lost his place upon Schmelzer’s recovery but a comparison of their defensive stats shows just how much more he offered. He made 4.5 tackles per game to Schmelzer’s 1 and also beats him for interceptions (3 to 1), blocked shots (1.5 to 0) and aerial duels, by 80% to 20%. Schmelzer has made more clearances, 5 to 0.5 per game, but this is the only stats in which he betters Lowe.
Going forward, Lowe made 2.5 key passes per game- second only to Mario Gotze for creativity and has made 2.5 of his team’s 5.8 successful crosses per game, easily the most of any Dortmund player. Lowe has also made 37.5 passes per game with a 73% accuracy and has also picked up 1 man of the match award.
Daniel van Buyten, Bayern Munich. WhoScored rating 7.79
Bayern lost the only game their giant centre half failed to appear in, the 1-0 defeat to MGladbach on the first day of the season. Van Buyten has played every minute since coming on at the end of the win at Wolfsburg in matchday 2, with Jupp Heynckes’ side fully recovered from their early slip-up and sitting at the top of the Bundesliga.
Van Buyten has made 2 tackles and 2.7 interceptions per game, behind Philipp Lahm in the back-four for the latter category. He has also averaged 4 clearances, almost double the next best team mate (Rafinha, 2.3) and has also blocked 0.3 shots per game. Going forward, he’s managed 0.7 shots per game, just behind Franck Ribery (0.8) and has scored 1 goal as well as grabbing 1 assist.
The centre half has made 47.3 passes per game with an 89% accuracy and has also been almost as impressive in the air, winning a brilliant 83% of his aerial duels.
Jefferson Farfan, Schalke 04. WhoScored rating 8.73
The winger missed Schalke’s first two games of the season through injury but his half-time introduction in matchday 3 sparked a remarkable comeback at Mainz 05. With Schalke two-down, Farfan turned the match his side’s way with a magnificent performance, leading them to 4-2 victory.
He has yet to find the net, averaging just 0.5 shots but Farfan’s 4 key passes per game is the most of any Schalke player- Christian Fuchs is second on 2.5. His trickery on the ball sees him as the most-fouled Schalke player (3.5 times per game) as Farfan has made 5 successful dribbles and 5 successful crosses per game- again top for both categories. Clearly, he is a vital player for the second-placed side and has already picked up 1 man of the match award.
The Peruvian’s pass accuracy is also a stand-out (92%) and he has shown a willingness to help out defensively too, with 1 tackle and 1.5 interceptions per game.
Edin Dzeko, Manchester City. WhoScored rating 9.00
The Bosnian has made a magnificent start to the season with Man City; 6 goals in three games sees him the top scorer in Europe’s top five divisions so far. Dzeko has benefitted from regular selection and a more attack-minded policy from Roberto Mancini this term, with his displays suggesting City can be a success regardless of whether Carlos Tevez plays or not.
A constant goal threat, he has averaged 4.7 shots per game and has also been a major creator for City, making 3.7 key passes per game- more than David Silva (2.7)- from a total of 35.7 passes, with a 75% accuracy. Defensively, Dzeko has averaged 1.7 interceptions but failed to make a tackle so far- the most surprising stat is his aerial duels- he’s won just 19%, a baffling tally for someone so prolific in the air, as he demonstrated at Spurs two weekends ago.
