Reading: The Gundogans 2021-22: Bernardo Silva, Marco Reus, Lynn Williams among stars who’ve hit new heights
Cry not for City. once again, they ‘re at the circus tent of the Premier League postpone, and they worked through one of the more difficult Champions League groups with proportional ease. Without an anchor like Kane, what has rather emerged, once more, is a police squad with about impossible symmetry. nine players have created between 19 and 30 chances in league play, and alone one player has more than three assists. Ten players have attempted between 20 and 36 shots, and nine players have scored between two and four goals. only one has scored more. – ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more
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– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access Who is the guy with more than three assists ? Kevin De Bruyne, possibly the best musket ball distributor in the earth ? Grealish, the record sign ? Nope, centre forward-turned-right winger Gabriel Jesus. And who ‘s the moderate finish scorer ? Jesus as well ? Raheem Sterling ? Phil Foden ? No again. It ‘s midfielder Bernardo Silva. After scoring either six or seven goals in league bring for each of his beginning three seasons in Manchester, the 27-year-old early Monaco star topology got lost in the shamble in 2020-21. He began the season with a knock and ended up scoring merely two goals with 27 chances created in 2,071 minutes, devour from six and 50, respectively, the year earlier. silva was predictably linked to any number of transfer rumors this summer as City ‘s pastime of Grealish came to fruition. Arsenal wanted him, as did AC Milan and Barcelona, and the club purportedly floated his name as part of the likely actor swap for Kane. But against decent odds he remained at the club, and now he ‘s one of the biggest reasons why they ‘re in first rate. After chiefly providing width on the mighty for his first four seasons in Manchester, Silva has been asked to do a little morsel of everything this season. Though functionally a cardinal midfielder, he has spent time at both centre forward ( he scored from there against Manchester United ) and defensive midfield. But whatever label you affix to his put, he ‘s been everywhere .
source : TruMedia / StatsPerform silva has besides popped up frequently right in movement of the goal mouth. He has scored seven goals in league play, all within 15 meters of the goal. City is a good as anyone at creating overloads and numbers advantages and as opponents clamber to account for all their weapons, it opens space for a usurper in the box. silva has been the premier usurper of 2021-22. Whether Silva ‘s production continues depends about equally much on Man City ‘s opponents as it does Silva. Gundogan himself has scored 16 goals in league play over the last season-and-a-half, but 11 of them came within a two-month cross last winter. As opponents adjusted, indeed did City, and spaces began to open for other scorers alternatively. But whatever his finish count ends up being, Silva ‘s early-season contributions have been invaluable for City to advance through a cluttered and challenging fall with aplomb. silva has served as this year ‘s Ilkay Gundogan, a City midfielder who becomes a key marking cog for which opponents can not account. It ‘s only fit, then, that he be named this year ‘s primary Gundogan Award winner . play 1:21
Nicol: Nobody’s going to forget Sergio Aguero
In honor of Sergio Aguero ‘s retirement, Steve Nicol recalls the erstwhile Manchester City striker ‘s title-winning finish .
Premier League Gundogans
Joel Matip, DF, Liverpool (30). After last season ‘s dramatic wound issues, it was easy to wonder if Jurgen Klopp might deploy a pretty bombastic rotation this season at centre-back. Virgil Van Dijk and Matip both missed a majority of the 2020-21 campaign, as did Joe Gomez, and Liverpool spent most of its summer transfer budget on defender Ibrahima Konate. They ‘re all goodly and cook nowadays, but Klopp has chiefly leaned on fair Van Dijk and Matip. After managing just 1,395 league minutes over the last two seasons, however, Matip has already logged 1,080 in 2021-22. His pass has been a dependable as ever, and he ‘s winning 67 % of his duels ( 71 % of aerials ). ampere effective as Van Dijk has been, Matip has closely matched his level and Liverpool is soaring because of it. Thiago Silva, DF, Chelsea (37). That Silva is playing well is never going to be much of a shock. He ‘s been playing top-level defense since joining AC Milan in 2009, and he remains a loyalist for the brazilian national team. inactive … 2009 was a in truth hanker time ago — like, more than half of Kylian Mbappe ‘s animation to date ! silva is 37 and in his best form in years. When we watch Porto, we marvel at how person like their own ageless centre-back, Pepe, can do what he does at 38, but Silva is about a old and is playing for Chelsea ! He started in the last two Champions League finals, and he is at an even higher level immediately than he was for those teams ! none of this makes sense, and it ‘s fantastic .
