This Saturday, six Colombian players featured in Europe’s elite leagues, some in top teams like Juventus and Bayern Munich. The performances from these six players varied heavily as some of the Cafeteros shined while others failed to make an impact, here is a rundown of how these six players did.
Juan Cuadrado
Cuadrado was easily one of the best players in the uneventful scoreless draw between Juventus and Inter Milan. The Colombian winger played all 90 minutes, had four of four successful dribble attempts, four of nine accurate crosses, five of six accurate long balls, four key passes, one big chance created and won 14 of 19 duels. La Juve now sits in third place behind Napoli and Inter Milan while Juan Cuadrado keeps on delivering consistent performances.
Duvan Zapata
Cuadrado was not the only Colombian player to feature in a Serie A game this Saturday as Duvan Zapata played 89 minutes in Sampdoria’s 2-2 draw with Cagliari. The 26-year-old striker failed to get on the score sheet as Fabio Quagliarella proved to be the hero of the day with a brace. The Cali native did not stand out in this game with just one successful dribble attempt, one key pass and no shots. The 6-foot-1 forward has six goals and will look to keep on adding to that mark as Sampdoria look to keep on adding points currently in sixth place with 27 points.
James Rodriguez
Moving to Germany, James Rodriguez received his eighth start of the season as Bayern Munich took home a 1-0 away win against Frankfurt. The national team captain played all 90 minutes, had 57 total passes, a 91-percent pass accuracy, five of seven accurate long balls, was fouled six times and won nine of 13 duels. James is getting more and more starts with Bayern Munich and it will be interesting to track his progress in the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
Jose Izquierdo
The 25-year-old winger received 27 minutes off the bench in Brighton’s disappointing 2-0 loss against Huddersfield in the 16th matchday of the English Premier League. Izquierdo had a very limited amount of time to make an impact as he only had one shot on target and three accurate passes. Brighton is still in a good position to avoid relegation, currently in 13th place and hopefully, Izquierdo can get more playing time as he has had just six starts so far.
Radamel Falcao
Monaco had an amazing 3-2 comeback win against Troyes in the 17th matchday of the Ligue 1 but Radamel Falcao failed to make much of an impact. The Monaco captain played all 90 minutes, had one shot, one successful dribble attempt, just 15 total passes, was dispossessed three times and only won five of 15 duels. Falcao is still one of the best strikers in the Ligue 1 with 14 goals so far and Monaco has been one of the best teams in France, now in second place, nine points off first-place PSG.
Luis Muriel
Muriel played all 90 minutes in Sevilla’s humiliating 5-0 loss against Real Madrid in the 15th matchday of the Spanish La Liga. The 26-year-old did have two shots on target and a key pass but nothing came of it, he was also dispossessed twice and even had an error that led to a goal. Muriel has been an underwhelming player for Sevilla so far with three goals and six big chances missed but his team has done well now in fifth place with 28 points.
