Player Focus: September All Star Team of the Month

With September now having come and gone there were a number of standout performances over the top 5 leagues during the last 30 days. Here we compile our team of the month with those with the best average WhoScored ratings since 1st September making the grade.

Those to perform consistently well over that time have been compiled in a 4-4-2 formation, with a few hot prospects in amongst some high profile names this month.

Goalkeeper

West Ham's Jussi Jaaskelainen came into September having had somewhat of a shocker at Swansea. The Finn managed to put the performance behind him, making what was a league high of 9 saves against Fulham before surpassing his own record the following week at Norwich, keeping out 10 shots from opponents. His heroics in those games have gone a long way to ensuring a WhoScored rating of 7.9 for the past month.

Defence

Our back four consists of a trio of youngsters playing beyond their years for their respective clubs, starting on the right with Wolfsburg's Fagner. The Brazilian made the switch from has homeland this summer, settling in superbly to make more tackles than any other player in September (35), as well as having the second most touches of any player in Europe in that time (485).

On the opposite flank is another prospect making a real name for himself, as Mattia De Sciglio has remained a bright spark in a pretty uninspiring start to the season for Milan. The 19-year old is primarily a right-sided full back but made 2 of his 3 appearances last month on the left, making the switch with consummate ease. It speaks volumes that the two games the teenager missed were the clubs two league defeats in September.

At the heart of our defence is Schalke's Kyriakos Papadopoulos, whose goal against Augsburg and WhoScored man of the match award later in the month against Mainz left him with an excellent 8.0 rating for September. With only 3 Bundesliga players winning more tackles than the Greek's 28, the 20-year old also ranks among the top 20 in the league for clearances, passes and pass accuracy.
 
Partnering the youngster at the back is the markedly more experienced Napoli centre-half Hugo Campagnaro. Part of a side that conceded just twice and kept 3 clean sheets in 5 matches during September, the Argentine has really shone in recent weeks, picking up the man of the match award against both Catania and, most recently, Sampdoria. Despite this, the 32-year old's best rating actually came sandwiched between those performances, with an assist helping him to a superb 8.49 rating against Lazio.

Midfield

Moving into the midfield the two wingers in our XI are the top rated players for September overall, and both ply their trade in the Bundesliga. We start with Bayern's Thomas Müller, whose average rating of 8.7 last month was the best in Europe. That much is hardly surprising given the fact that he has netted 3 goals, picked up 4 assists and two man of the match awards for his troubles as he continues to prove undroppable in the league to Jupp Heynckes.

On the left is a far lesser known name, with Hungarian Szabolcs Huszti making a remarkable impact since joining Hannover from Zenit in the summer. On his full debut he assisted all 4 of his side's goals in a rout at Wolfsburg before adding his first goals for the club with a brace against Werder Bremen the week after. His rather controversial dismissal for celebrating the winner in that match saw him sorely missed in Hannover's next league match at Hoffenheim. He came back into the side to score and assist a further two goals against Nurnberg, leaving him with 3 goals and a remarkable 7 assists in 4 league appearances last month.

Another German representative makes his way into a Bundesliga-heavy midfield, with Bayern's Toni Kroos starting the season in fine form. Indeed, only the aforementioned Huszti made more key passes in Europe during September than the 22-year old's 17, though unlike the Hungarian he is yet to be rewarded with an assist. However, he did net in 4 consecutive matches in all competitions for his club, though his purple patch has hit a little snag in recent weeks.

Taking his place alongside the German is Lazio's Hernanes, though the Brazilian's form has dropped in a similar manner to Kroos' over the last two matches. Despite this, his rating averages out to 8.1 over the month after the playmaker began September with an assist against Palermo and backed it up with a brace away at Cheivo. Ranking in the top 10 for shots (3.7), key passes (2.7) and dribbles (2.5) in Serie A, it is easy to see why his the top rated player by WhoScored in Italy right now (8.12).

Attack

Our strike partnership is formidable to say the least, starting with Lionel Messi, whose tally of two league goals in the month of September is meagre for his other-worldly standards. It is even more remarkable that those goals came from the bench against Getafe, though a further 3 assists, two of which came in the recent win at Sevilla and earned him a man of the match award, helped him to an average rating of 8.2.

Completing our line-up is Messi's former Barca teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic who, without discrediting the French league, has taken to Ligue 1 with the ease that most had predicted. With 7 goals in 6 leagues games, 5 of said tally came in September, including a crucial brace in the 2-1 win over Lille. With 3 man of the match displays over that period he is the top rated player in Ligue 1 by some margin and with an average rating of 8.2 in September he is only just getting started.