LONDON (AP) - Neymar took player of the week honors in The Associated Press Global Football 10 on Tuesday after scoring four goals in one game for Barcelona.
With Lionel Messi out injured, the Brazil striker led his side to a 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. The first two of his goals came from the penalty spot in the first half. The next two came in as many minutes to keep his team level on points with Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the top of the Spanish league.
“Messi. Messi who? In the absence of the little maestro, Neymar finds his form and even if two of them were penalties, the Brazilian gives the Barcelona faithful something to smile about as he scores four in a row,” said Peter auf der Hyde, author and lecturer at Southampton Solent University in England.
Raheem Sterling was second in the poll after his first-half hat trick for Manchester City guided the Premier League leaders to a 5-1 rout over Bournemouth.
Georginio Wijnaldum also scored four times to lead Newcastle to a 6-2 victory over Norwich, the team’s first win in the Premier League this season. He entered the poll for the first time this season in third.
“Netherlands international Georginio Wijnaldum was an absolute assassin in front of goal as Newcastle demolished Norwich 6-2 and was one of the few Dutch players who can hold his head high at present after their Euro 2016 qualification debacle,” Jonathan Johnson of BeIN Sports USA in France said.
Max Kruse was fourth and Cristiano Ronaldo was fifth. Thomas Mueller, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wilfried Bony, Gonzalo Higuain and Alexis Sanchez rounded out the top 10 players of the week.
Bayern Munich was first in the team vote after beating Werder Bremen 1-0 for its ninth straight victory to start the Bundesliga season.
“Bayern Munich’s win may not have been as forceful as some of the other clubs’ wins, but their body of work all season long remains the best of everybody,” Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said.
Manchester City was second after beating Bournemouth, while Barcelona was third, Napoli fourth and Madrid fifth. Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Newcastle and Celta Vigo complete the top 10.
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AP Global Football 10:
Players
1.Neymar, 123 points.
2.Raheem Sterling, 101.
3.Georginio Wijnaldum, 96.
4.Max Kruse, 59.
5.Cristiano Ronaldo, 55.
6.Thomas Mueller, 48.
7.Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 46.
8.Wilfried Bony, 39.
9.Gonzalo Higuain, 29.
10.Alexis Sanchez, 23.
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Teams
1.Bayern Munich, 98 points.
2.Manchester City, 91.
3.Barcelona, 80.
4.Napoli, 63.
5.Real Madrid, 52.
6.Manchester United, 50.
7.Paris Saint-Germain, 41.
8.Arsenal, 40.
9.Newcastle, 39.
10.Celta Vigo, 36.
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