As ever, Opta’s eye has been unblinkingly watching matches all over Europe this week, investigating the continent’s top leagues, and each week they pick out the three best players from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain to find Europe’s Most Valuable Player.
1) Edin Dzeko (S – VfL Wolfsburg) v Hanover 5-0 (A)
Wolfsburg’s first ever Bundesliga title is one step closer after their astonishing away win against Hanover. The Wolves crushed their hosts 5-0, with Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko bagging a hat-trick, his second of the season in the league, bringing his total goalscoring tally this term to 25. The Bosnian International, who has netted nine goals in the last four league games, gave the guests the lead after 14 minutes with an unstoppable right footed shot from outside the box; going on to seal Wolves’ win by adding two more from headers in the second half, after Brazilian Grafite (the current Bundesliga top-scorer with 26 goals) had managed a brace to put the hosts 3-0 up. Dzeko’s amazing effort helped current leaders to stretch their lead over Bayern to two points, as the defending champions were held to a 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim. Wolfsburg will host Werder Bremen next weekend, and Dzeko is eager to keep on scoring more goals to help his side to win the title and win his personal battle with his teammate, Grafite, to be the competition top-scorer. Either way, should they manage three goals between them in the next match, they will break the all-time Bundesliga record and become the highest-scoring partnership ever in the competition with 54 goals (51 currently).
2) Simone Perrotta (M – Roma) v Catania 4-3 (H)
Simone Perrotta scored two goals and assisted one in Roma’s 4-3 home win against Catania last Saturday at the Olimpico. The Italian International’s brace against the Sicilians confirmed his great form, after scoring the previous weekend against Cagliari. Perrotta, who has bagged five goals this term in the league, seems to have overcome the physical problems that have undermined his performances this season, and now looks ready to contribute to his side’s qualification into next year’s European competitions. Perrotta gave his side the lead in the 13th minute with a header from Vucinic’s cross, before paying back the favour to his teammate with an assist for Roma’s second goal, before scoring his second goal of the day with a right footed shot from inside the box, on the 31st minute. Last Saturday Perrotta was at the heart of Roma’s play, with an impressive 89% passing accuracy (33 accurate passes out of 36), and his contribution was also crucial in the defensive part of the game with three good tackles and as many important clearances. Will Perrotta maintain his great form also next weekend at the San Siro against AC Milan?
3) Yoann Gourcuff (M – Bordeaux) v Le Mans 3-2 (H)
Bordeaux struggled to their ninth successive win in the league last Saturday, finally defeating Le Mans 3-2 thanks to an impressive team effort. Despite this, nobody can deny the crucial individual contribution offered by their midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, who proved once again to be the real leader of the Girondins. Gourcuff scored one goal with a powerful right footed volley from inside the box on the 45th minute, after assisting Chamakh’s header with a cross a few minutes earlier. The French International also impressed with 43 accurate passes from 50 during the game, also creating four important chances for his teammates. Gourcuff, who has already scored 12 goals and assisted 10 this season in the league, will certainly be at the middle of a dispute between Bordeaux and AC Milan next summer, as his loan with the French side comes to an end in June. Will he be able to repeat this year’s high standards in Serie A with the Rossoneri?