IT’S the international break and you know what that means… passing the time until domestic football is back.
England may host Italy in a pre-World Cup friendly on Tuesday night, but already heads are turning towards this weekend’s Premier League action.
Now, three months into the 2018 calendar year, it’s time to take a look at which stars have performed the best.
The CIES Football Observatory have compiled a list of the top ten players in Europe’s Big Five leagues in every position.
Check out the top goalkeepers, centre-backs, full-backs, defensive midfielders, playmakers, wingers and strikers, below…
GOALKEEPERS
HUGO LLORIS is the best goalkeeper in Europe in 2018 so far, according to the study, boasting a CIES score of 84.1 out of 100.
Man City‘s Ederson comes in fourth, with Liverpool‘s Loris Karius ninth – as just three Premier League stoppers crack the top ten.
Reds target Alisson comes in at No2, ahead of the likes of Alphonse Areola, Pepe Reina and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Meanwhile, Jan Oblak, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Roman Burki complete the top ten.
DEFENDERS
NAPOLI star Kalidou Koulibaly is the No1 centre-back in Europe, according to CIES.
However, three Premier League stars do make the list, with Nicolas Otamendi in third and Joel Matip in seventh.
Meanwhile, a further three England-based full-backs make the top ten in their tables.
Man City’s Kyle Walker is joined by Tottenham ace Ben Davies and Liverpool star Andrew Robertson.
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MIDFIELDERS
TONI KROOS leads the way when it comes to “defensive” midfielders in 2018 – edging out Spurs’ Mousa Dembele to the No1 spot.
Fernandinho and Eric Dier are the only other two Prem players in the list, with Ivan Rakitic and Andre-Franck Zambo also making the top ten.
When it comes to playmaking, Christian Eriksen is the best in Europe in 2018, with a rating just shy of 90 – as the Premier League dominates the top ten.
Ilkay Gundogan comes in third, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kevin De Bruyne and Dele Alli fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
FORWARDS
IT would take someone special to have a better season than Mohamed Salah… Lionel Messi, perhaps?
Only Messi has had a stronger 2018 than Salah on the winger-front, while Son Heung-min and ex-Liverpool stars Suso and Philippe Coutinho also make the top ten.
When it comes to strikers, Cristiano Ronaldo has overcome his tricky start to the season to have a phenomenal 2018.
He sits above the likes of Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Roberto Firmino and Eden Hazard in the top ten.
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