90min's Definitive European Player Power Rankings 2020/21: Week 10
By Tom Gott
December is always a fun time in the football calendar. Fixtures start coming thick and fast, and that just means more chances for the game's top players to steal the show.
This week brought us the final matchday of the Champions League group stage, and as you'd expect, there was no shortage of drama, controversy and excitement - and that means plenty of great performances to rank.
You know the drill: we at 90min rank Europe's top 15 players using quotes from a year of cinema history. This week, it's over to 2010.
15. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Re-Entry)
“Gentlemen, the only way to achieve the impossible, is to believe it's possible.” (Alice in Wonderland)
Talk of Everton winning the title has died down a lot recently, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin obviously still believes.
He netted his side's only goal in the recent 1-1 draw with Burnley, taking his tally to 11 in 11 games.
14. Mohamed Salah (New Entry)
“I'm like a peacock, you gotta let me fly!” (The Other Guys)
Salah was flying in Liverpool's 4-0 win over Wolves, stealing the show with a goal and an assist.
The Egyptian ended the week with another goal and another 90 minutes under his belt in the 1-1 draw with Midtjylland.
13. James Ward-Prowse (Up 2)
"I was carrying and reading the book everyday, got so caught up in protecting it, I forgot to live by what I'd learnt from it
."
"And what's that?"
"To do more for others than you do for yourself.” (The Book of Eli)
Ward-Prowse took a break from scoring free kicks this week and instead settled for an assist.
His corner allowed Jannik Vestergaard to head home an equaliser in the 2-1 win over Brighton, giving Southampton the platform they needed to get back into the game.
12. Steven Berghuis (Down 1)
"I don't think bad wiring is the problem here." (Insidious)
After an electric start to the season, Berghuis is now without a goal in his last four games.
Unsurprisingly, Feyenoord's results have taken a tumble at the same time, and they're without a win in their last five.
11. Kylian Mbappe (Re-Entry)
“He's brave, like a cowboy should be. And kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special, is he'll never give up on you... ever.” (Toy Story 3)
Footballing success aside, credit to Kylian Mbappe for voicing his support for Pierre Webo amid the racism allegations from Istanbul Basaksehir. Good man.
He stood by the Turkish side... but also put two goals and an assist past them in PSG's 5-1 win.
10. Joao Felix (Down 6)
“I'm very much afraid, sir, that your greatest test is yet to come.” (The King's Speech)
After a red-hot few weeks, Felix took a step back this week, although it wasn't entirely hit fault.
He was rested for Atletico Madrid's 2-0 win over Real Valladolid and was then kicked from pillar to post against Salzburg. A rough week for Felix, but at least Atleti kept on strong.
9. James Tavernier (Up 3)
"Don't worry. The moon is as good as ours." (Despicable Me)
Tavernier is shooting for the stars this season...literally.
The Rangers right-back bagged a goal and two assists this week to continue his ridiculous goalscoring rate in Scotland. He now sits on 16 goals and 12 assists in just 26 games, and he's a defender!
8. Romelu Lukaku (Down 1)
"Sometimes the things you want the most don't happen and what you least expect happens." (Love & Other Drugs)
Crashing out of the Champions League so early probably wasn't in Lukaku's plans for this season.
He was powerless to do anything about Inter's 0-0 draw with Shakhtar (well, maybe not considering he blocked his teammate's goal-bound header), but he did at least manage to get on the scoresheet against Bologna.
7. Thomas Muller (Up 3)
"I'm the one who's fighting. Not you, not you, and not you." (The Fighter)
So often a sidekick, Muller took centre stage this week as he saved Bayern Munich from defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig.
The assist king popped up with two goals this week to salvage a point from the Bundesliga leaders, who were uncharacteristically shaky.
6. Robert Lewandowski (Down 5)
“Life can be difficult sometimes, it gets bumpy. What with family and kids and things not going exactly like you planned. But that's what makes it interesting.” (Grown Ups)
You won't find many weeks in which Bayern score five goals and Lewandowski isn't involved in any of them.
He drew a blank against Leipzig before being rested for the 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow.
5. Pedro Goncalves (Up 4)
“What is, and always will be my greatest creation, is you.” (Iron Man 2)
Sporting's greatest decision was to bring in Goncalves from Familicao this summer.
The 22-year-old midfielder netted his tenth goal in his last six league games in a 2-2 draw with his former employers, and he's currently three clear at the top of Liga NOS' scoring charts.
4. Bruno Fernandes (Up 4)
“Well, that's their own stupidity, I should have been there. Well, darkness is the absence of light, and the stupidity in that instance was the absence of me.” (The Social Network)
The absence of Bruno Fernandes made Manchester United look pretty stupid against West Ham.
The Red Devils could have been five or six down by the time Fernandes came off the bench at half-time, but the midfielder completely transformed the game.
He created a league-high eight chances in the game and walked away with an assist, and he only played 45 minutes!
3. Son Heung-min (Up 2)
"Such a beautiful place, to be with friends. Dobby is happy to be with his friend, Harry Potter." (Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - Part 1)
Son is happy to be with his friend, Harry Kane.
The pair combined to put Arsenal to the sword this week, with Son's early opener - a sweet curler from distance - deservedly stealing the headlines.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Up 1)
“Which would be worse? To live as a monster, or to die as a good man?” (Shutter Island)
Ronaldo was back in Spain this week to take on Barcelona, and he picked up exactly where he left off.
He put in a monster performance as he netted twice in a 3-0 win for Juventus which earned his side the top spot in their European group at Barcelona's expense.
1. Harry Kane (Up 1)
“They say we only use a fraction of our brain's true potential. Now that's when we're awake. When we're asleep, we can do almost anything.” (Inception)
After a week away from the top spot, Kane has once again reclaimed his throne by proving there is nothing he cannot do.
The Spurs star ended the 2-0 win over Arsenal with a goal and an assist (as per), and then he chimed in with an assist just 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute against Royal Antwerp.
That's just a standard week for Kane these days.