Performance Zone: Berardi leading the way

The UEFA Europa League group stage kicks off on 15 September, with the FedEx Performance Zone tracking the form of all of the competition's players, using data from domestic and European games. We track the early pace-men.

• Full rankings
• What is the FedEx Perfomance Zone and how does it work?
  

1st: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
The Sassuolo forward leads the way after an impressive start to the season. His five goals in four UEFA Europa League qualifying matches, in addition to two in his opening two Serie A outings, have set a high standard.

2nd: Louis Schaub (Rapid Wien)
The midfielder is running Berardi close with a goal-laden start to both the UEFA Europa League and Austrian Bundesliga. His hat-trick in Rapid's 4-0 win at Trenčín was the highlight of a run of four fixtures in which he netted seven times.

3rd: Dmytro Bezotosniy
The Qäbälä goalkeeper was a key figure as his team made it through four qualifying rounds to reach the group stage. In those eight games, he managed 42 saves and he has posted two clean sheets in two Azeri league appearances.

Notable mentions
9th: David McMillan (Dundalk)
As well as being joint top scorer in UEFA Champions League qualifying with five goals, the part-time architect is the Irish Premier Division's current lead marksman with 14 goals, so definitely one to look out for.

20th: Zlatan Ibrahimović (Manchester United)
Three goals in three league matches have helped the Swede give United a 100% record so far, and it will be interesting to see how his ranking alters this weekend during Saturday's Manchester derby.

The FedEx Performance Ranking uses player stats from games in every club's domestic league and it updates after these matches are played as well as the UEFA Europa League. Stay tuned ahead of the opening UEFA Europa League fixtures to see the in-form players coming into the group stage.