Bayern Munich remains at top of AP Global Football 10
LONDON (AP) - Bayern Munich remained at the top of the Associated Press Global Football 10 on Tuesday following a 6-0 rout over Bundesliga rival Paderborn.
Bayern, which initially struggled after returning to action at the end of January, also beat Hamburg 8-0 a week earlier.
"Bayern came back slowly from the winter break, but has returned to its usual pace," Leonardo Bertozzi of ESPN in Brazil said. "With (Robert) Lewandowski and (Arjen) Robben unstoppable, the team of (Pep) Guardiola ran over Paderborn."
Premier League champion Manchester City was second after beating Newcastle 5-0, while Malaga ended up third after ending Barcelona's 11-game winning run with a 1-0 win at the Nou Camp.
Real Madrid, which is fourth, took advantage of Barcelona's loss by beating Elche 2-0 to move four points clear at the top of the Spanish league. Wolfsburg is fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 is Atletico Madrid in sixth, Juventus and Liverpool tied for seventh, Paris Saint-Germain in ninth and Swansea in 10th.
Bas Dost, last week's runner-up in the player poll, was first this time after scoring both goals in Wolfsburg's 2-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach, keeping his team eight points behind Bayern.
It's the second time in two weeks that Dost has produced a match-winning performance. He scored four times in his team's 5-4 victory at Bayer Leverkusen.
"Dost is a man on fire, almost singlehandedly keeping Wolfsburg within touching distance of Bayern," Shintaro Kano of Kyodo news agency in Japan said. "Unfortunately for Wolfsburg, he may not be at the club beyond this season at this rate."
David Silva also scored two goals for Man City and is second, followed by Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo in third.
Pirlo scored the decisive goal as his team beat Atalanta 2-1 on Friday.
"Just when Atalanta were making things heated for Juventus, Andrea Pirlo reminded us why people keep calling him 'the Italian maestro,'" Aurelio Capaldi of RAI Sport in Italy said. "He allowed Juve to have a nine-point distance from second-place Roma in Serie A."
Cristiano Ronaldo scored Madrid's second goal in the win at Elche and is fourth, while Arjen Robben is the highest-ranked Munich player in fifth.
Also in the top 10 are: Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann; Bayern forward Robert Lewandowski; Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho; Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot; and Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
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AP Global Football 10:
Players:
1. Bas Dost, 93 points.
2. David Silva, 88.
3. Andrea Pirlo, 70.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo, 68.
5. Arjen Robben, 65.
6. Antoine Griezmann, 62.
7. Robert Lewandowski, 52.
8. Philippe Coutinho, 38.
9. Adrien Rabiot, 35.
10. Thibaut Courtois, 18.
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Team:
1. Bayern Munich, 104 points.
2. Manchester City, 86.
3. Malaga, 68.
4. Real Madrid, 54.
5. Wolfsburg, 52.
6. Atletico Madrid, 51.
7. Juventus, 48.
(tie) Liverpool, 48.
9. Paris Saint-Germain, 29.
10. Swansea, 25.