Manchester United star Paul Pogba considered the joint-best defensive midfielder in the world

Manchester United‘s record signing Paul Pogba is the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League and the joint-best in the world.

That’s according to CIES Football Observatory who have ranked the best players across the top five leagues in football.

Pogba tops the list alongside Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara even though the French international is not seen as a defensive midfielder.

Pogba has played mostly in a central midfielder position at United since returning in the summer as he is expected to be a key provider in Jose Mourinho’s side.

The 23-year-old has hit his stride in recent months after a stop-start beginning and has created 37 chances in the Premier League.

Despite his obvious attacking abilities, CIES rank him in the defensive midfield section despite having attacking midfield rankings.

Pogba pips club team-mate Ander Herrera to top spot by just a point who has been taking on a more defensive role under Mourinho.

And just to top it all off, Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson ranks above Chelsea star N’Golo Kante.

CIES’ rankings are based on players who have played 900 league minutes for their club.

The statistics suggest that Pep Guardiola has never faced a greater challenge than with Manchester City in the Premier League

The statistics suggest that Pep Guardiola has never faced a greater challenge than with Manchester City in the Premier League

"I hear a lot of times about the intensity of the Premier League, when none of you have been in La Liga or the Bundesliga to know how it is," Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said after the 1-1 draw with Everton in October.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager continually insists that City is not the hardest job he has ever had in football. But that draw with Everton was near the start of a run that has seen his side pick up just 12 points from their past nine games to leave them trailing leaders Chelsea by seven points.

Since Champions League progression was secured with a 1-1 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach last month, City have pieced together a scrappy 2-1 win at newly promoted Burnley, been beaten 3-1 at home by Chelsea and been embarrassed 4-2 at Leicester City, who had won just one of their nine previous matches.

Here are some statistics to suggest that Guardiola never had it as tough in his previous jobs, despite his insistence that his time in Spain and Germany was just as hard.

Worse start to a season

Guardiola has never had a worse start to a league campaign. City have taken 30 points from their first 15 games. His previous worst tally at this stage was in his final season at Barcelona, when he had 34 points. Never in his previous seven seasons of management had his side lost three games after just 15 games. On four occasions his team had lost once; three times they were still unbeaten.

Coming from behind

In five of his previous seven seasons of management, Guardiola's side were top of the table at this stage and were destined to remain there for the rest of the season. In 2009-10, Barcelona led after 15 matches but were briefly knocked off the top by Manuel Pellegrini's Real Madrid before going on to win the title. Two seasons later, Jose Mourinho's Madrid won La Liga -- the only time Guardiola has not finished top. He has never been lower than second at this stage.

Clean sheets

"After four minutes 2-0 against a team, it was complicated," Guardiola said after the humbling 4-2 defeat to Leicester on Saturday. His side have kept just two clean sheets this season, which is in stark contrast to his times at Barca and Bayern. His previous worst record for clean sheets from the first 15 games was in his first season at the Nou Camp, when Barca didn't concede in seven of their opening matches. In his second season at Bayern, they managed 12 clean sheets from their first 15 games; indeed they only conceded 18 goals that entire season -- one fewer than City have let in already this campaign.

Winning record

Guardiola's winning record in the Premier League stands at 53.33 percent, which is way down on his 76.32 percent average with Barcelona and 80.39 percent with Bayern. But it's not just in the Premier League where he is having problems. City's fourth-round exit from the EFL Cup was only the second time he had exited a cup competition before the semifinals as a manager -- the previous time was the defeat to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey round of 16 in 2010. In the Champions League, it was the first time a Guardiola side had not finished top of their group and just the second time they won only three of their six group games.

Discipline problems

Players being sent off and suspended has been a bigger problem at the Etihad than at any other time in Guardiola's managerial career. City have had five players sent off this season in all competitions, while Sergio Aguero was also given a retrospective red card for an elbow on West Ham defender Winston Reid. In his entire three years at Bayern, they only picked up seven red cards; while his worst season for discipline at Barcelona, in 2008-09, they had seven players sent off from 62 games. Guardiola can also ill afford to have Aguero banned for seven games. Before he began his latest suspension against Leicester, he had scored exactly a third of City's Premier League goals: 10 of 30.

Goalkeeping concerns

Much has been made of the decision to sign Claudio Bravo for his footballing skills, but his goalkeeping is not what Guardiola is used to. The Chile international has conceded 21 goals this season and made just 35 saves, giving him a save percentage of 62.5 percent. At Bayern, Germany keeper Manuel Neuer averaged a save percentage of 79.6 in his final season; his worst season, in 2014-15, included an average of 74.4 percent. Even in Guardiola's final season at the Camp Nou, when Victor Valdes conceded 39 goals, his save percentage was 67.8.

