Harry Kane scored the opener at the near post from a corner kick for Bayern Munich in the first half of Der Klassiker vs. Borussia Dortmund, but he saved his best moment for last with a David Beckham-esque long ball to the left for Luis Diaz, which eventually led to Jobe Bellingham’s comedy of an error and Michael Olise’s sliding winner.
Bayern’s 2-1 win over Dortmund came as a result of a team effort, but, once again, Kane was a star performer, drawing six fouls and even making a crunching slide tackle near his own penalty box in the waning minutes of the match.
After Kane stepped up again for the Bavarian giants in their biggest home game of the Bundesliga season, let’s take stock of where the England international ranks among the Ballon d’Or candidates.
5. Barcelona RW Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal didn’t get to play the full 90 minutes against local rivals Girona, and the Blaugrana weren’t even winning at the time the Spanish international left the game.
But Yamal still had a strong performance with four dribbles completed and two key passes, and you can just see every time he touches the ball that he is the best out-and-out winger in world football.
4. Como AM Nico Paz
Nico Paz deserves all the praise in the world for what he is doing, carrying Como to European contention. The young playmaker is averaging a goal contribution per game and an insane 3.5 key passes per match.
3. Manchester City ST Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland has only failed to score in one of eight Premier League fixtures this season, and that was Manchester City‘s clean sheet loss to Tottenham Hotspur early in the campaign.
On Saturday, Haaland bagged a crucial brace in Man City’s 2-0 win over former teammate Jack Grealish’s Everton. Haaland is now up to 11 goals in 8 games and is the best pure goal-scorer in the Premier League.
2. Real Madrid ST Kylian Mbappe
But Kylian Mbappe has been even more impressive all around, and his return of nine goals in eight games is made all the more impressive when you take stock of his other numbers, which include an outrageous 3.4 dribbles completed and 2.6 key passes per game.
Those would be envious numbers for a creative winger or playmaker, let alone someone averaging more than a goal per game. He will face a stingy test on Sunday against local rivals Getafe.
1. Bayern Munich ST Harry Kane
Mbappe is so close, but how can anyone deny Harry Kane the top spot? With another vital goal for Bayern Munich against arch rivals Borussia Dortmund, the English superstar is now first in the European Golden Shoe race, edging past ex-Dortmund star Haaland again with 12 in fewer (7) games.
Kane is also much better all-around than Haaland with two key passes and about three combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game. What Kane is doing this season deserves even more attention. He is a living legend.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.