1. Yuya Osako (FC Cologne): This is the third consecutive month this season that the attacking midfielder is among the list of top 5 players in Europe. Osako achieved this feat thanks to his great performance against league leaders, Bayern Munich, despite Cologne’s loss.
Overall, Osako played 2 games in March and earned a rating of 7.61. His passing ratio stands at 71%, a drastic improvement from the previous months.
Osako completed 2 key passes, won 2 dribbles and 7 offensive aerials for his side. The 26-year-old also made a last-ditch challenge off the line to save a goal for Cologne.
Full ranking of top 10 Asian players in Europe in March 2017:
1. Yuya Osako (Japan/FC Cologne) – 7.61
2. Hiroki Sakai (Japan/Marseille) – 7.31
3. Mathew Leckie (Australia/Ingolstadt) – 7.28
4. Milad Mohammadi (Iran/Terek Grozny) – 7.09
5. Maya Yoshida (Japan/Southampton) – 7.08
6. Vitaliy Denisov (Uzbekistan/Lokomotiv Moscow) – 7.05
7. Sardar Azmoun (Iran/FC Rostov) – 7.02
8. Shinji Okazaki (Japan/Leicester City) – 6.92
9. Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Iran/AZ Alkmaar) – 6.88
10. Yuki Kobayashi (Japan/SC Heerenveen) – 6.86