Goal ratio

"In all those three games, we were much, much better than our opponents. Now we have to talk and analyse, and it is a problem in the box, but we will improve," Guardiola said after the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on Nov. 5 -- a third successive home draw at the Etihad. The statistics concur they have a problem, with City creating 296 chances this season for their 52 goals, at an average of a goal every 5.7 chances. That's worse than any season, apart from his last with Bayern -- 6.3 chances per goal -- but he at least had the consolation of seeing his side creating more chances than any other campaign and scoring 122 goals

Champions League and Europa League draw: This is who English teams could face

The Gunners could face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid despite beating the odds to finish first in their group.

Usually, topping your group is the best way to avoid facing a nightmare draw because you cannot face another group winner in the last 16.

But holders Real and German champions Bayern both finished second, meaning they could play Arsene Wenger’s men.

Arsenal could also be drawn against Europa League winners Sevilla – but a kinder draw would pit them against Porto, Benfica or Bayer Leverkusen.

The one big plus for Arsenal is that as group winners they are seeded and will play the second leg of their tie at home, which is usually an advantage.

Manchester City will avoid the likes of Real, Bayern and Barcelona but could still face tough opposition.

Last year’s runners-up Atletico Madrid and Italian giants Juventus are both potential opponents, along with Napoli, Monaco and Borussia Dortmund.

And it doesn’t get any easier for Leicester either despite them topping their group.

Claudio Ranieri’s men could face Real, Bayern, Sevilla, Paris St-Germain, Benfica or Bayer Leverkusen.
No team can be drawn against an opponent from their own country, or an opponent from the group stage.
All three teams will learn their fate from 11am on Monday when the draw begins in Nyon, Switzerland.
The first legs will take place on February 14/15 and 21/22, with the return legs on March 7/8 and 14/15.

Who will Manchester United and Tottenham draw in the Europa League?

Manchester United and Spurs will also learn their opponents in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Spurs are seeded having dropped out of the Champions League and will play the first leg on February 16 away. They could face the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach or Villarreal.
United are unseeded and could be drawn against the likes of Ajax, Roma, Schalke or Besiktas. The second legs will be played on February 23, which is just before United’s possible EFL Cup Final date should they beat Hull in the semis.

Chelsea take top spot in Power Rankings, Juventus up to third, City drop out

For the second consecutive week, Chelsea fell behind vs. a top team and fought back for an impressive win.

1. Chelsea (+1)

Will Antonio Conte's side ever lose another game? Of course they will, but for now the Blues are rolling through opponents with ease. Last weekend saw another master class against a top opponent as they fell behind at Man City but rallied for three slick goals to take all three points and cement their position at the top of the Premier League. Rivals, beware.

2. Real Madrid (-1)

Zinedine Zidane's side stumbled a little in the past week but are still well on course for their La Liga and Champions League objectives. A strong showing in Saturday's Clasico saw them grab a dramatic late 1-1 draw thanks to Sergio Ramos' header, while a midweek date with Borussia Dortmund ended with an entertaining 2-2 draw. Los Blancos are far from invincible, but Zidane has restored their sense of belief.

3. Juventus (+2)

Are the Bianconeri finally clicking? It's taken a few weeks for them to figure things out, but Saturday's 3-1 win over Atalanta was as good as Max Allegri's side have looked all season. Mario Mandzukic continued his fine run of form with a goal, and his strike partner Gonzalo Higuain was on the mark in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. Juve topped their UCL group and are four points clear in Serie A: not bad at all.

4. RB Leipzig (no change)

Can Leipzig continue their Leicester-like run in Germany? All signs point to yes: With no European football to trouble their tight squad, the minnows defeated Schalke 2-1 on Saturday to remain three points ahead of Bayern Munich. Yes, it felt odd to write that. They're the only unbeaten team in the German top flight and boast a goal difference of plus-18, second-best behind the Bavarian giants. What else can you write about this Cinderella story?

5. Barcelona (+3)

Reports of Barca's demise were greatly exaggerated, as it turns out: Luis Enrique's side shrugged off some indifferent league form to grab a deserved 1-1 Clasico draw on Saturday against in-form Real Madrid and followed it up with a decisive 4-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach to round out their Champions League group stage. Andres Iniesta is back and healthy, while Arda Turan (who scored three vs. Gladbach) showed he can take some of the attacking burden off the fabled "MSN." It bodes well for the Catalan giants heading into the winter.