La Liga Gundogans
Iker Muniain, LW, Athletic Bilbao (28). Muniain was given the obviously unfair “ spanish Messi ” label early on in his career and while he never had a luck of living up to that, he ‘s been solid. This year, though, he ‘s been great. And he could have another gear if or when a end slump ends. – Muniain’s last three seasons (per-90 average): 0.23 goals, 0.12 assists among 1.36 chances created, 0.33 xG+xA
– Muniain in 2021-22: 0.15 goals, 0.29 assists among 3.63 chances, 0.56 xG+xA He ‘s plow 4.21 xG from 20 shots into entirely two league goals this season, but he ‘s already far exceeded final year ‘s product in terms of assists and chances — he ‘s never created more than 43 chances in a temper, and he ‘s presently on pace for 112. This “ key facilitator ” role looks fantastic on him. Oscar Trejo, AM, Rayo Vallecano (33). Rayo eked out promotion in last season ‘s playoff despite finishing one-sixth in the second gear division. That makes you a prime relegation candidate from the starting signal, but approaching the center detail of the season, Los Franjirrojos are sixth in La Liga, precisely two points out of a Champions League touch and three points ahead of Barcelona. While the snazzy addition of 35-year-old Radamel Falcao ( five goals in nine matches ) has made an impact, the 33-year-old Trejo has made even more of one. Playing primarily from a central attack character, he ‘s recorded seven assists ( most in La Liga ) among 27 chances ( 10th ), and among forwards and attacking midfielders, his 72 testis recoveries rank fifth. He ‘s been incredible, barely like Rayo .
Bundesliga Gundogans
Dortmund’s Reus has stayed out of injury trouble and while stars like Haaland and Reyna around him have missed time, Reus’ form has help keep them near the top of the Bundesliga. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images Marco Reus, AM, Borussia Dortmund (32). Marco Rose ‘s first year in charge at BVB has been beset by a sea of injuries, which identical much contributed to their failure to advance to the Champions League knockout rounds. But think of where they might be without Reus. He has dealt with plenty of his own wound issues through the years — he ‘s top 1,501 league minutes just twice in the stopping point five seasons — but he ‘s been by and large healthy thus far, and in all competitions he ‘s score seven goals ( second on the team ) with six assists ( beginning ) among 38 chances created ( first ). He ‘s not thriving in a new function so much as booming by staying on the pitch, but it ‘s been great to see however. – Madu: Reus is at peace with his place in the game
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Anthony Modeste, FW, Koln (33). After needing to win the relegation playoff to stay up last season, Koln are just four points off of the Champions League yard in the Bundesliga following Tuesday ‘s 3-2 succeed over Wolfsburg. But while the league may be known for an abundance of young attacking endowment, the Billy Goats are getting by with the opposite. Full-back Benno Schmitz ( 27 ), midfielder Florian Kainz ( 29 ) and forward Mark Uth ( 30 ) lead the team in chances created, and Modeste, a craftsman ‘s craftsman, is putting these chances in the net. After posting a career-high 27 goals in all comps for Koln in 2016-17, he had scored only 27 in the four years since. But he ‘s up to 12 this year following a brace against Wolfsburg. No one else on the team has more than four goals .
