Ballon d’Or Power Ranking – March 2020
An exciting month of February is now behind us and there were a lot of amazing performances. We are heading towards the business end of the football season and every team is looking to do their best in the final push to achieve these goals.
Lionel Messi picked up the 2019 Ballon d’Or award and now the focus of every top star is on the 2020 Ballon d’Or! Some of them have already set the tone and are doing all they can one month at a time to get their hands on the trophy in December 2020.
Here are the Ballon d’Or Power Ranking for the month of March 2020:
#10 Erling Braut Håland
After a blistering start to life in the Bundesliga, Haaland has cooled off slightly. The Norwegian managed just two goals in four Bundesliga appearances in February, but more than made up for it in the Champions League, where he netted a brace against Paris Saint-Germain to give Dortmund a crucial first-leg lead.
#9 Josip Iličić
Ilicic has been an integral part of an Atalanta side that has netted a Serie A-best 70 goals this season. Ilicic found the net just once in the league in February, in a 2-2 draw against Genoa, but he played an important role in their victories against Roma and Fiorentina. Ilicic also guided Atalanta to a 4-1 victory over Valencia in the UCL R16, netting once.
#8 Serge Gnabry
Serge Gnabry has flourished ever since joining Bayern Munich in 2017. He’s gone from strength to strength and has been one of their best players this season.
Gnabry had a particularly fruitful month of February, scoring in victories over Koln, Hoffenheim and Paderborn to take his tally to 11 goals. He also put Chelsea to the sword in the Champions League, netting twice at Stamford Bridge to all but secure Bayern’s spot in the quarterfinals.
#7 Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah was not at his sharpest in February, but he still managed to find the back of the net three times in four league games for Liverpool. However, the Egyptian was a no-show in the Reds’ UCL encounter against Atletico, resulting in him dropping four spots in this month’s Power Ranking.
#6 Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski started the season in scintillating form and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. The Pole netted seven times in six games in all competitions for Bayern in February, including crucial goals against Chelsea in the UCL and Hoffenheim in the DFB Pokal.
His goals also ensured Bayern won four of five league games in February, strengthening their grip on yet another Bundesliga crown.
#5 Kevin de Bruyne
When fit, Kevin de Bruyne is arguably one of the greatest midfielders on the planet and he proved just that in Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League, scoring and assisting a goal. He also found the net and provided another assist in City’s 2-0 victory over West Ham, taking his tally to a league-leading 17 assists for the season.
If the Belgian can inspire City to a Champions League crown, he will undoubtedly break into the top three on this list.
#4 Lionel Messi
Messi was far from his best in February, but still managed to score four goals and provide six assists in just four league games, taking his tally for the season to 18 goals and 12 assists. All four of his goals came in a scintillating performance against Eibar, but the Argentine failed to net in any of Barcelona’s remaining games in February.
He also failed to make an impact in their Champions League clash against Napoli – which ended 1-1 – and will hope to inspire the Catalans to victory in the second leg and help strengthen his case for a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or crown in the process.
#3 Ciro Immobile
There has been no stopping Ciro Immobile this season. He’s spearheaded a Lazio attack that’s scored 60 goals thus far, and is a frontrunner for the Capocannoniere award. Immobile netted in wins over Spal, Genoa and Inter in February, taking his tally to 27 goals in 26 games this season and leading Lazio to the top of the Serie A.
#2 Virgil van Dijk
The leader of Liverpool’s backline, Virgil van Dijk ensured the Reds tightened their grip on the Premier League title with stellar performances against Southampton and Norwich to begin the month of February. Although Liverpool ended up conceding in three games straight following their victory against Norwich, Van Dijk has continued performing at a high level and maintains his second spot in the Ballon d’Or Power Rankings.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has his sights set on a sixth Ballon d’Or crown, which would draw him level to Lionel Messi once again. Despite Juventus’ struggles this season, Ronaldo has been on an absolute tear. The Portuguese scored twice in a win against Fiorentina and followed it up with goals against Hellas Verona and Spal to extend his phenomenal goal-scoring streak to 10 games on the trot.
He also found the net in Juventus’ 1-1 draw with Milan in the Coppa Italia and will have the opportunity to cement top spot on this list if he can lead the Old Lady to a comeback victory against Lyon in the Champions League, having lost the first leg 1-0 in France.
