JACK BEZANTS
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — James Rodriguez held off Cristiano Ronaldo to take the top spot in the Associated Press global football 10 poll on Tuesday.
Rodriguez scored twice in Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Granada, a result that kept Madrid at the top of the team vote.
For the second straight week, Ronaldo is the runner-up to one of his Madrid teammates, despite scoring his 22nd goal of the season. Last week’s winner, Karim Benzema, also scored in Madrid’s victory but dropped to fifth.
Aurelio Capaldi of RAI Sport in Italy praised Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti for getting the best out of Rodriguez so quickly.
“Ancelotti is probably living the best time of his coaching career: 11 wins in a row is an amazing result and the way he’s making things work after Real Madrid sold Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso is impressive,” Capaldi said. “This also explains why Rodriguez, who is scoring fabulous goals, already fits well in the team.”
Bayern Munich’s 2-1 comeback win over Borussia Dortmund, which extended its unbeaten start to the season in all competitions and pushed Dortmund into the relegation zone, put it second in the team vote.
Arjen Robben scored the winner for Munich from the penalty spot in the 85th minute and is 10th in the player rankings.
Manchester City is third in the team vote after a 1-0 win over Manchester United, where Argentina striker Sergio Aguero scored a second-half winner.
Aguero was third in the player vote, and Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal was a place behind after scoring twice in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Burnley.
It was the second straight league game in which Sanchez scored twice for Arsenal.
“Sanchez to Arsenal will be one of the best signings of the European season,” Leonardo Bertozzi of ESPN Brazil said. “No other player has scored seven goals in the first nine games of the Premier League under the command of Arsene Wenger.”
One of the surprise results of the weekend was in the Spanish league, where Celta Vigo beat Barcelona 1-0 at the Camp Nou.
“Celta Vigo is the story,” Tito Puccetti of ESPN Argentina said. “It won again against Barcelona, something it has not managed to do since the 1941-42 season.”
Chelsea beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to maintain its four-point lead at the top of the Premier League and is fifth this week. Spanish champion Atletico Madrid is one behind after beating Cordoba 4-2.
Antoine Griezmann scored Atletico’s first two goals and is sixth in the player vote.
___
AP Global Football 10:
Players
1. James Rodriguez, 105.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, 94.
3. Sergio Aguero, 70.
4. Alexis Sanchez, 62.
5. Karim Benzema, 60.
6. Antoine Griezmann, 46.
7. Gonzalo Higuain, 33.
(tie) Victor Wanyama, 33.
9. Oscar, 31.
10. Arjen Robben, 28.
___
Teams
1. Real Madrid, 111 points.
2. Bayern Munich, 102.
3. Manchester City, 79.
4. Celta Vigo, 65.
5. Chelsea, 62.
6. Atletico Madrid, 51.
7. Napoli, 44.
8. Juventus, 37.
9. Southampton, 36.
10. Arsenal, 35.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
