A month and a half into 2019 and some teams have shown drastic improvements from the first half of the season.
All such teams have that one player who has improved at an individual level and helped the team to step up as a unit.
We take a look at the most improved player from each of the top five European leagues.
SERIE A: DUVAN ZAPATA (ATALANTA)
Atalanta have had a solid start to 2019, climbing from eighth in the Serie A table to sixth and one point from a Champions League spot.
Zapata deserves a major credit for overwhelming the opposition with his monstrosity in the final third, scoring nine goals and providing one assist in all competitions this year. A higher scoring involvement than any other player in the league.
The Colombian managed to amass just 12 goals in all competitions in five months from August through til December. Now he is just three goals short of those numbers and we’re just midway through February.
Clearly, the forward qualifies as one of the most improved players of 2019 and his role will be crucial as Atalanta challenge for a Champions League spot.
LIGUE 1: RAFAEL LEAO (LOSC LILLE)
It’s common knowledge that being crowned Ligue 1 champions is exceptionally hard unless you are Paris Saint-Germain. Lille have been leading the rest of the pack this season and they have had two players to thank for that – Nicolas Pepe and now Rafael Leao.
The team that barely managed to survive the league last season is cruising in one of the Champions League spots this term. In 2019, the French team have won all their league games and a 4-0 win over Nice qualifies as their highlight of the year so far.
19-year-old Leao has scored four goals and assisted one campaign, one goal and assist more than what he had managed in the season prior to January.
The forward had not enjoyed a bright start to the season and had struck just one goal until mid-December. It was then he cemented his spot in the starting line-up with a string of impressive performances.
The fact that the youngster has averaged 2.6 shots per game in 2019, compared to a little over 1 from August to December shows his confidence levels are soaring.
RAFAEL LEAO
PREMIER LEAGUE: PAUL POGBA (MANCHESTER UNITED)
If a Premier League table consisting of results from 2019 is constructed, Manchester United would be placed second, only behind their city rivals, such has been their resurgence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It has been a team effort for the Red Devils, but if one player has to be singled out, it has to be Pogba.
Pogba’s influence on the game can’t be quantified by statistics, but for the record, the Frenchman has been involved in six goals in 2019, second only to Sergio Aguero (nine).
The former Juventus man averages an impressive 1.6 key-passes per game and has once again assumed the role of the linchpin of United’s midfield.
His influence will be key in the Red Devils’ fight for a Champions League spot as the business end of the season ensues.
LA LIGA: YOUSSEF EN-NESYRI (LEGANES)
Leganes finished 2018 in 16th place, just four points above the relegation zone. Now they are 11th, six points above relegation – but more importantly, six points from a European spot.
En-Nesyri has been key in enforcing this turnaround, scoring seven goals and providing one assist in his last six La Liga matches. In fact, no player has been involved in more goals in that period, not even Lionel Messi.
The 21-year-old managed to achieve this at an aggregated xG (Expected goals) of merely 2.13. This is an example of some outrageous finishing abilities, showing that the player has scored from challenging situations and has not missed any clear-cut chances.
Will the Cucumber Farmers make it to Europe next season? It won’t be easy and En-Nesyri will have to keep up the good work.
BUNDESLIGA: LEON GORETZKA (BAYERN MUNICH)
A highly sought-after midfielder before Bayern Munich poached him, Goretzka did not enjoy the best start to the season – and in extension, his career at Bayern Munich. He had a string of games where he failed to score or assist.
That his role is to control the midfield and not exactly scoring or assisting is true, but Goretzka has stepped up a notch and added an extra dimension to his game in 2019.
The former Schalke man now has four goals in his last four games in the Bundesliga – managing just half the amount in the first half of the season.
Goretzka netted in three consecutive games against quality opposition like Hoffenheim, Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen.
The German has not compromised on his duties in midfield while going forward. And thanks to an extra dimension in his game and some stutter from Borussia Dortmund, Bayern are now back in the Bundesliga title race.