Serie A Gundogans
Edin Dzeko, FW, Inter Milan (35). Sergio Aguero ‘s holocene retirement meant that his celebrated “ AGUERRROOOOO ” goal from 2012, which beat QPR and clinched Manchester City ‘s first top-division entitle in 44 years, has made the rounds again on sociable media. That ‘s fantastic : I ‘ll watch it and get chills every time. But if Dzeko had n’t scored two minutes earlier to tie the peer, Aguero ‘s finish would n’t have gotten the job done. And about 10 broad seasons later, Dzeko ‘s playing a huge function in another title race. Inter Milan has gone nine matches unbeaten in league play to rise to the top of Serie A despite missing quite a few key figures from last class ‘s Scudetto -winning squad. Signed on a free remove as Romelu Lukaku ‘s primary surrogate, Dzeko has scored eight league goals, plus three more in the Champions League. He ‘s even american samoa good as precisely about anyone at carving out outer space in the box and putting the ball in the net .Dzeko, left, has been seriously underrated in recent seasons, but he’s continuing to score goals at 35 years old, and his performances have Inter Milan on course for another Serie A title. Emmanuele Ciancaglini/CPS Images/Getty Images Antonio Candreva, MF, Sampdoria (34). alone two players in Serie A have created more than 35 chances this season. Antonio Candreva has 51. He ‘s beginning in the league in expected assists ( 5.03 ), third base in assists ( five ) and 13th in goals scored ( six ). Hell, he ‘s 29th in ball recoveries ( 88 ) adenine well. And he ‘s about to turn 35 ! He made his italian home team debut about 13 years ago ! Sampdoria has needed every spot of Candreva ‘s charming, as they ‘re presently in 14th home, closer to the drop partition than continental reservation. But he ‘s indeed been charming .
Ligue 1 Gundogans
Dimitri Payet, AM, Marseille (34). It ‘s been a strange and memorable campaign for the longtime Ligue 1 star. foreign : He has twice been hit by water system bottles thrown from the stands, which directly led to abandoned matches against both Nice and Lyon.
memorable : His product is american samoa good as it ‘s been in years. After averaging 9.0 goals and 7.3 assists in all competitions over the by three seasons, he ‘s already at seven and seven this class. He ‘s on tempo for his most assists since logging 22 in 2017-18, and with six more goals, he would match his most ever in a campaign. not bad considering the well-coiffed attacker turns 35 in March. Sofiane Boufal, LW, Angers (28). After spells with Lille, Southampton and Celta Vigo, Boufal returned to his original club 14 months ago, and after missing much of the first half of 2020-21 with injury, he has carved out a function absolutely suited for him. He has scored five league goals, all from short range or the penalty spot, and he ‘s created 34 chances. He ‘s got a find to top the 2015-16 stats ( 11 goals, 72 chances ) that earned him a Premier League transfer at historic period 22. Angers finished fair four points acquit of relegation last season, but they ‘re presently three points from a spot in a continental competition .
UEFA Gundogans
Above were two players from each of Europe ‘s big 5 leagues. Let ‘s carve out spots for two more who have played some glorious ball in the Champions League this season. Sebastien Haller, FW, Ajax (27). After scoring 20 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018-19, Haller ‘s career trajectory skewed off course ; he landed at West Ham United, where he scored good 14 goals in two seasons, and he was sold in January to Ajax, which proceeded to screw up his paperwork and omit him from the Europa League hard rounds. ( Ajax was eliminated by Roma by one finish in the quarterfinals. Whoops. ) He ‘s made up for lost time, though : after scoring 11 goals with five assists in 19 Eredivisie matches last temper, he ‘s closely matched that with 10 and four in 15 this class. His Champions League imprint has been stunning : 10 goals from just 19 shots in six matches. No matchless in the Champions League has created or converted as many high-quality chances, and he ‘s a chief rationality why Ajax torched its group to advance to the smasher rounds. Hopefully they get him on the tilt of participants this fourth dimension. Giorgos Athanasiadis, GK, Sheriff Tiraspol (28). Okay, so the Sheriff narrative was n’t quite vitamin a much of a Cinderella depend on as it first seemed it might be. After surviving four qualification rounds to advance to the group stage, the giant of Moldovan soccer proceeded to defeat Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid — in Madrid ! — as well. Three losses to Inter and Real Madrid relegated them to the Europa League knockouts, but that ‘s even a pretty big softwood for such a small golf club, and it would n’t have happened without some stand-on-your-head goalkeeping. On lend from AEK Athens, Athanasiadis saved 82 % of opponents ‘ shots on goal in qualifying and in the group stage, and he made 10 saves in the 2-1 gain in Madrid alone. The entirely finish he let excrete in that match came via penalty. dependable to say, “ play a pivotal character in the biggest win in your baseball club ‘s history ” is a reasonably beneficial way to make an stamp while on lend .
