FedEx Performance Zone: Kalinić closes on Giuliano
Monday, October 24, 2016
Article summary
Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinić made it five goals in his last two appearances to close on Zenit's Giuliano at the top of the FedEx Performance Zone rankings.
Article top media content
Article body
The official UEFA Europa League form tracker follows the players in domestic games too – check out the big movers in the FedEx Performance Zone rankings following a busy weekend of action.
2nd: Nikola Kalinić (Fiorentina)
The Croatia striker followed up Thursday's UEFA Europa League double against Liberec with a hat-trick and an assist versus Cagliari on Sunday.
8th: Mohamed Salah (Roma)
Salah chipped in with a goal and an assist for the second Serie A match running to help the Giallorossi beat Palermo 4-1 and stay hot on the heels of Juventus. He created four further chances and 18 of his 28 completed passes came in the attacking third.
12th: Bruno Soriano (Villarreal)
Bruno Soriano was hugely influential as Villarreal came from a goal down to beat Las Palmas 2-1. He conducted play from midfield, completing 52 of his 61 passes, and made nine defensive interventions.
75th: Nabil Bentaleb (Schalke)
The on-loan Algerian international scored twice in Sunday's 3-0 defeat of fellow UEFA Europa League contenders Mainz. Bentaleb never found the net in 46 appearances for Tottenham but now has two in three for Schalke.
120th: Fabian Orellana (Celta Vigo)
Orellana created the first and scored the third in Celta's 4-1 triumph over Deportivo in this weekend's Galician derby. His five dribbles, three crosses and two chances created – and the fact only two of his 34 passes went astray – contributed to an excellent all-round display.
FedEx Performance Zone
Patrik Andersson’s view: Bailey hard to beat
The FedEx Performance Zone has already proven one thing so far this season - that age is no obstacle to success.
Take Leon Bailey of Genk. He may only be 19, but the Jamaican midfielder has raced into second in the FedEx Performance Zone rankings thanks to his eight goals and three assists for the Belgian side. He’ll certainly be there or thereabouts if he keeps up that level of form throughout the season.
Then there’s Francesco Totti – involved in three of Roma’s four goals against Astra just two days after his 40th birthday, which puts him in tenth place in the list of forwards, just behind team-mate Edin Džeko in ninth spot. Can he stay in the top ten beyond Christmas? You certainly wouldn’t want to bet against him.