6. Roma (+4)

Serie A has had several clubs struggling to compete with Juventus, but this season's AS Roma might finally be able to sustain a season-long charge. The Giallorossi fought hard for a 2-0 Rome derby win over Lazio at the weekend to remain second in the league on goal difference ahead of AC Milan. Roma also rounded out their Europa League group stage with a 0-0 draw at Astra Giurgiu, a result that matters little given that they had already guaranteed their place in the round of 32.

7. Bayern Munich (new)

The transition from Pep Guardiola to Carlo Ancelotti hasn't been entirely smooth this season, but the big boys of Germany still have plenty of quality to get them through the rough patches. Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick in Friday's 3-1 win vs. Mainz, his first goals since Nov. 1, and then scored again in the midweek 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid to wrap up Champions League Group D. Despite some indifferent form, they're right where they need to be.

8. Borussia Dortmund (new)

Another big German club to have laboured a bit this season, Thomas Tuchel's side have found some cohesion this week. A 4-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach (aided by a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace) gave way to a spirited 2-2 draw at Real Madrid in midweek, a game in which they rallied from 2-0 down after 53 minutes. Flair and a fightback from the black-and-yellows should give fans something to cheer.

9. Nice (new)

As if RB Leipzig's stunning season so far wasn't impressive enough, Nice are pulling something similar in France. They're still top of Ligue 1 and notched their 12th win of the season last weekend vs. Toulouse, with Alassane Plea scoring his ninth league goal in 16 appearances to kick off a 3-0 win. Paris Saint-Germain's struggles are only helping Les Aiglons remain soaring domestically, and the return of Mario Balotelli in the Europa League helped them close a difficult campaign with a 2-1 win vs. FC Krasnodar.

10. AC Milan (new)

We've been watching Milan's many reboots over the past few seasons, but this time around the renaissance looks legit. The Rossoneri won their only game this week, a 2-1 come-from-behind victory vs. Crotone, to remain third in Serie A on goal difference and just four points behind Juventus. It's a far cry from the midtable mediocrity and constant managerial turnover we'd come to expect, and it's driven by unheralded talent like ex-Liverpool midfielder Suso. Gianluca Lapadula, who scored once and earned a penalty kick in Sunday's win, might also be one of the stories of the season.

Dropping out: Manchester City, Liverpool, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain

RB Leipzig join Bayern Munich at the top of Bundesliga after beating Mainz

RB Leipzig joined Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table after notching up a comfortable 3-1 win over Mainz at the Leipzig Arena.

Timo Werner scored either side of an Emil Forsberg strike as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side dominated from start to finish.

The only blot on their copybook was Stefan Bell's consolation, but that did not prevent Leipzig from moving onto 24 points from their first 10 games in the Bundesliga, and Bayern now lead on goal difference.

Bastian Schweinsteiger should still leave Manchester United - Bayern CEO

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has urged Bastian Schweinsteiger to leave Manchester United despite his return to first-team training on Monday.

The 32-year-old ex-Bayern midfielder was back on the training pitch with the senior squad on Monday, after been ousted out by manager, Jose Mourinho, in September. Though, with German outlet Sport1 reporting that he had been putting in extra shifts in recent weeks to be prepared for an eventual comeback.

However, Rummenigge -- who had been strongly critical of Mourinho's decision to demote the player in August -- told Bild: "My wish for him is that he finds a solution once the transfer window opens in January."

Rummenigge again questioned Mourinho's handling of the situation, saying: "It's difficult to manage a generation change but, nevertheless, you have to do it with tact."

Schweinsteiger, who has previously said United will be his last club in Europe and vowed to be ready for the team if required, wrote on his Twitter account on Monday: "Felt great today! Team is in good shape, results will follow!"

The German's return was also welcomed by left-back Luke Shaw, who said: "It's great to see him back. We found out the news a couple of days ago and it's so great to have him back.

"He's a big influence in the dressing room and obviously on the pitch, especially for the young players like myself.

"It's a great boost for us, the experience and the quality that he brings. The quality he possesses is a boost for our team and I'm so glad to have him back.''

Schweinsteiger was included in United's 25-man squad for the Premier League but was not included in the selection for the Europa League, which means he would not be eligible to play in European competition until registration reopens for the knockout phase.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was also involved in training on Monday, despite a report in the Daily Mail saying the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder had trained alone on Sunday.

The Manchester Evening News has since reported that Mkhitaryan had trained alone out of choice after missing out on a place in the squad for Saturday's 0-0 draw with Burnley and that he hopes to convince Mourinho to bring him back into the side.