Women’s Gundogans
Williams has been a steady star over the past five years, but she’s taken on a bigger role for the U.S. women’s national team in 2021 and is surely a great choice to lead the attack in 2022. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Lynn Williams, FW, North Carolina Courage (27). Any fan of the NWSL can tell you that Williams is in no direction a late blunder. Between 2016-19, she was one of the steadiest stars in the league, playing 21 to 24 matches each year, with nine to 14 goals and five to six assists. In fact, her pace actually fell a bit this year for the courage — she scored barely seven goals in 1,608 minutes. Why is she here, then ? Because after years of waiting for her guess at a major character within the U.S. Women ‘s national team, she both received it and took wide advantage of it. She had played 1,078 for the USWNT before 2021, recording six goals with three assists among 21 chances. In 2021 alone : 838 minutes, five goals, four assists, 23 chances. The pool of american attackers is laughably abstruse, but it ‘s safe to say she ‘s going to be near the top of the totem perch for a while. Kim Little, FW, Arsenal (31). In 2006, at the age of 16, Little made her debut for the Scottish national team. In the 2008-09 season, at 18, she scored 24 goals in all competitions for Arsenal. After stops with the Seattle Reign and Melbourne City, she returned to Arsenal in 2017, and after scoring five goals in each of the last two Women ‘s Super League seasons, she ‘s already managed six in just nine matches this year, plus four more in nine Champions League matches. The Gunners are four points up in first place in the WSL after falling to third stopping point season, and while Vivianne Miedema is forever the go-to within that team, Little ‘s reincarnation has given them excessively many weapons for opponents to handle .
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Bonus Gundogans
The Charas — Diego (CM, 35) and Yimmi (RW, 30), Portland Timbers. Like Modeste ‘s Koln above, the Portland Timbers found success this season with loads of veteran-osity. They reached the 2021 MLS Cup concluding thanks to scorers like Felipe Mora ( 28 ), Dairon Asprilla ( 29 ) and Sebastian Blanco ( 33 ), and club caption Diego Valeri ( 35 ) had a few more moments in the sunlight besides. The Charas were the team ‘s engine, though. It was impossible not to notice where they were on the deliver at any given meter, in share because one or both of them constantly seemed near the musket ball. Diego, the elder Chara, is another Portland caption, and even at 35 he led the team in both touches and run attempts while creating 32 chances and scoring twice in all competitions. Before Portland could score in the final touch of regulation to force overtime in Saturday ‘s MLS Cup, Chara chased down Jesus Medina, apparently from miles away, in the 89th minute to prevent a clear-cut chance to put the catch aside.
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Younger brother Yimmi, interim, joined the cabaret from Atletico Mineiro in 2020, and he is electric. He was one of only four players in MLS with at least 75 chances created and at least six goals, and he netted a hat trick in an April succeed over Marathon in the CONCACAF Champions League as well. He ‘s a blast to watch, and if his older brother ‘s path is any indication, he ‘s alone going to get good from here .
Lifetime achievement Gundogans
The entire Real Madrid midfield. Like Muller and Immobile from last year ‘s list, there are certain 30-something players we merely take for granted. Casemiro made survive class ‘s Gundogans list, but let ‘s just go ahead and acknowledge the whole batch. Whether it ‘s Toni Kroos ( 31 ) scoring long-distance screamers in the Champions League, or Casemiro ( 29 ) winning 57 % of his duels and every unleash ball ( his 111 ball recoveries are sixth in La Liga ), or Luka Modric ( 36 ) thinking three steps ahead and playing “ now you see me, now you do n’t ” with the stallion Atletico Madrid police squad in a key 2-0 win end weekend, the Los Blancos midfield is both old and absolutely outstanding. Let ‘s just go ahead and carve out a spot for all of them in the Gundogan Hall of Fame .