NOMINEES FOR EUROPEAN PLAYER OF THE MONTH KARIM BENZEMA (Real Madrid) The Real Madrid juggernaut continued apace in February; an undefeated month that brought six wins, one draw and 22 goals for Los Blancos. Five of those were scored by Karim Benzema, a victim of the Bernabeu boo-boys earlier this season but now a firm favourite among the Madrid faithful. His February was punctuated by a superb display against Schalke in the Champions League last-16, as he claimed two goals and an assist. As Cox notes, Benzema may be in his best spell at Real Madrid -- the 4-3-3 seems to suit him nicely, and hes helped Bale and Ronaldo shine. ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC (Paris Saint-Germain) The man, the enigma -- Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoyed another spectacular month in February, leading PSGs charge at home and abroad. Its not just about Zlatans goals -- though eight in five games should not be sniffed at -- as his very presence lifts the team time after time. He is as unstoppable as ever, Brewin says. His two goals in Germany led the destruction of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, and he followed that with a hat trick at Toulouse that pulled out victory for PSG. Marcotti echoed the love for Zlatan, adding: He banged in goals, helped PSG navigate past the tricky Monaco game and crushed Leverkusen. His second goal against Bayer alone -- a thunderblaster if ever there was one -- means the Swede is a worthy candidate indeed. DANIEL STURRIDGE (Liverpool) Luis Suarezs goals may have begun to dry up over the past month but Daniel Sturridge has ensured that Liverpool havent been too adversely affected by the Uruguayans February drought. The Reds may have been knocked out of the FA Cup, but their surprise Premier League title charge shows no signs of slowing and Sturridges five strikes in four games have been invaluable to the clubs efforts. Cox lauds how Sturridge continually gets into the right positions, while Brewin says: Werent Liverpool supposed to slow down once Luis Suarez stopping scoring? Not a bit of it, Sturridge has taken the Reds on to the shoulder of the title challengers. He ended February having scored in his last eight Premier League games. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Philipp Lahm -- A perfect month for Bayern Munich, in which they won all five matches without conceding a goal. The key to the 2-0 win over Arsenal was skipper Lahms switch from full-back to his now habitual anchorman role. In either position, Lahm is one of the worlds best. Carlos Tevez -- Juventus have had a few hiccups in terms of performance (rather than results) but Tevez is the guy who gets them out of it. No longer just a talented individual in Antonio Contes machine, hes now a key component. Eden Hazard -- Superb in the crucial 1-0 win at Man City, and his hat trick against Newcastle was one of the best individual displays in the Premier League this season. Who do you pick?
Posted on: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 09:22:15 +0000
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