Paul Wilkes assesses the top dogs from December across Europe's top five divisions...
Samir Handanovic (Inter)
Roberto Mancini's Inter headed into the winter break top of Serie A, with their defensive resilience the main reason behind their improvement this season. Handanovic has certainly helped with another three clean sheets last month taking his total to 11 in 17 league matches.
The Serbian shot-stopper was beaten just twice in December, as Lazio's Antonio Candreva scored a brace in their 2-1 win over Inter. Handanovic did save a penalty from the winger (because that’s just what he does), but the rebound fell straight for Candreva to grab the winner.
Genoa, Udinese and Cagliari were all denied in the Coppa Italia thanks to a combination of his technique and organisational skills. His agent Federico Pastorello recently revealed that Manchester United had been interested in the goalkeeper during the summer.
Serge Aurier (PSG)
The 23-year-old right-back missed four matches in November, but returned as though he’d never been away to help PSG extend their lead in Ligue 1 to 19 points at the midway stage. He scored in the emphatic 5-1 victory over Lyon and impressed in games against Nice, Angers and Caen.
Aurier displayed his defensive qualities against Caen, completing four out of his five attempted tackles and making five interceptions in his own half, while against Lyon he completed three take-ons to go with his third goal of the season.
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The defender is the only player in France to be in the top five for both tackles and interceptions, which illustrates his exceptional positioning and ability to recover when caught in transition after helping the team attack.
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
The long-term Chelsea target has helped Atletico Madrid concede just eight goals in 17 matches this term, which is the best defensive record in La Liga by a distance. Only Barcelona have defeated them on home turf.
Godin commands the Vicente Calderon with his physical presence and exceptional aerial skills – the Uruguayan made 11 ball recoveries against Athletic Bilbao and eight clearances against Malaga, and scored his first goal of the season in the 2-0 win over Granada.
His reading of the game means that he makes few tackles for a centre-back – the defender has the eighth-highest tackle rate in the squad.
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
After a terrible start to 2015/16, Juventus have recovered thanks to the league’s unpredictability at the top and their own incredible uplift in form.
It’s now nine wins in the last 11 matches in all competitions for the Old Lady, and their Italian centre-half has helped organise the defence excellently. Manager Max Allegri has shifted once again to a back three and Chiellini has proved important.
In matches against Fiorentina and Carpi he made the second-highest number of attacking-third passes, which is extraordinary for a central defender. He regularly looks for his left-wing-back Patrice Evra and midfielder Paul Pogba, who finds space in behind the opposing defence on the left flank. As a former full-back himself, Chiellini is comfortable when dragged into wide areas.
Alex Telles (Inter Milan)
The young Brazilian has deputised superbly at left-back for his compatriot Juan Jesus, who has missed a number of matches through injury. On loan from Galatasaray for the season, Telles has adapted to Serie A easily and will surely be signed permanently next summer.
He impressed most in the recent defeat to Lazio, where he recovered the ball 12 times, made four tackles and three interceptions. In an attacking sense, he made more final-third passes than anyone else and only Lazio winger Felipe Anderson completed more take-ons.
Telles has been a steady performer when called upon and, unlike many full-backs, is more than adequate in central areas.
N'Golo Kante (Leicester)
The French midfielder has been immense since signing from Caen in the summer and must now surely be a late contender for Didier Deschamps' European Championship squad.
With all the hype surrounding Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez at Leicester, Kante's performances haven’t quite got the high praise they deserve but his all-round midfield contributions will be hard to ignore.
His defining display was in Jose Mourinho's final game for Chelsea, as he recovered the ball 11 times and made seven tackles, then just five days later at Goodison Park completed another four tackles and six interceptions.
His passing can certainly be improved, although his completion rate suffers from his willingness to take risks and release his team-mates quickly on the counter-attack.
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla)
The Poland international’s shielding capability in front of the back four ensured that Unai Emery’s men conceded only one goal in the four matches that he played, and kept clean sheets in games with Juventus, Sporting Gijon and the derby with Real Betis.
Krychowiak has the highest interception rate in Spain this season, and doesn’t shirk tackles with his no-nonsense approach. He eases the pressure on his centre-backs through his superb aerial ability and likes to play direct passes towards his wingers along with the usual recycling of possession you expect of a holding midfielder.
He will no doubt be linked with a move to the Premier League in the next month, but Sevilla should be able to retain his services until at least the summer.
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)
After an outstanding start to the season the winger has been consistently brilliant throughout, and his goalscoring prowess has been potent in December. Mahrez scored a hat-trick against Swansea, netted a quality individual strike against Chelsea and assisted another, before adding two penalties at Everton (one which he set up with a terrific through ball).
It's not just his ability to put the ball in the back of the net that has attracted admiring glances from some big clubs: his dribbling flair and incisive passes have provided Leicester with a real cutting edge.
No one expects the club to continue in the same fashion, although they have survived a difficult run of games relatively intact so far. If Mahrez stays in this kind of form it's not entirely impossible.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Borussia Dortmund)
The Armenian playmaker has excelled in the last month with two goals and three assists. He followed his man-of-the-match display against Stuttgart at the end of November with another against Wolfsburg.
Under the guidance of Thomas Tuchel, Mkhitaryan has been top class from one of the wide positions for Borussia Dortmund and emphasised his adaptability once again.
He was mainly deployed as a No.10 by former coach Jurgen Klopp, although he did play in a variety of positions for the now-Liverpool boss. At old club Shakhtar Donetsk he even occupied the deep-lying playmaker role, which shows he can pass, dribble, attack and defend equally well.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
It hasn't been a vintage year for Cristiano, but the fact he has still scored 36 league goals during 2015 – more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues – shows that he's competing against his own impeccable standards.
The Portuguese forward has nine goals in his last five matches, including four in the 8-0 destruction of Malmo in the Champions League.
There are continuous reports of disagreements between him and manager Rafa Benitez, but the goals have still flowed – Real Madrid put another 10 past Rayo Vallecano.
Ronaldo might not be at the Bernabeu next season, as the player and club mutually believe that the time might be right for a change, but he will still maintain his professionalism on the pitch throughout.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Benzema has put his personal problems behind him to score eight goals in all competitions to end the year on a relative high given the circumstances.
Despite his exceptional scoring record with los Blancos he’s consistently linked with a move away from Madrid, but the 28-year-old continues to defy the non-believers and demonstrate that he’s the complete mobile striker.
His link-up play and deadly finishing demonstrate that he’s a valuable cog in Benitez’s machine, though his off-field antics mean that his future is far from certain.
The former Lyon forward’s selfless running creates space for the other superstars in the frontline, and he’s quick to acknowledge his team-mates’ involvement when celebrating a goal.
