Leicester and Riyad Mahrez lead AP Global Football 10
LONDON (AP) - Leicester and its playmaker Riyad Mahrez took leading honors in the Associated Press Global Football 10 on Tuesday after two Premier League wins in a week against Liverpool and Manchester City.
The 3-1 victory over City, where Mahrez scored the second goal, opened up a shock five-point lead for Leicester atop the English standings. It followed a 2-0 win at home to Liverpool last Tuesday.
"What Leicester does must give hope to fans of smaller clubs all over the world," Francois Colin of De Standaard in Belgium said. "It is the biggest surprise in football of the 21st century."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was runner up in the player poll after continuing his fine form by opening the scoring in Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 win against Marseille in Ligue 1.
Luis Suarez is third after scoring five goals in two matches.
He hit four in his side's 7-0 thrashing of Valencia before notching the second in the last minute of the 2-0 win against Levante.
"Luis Suarez put Valencia to the sword with four goals in the Copa del Rey in midweek and then struck late at the weekend to seal victory for Barcelona against Levante and keep them in control of the title race," Umaid Wasim of Dawn Newspaper in Pakistan said.
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy is fourth for spearheading his side's win against Liverpool with two goals.
Gonzalo Higuain takes fifth after his penalty against Carpi handed Napoli a 1-0 win which kept it top of Serie A.
Robert Huth, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Juan Cuadrado complete the top 10 players of the week.
In the team vote, Barcelona is second to Leicester after beating Levante 2-0 to move three points clear at the summit of the Spanish league with a game in hand on second-place Atletico Madrid.
"Yes, Barcelona is the best club in Europe and the world right now, but Leicester City is clearly the best story right now," Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in the United States said.
Juventus polls third for extending its winning run in Serie A to 14 games with a 2-0 win at Frosinone.
Napoli is fourth, after its win at Carpi kept it above Juventus in the Italian league. The two sides meet on Sunday.
PSG polls fifth for its win against Marseille.
Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen complete the top 10 teams of the week.
___
Associated Press Global Football 10:
Players:
1.Riyad Mahrez, 86 points.
2.Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 76.
3.Luis Suarez, 65.
4.Jamie Vardy, 64.
5.Gonzalo Higuain, 60.
6.Robert Huth, 58.
7.Paulo Dybala, 54.
8.Lionel Messi, 46.
9.Luka Modric, 39.
10.Juan Cuadrado, 29.
Teams:
1.Leicester, 98.
2.Barcelona, 72.
3.Juventus, 65.
4.Napoli, 62.
5.Paris Saint-Germain, 59.
6.Tottenham, 50.
7.Atletico Madrid, 46.
8.Roma, 37.
9.Borussia Moenchengladbach, 34.
10.Bayer Leverkusen, 27.