FedEx Performance Zone: Who is moving up?
Monday, February 20, 2017
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Zlatan Ibrahimović still leads the rankings after the weekend domestic fixtures but we look at some players who are shooting up our rankings ahead of the second legs.
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Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edin Džeko remain the top two in the FedEx Performance Zone after the weekend's domestic action but other players are shooting up the rankings ahead of the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second legs.
16: Corentin Tolisso (Lyon) – rising 35 places
Ascending 35 places in the FedEx Performance Zone since Friday, off the back of an exemplary display for Lyon on Sunday, is midfielder Tolisso. Playing in his preferred central role just behind Alexandre Lacazette, the Frenchman made a huge contribution to OL's 4-2 victory over Dijon, scoring two goals, registering four shots on target and creating five other chances.
18: Cenk Tosun (Beşiktaş) – rising 10 places
The Turkish striker has been in blistering form and has found the net on his last two outings – domestically against Akhisar on Sunday (where he also provided an assist) and in the UEFA Europa League win at Hapoel Beer-Sheva on Thursday. Tosun's link-up play was particularly impressive in Israel, where he made 14 successful passes in the final third.
21: Ricardo Quaresma (Beşiktaş) – rising 21 places
Supplying the ammunition for Cenk is Quaresma. The Portuguese winger has been in menacing form for Beşiktaş of late, and was no less productive in the 3-1 weekend success over Akhisar in the Süper Lig. Quaresma laid on an assist for one of the goals and carved out five chances overall, while delivering an eye-catching 14 crosses and embarking on six dribbles.
56: Christoph Kramer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – rising 15 places
Despite Gladbach suffering two narrow defeats in succession, Kramer has been a positive force in the middle of the park. Against Fiorentina on Thursday, the German's distribution was excellent – 80 successful passes compared with just six failed attempts – while his defensive work against Leipzig on Sunday also bore fruit, with five aerial duels won and four interceptions made.
77: Alessandro Schöpf (Schalke) – rising 36 places
Austrian midfielder Schöpf is one of Schalke's form players at present. He opened the scoring two minutes into Sunday's Bundesliga draw with Köln, while also putting in four crosses and producing four dribbles. It had been a similar story in the UEFA Europa League victory against PAOK, with Schöpf setting up a chance and purveying six crosses for team-mates.