It’s the run up to Christmas, and it’s been a huge month of football in November, with another international break alongside domestic competition and European matches, it’s been a non-stop feast of great football. There has been some massively impressive performances across Europe’s top leagues, and one player in particular is deserved of this months’ award, and it’s a newcomer to the NextGoalWinner POTM awards, from Atalanta, the Croatian midfielder Mario Pašalić.

With 7 goals in all competitions, he has been integral to Atalanta’s unbeaten month including some really impressive results. Although the Champions League results have been a bit questionable, the domestic form has been remarkable, primarily due to Pašalić’s performances in the month of November. For a player listed as a central midfielder, 7 goals is something worth shouting about, and that’s what we will be doing.

As always, if you disagree or have anything to add to our pick of the month, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

Match By Match

November 6th: Cagliari 1-2 Atalanta – After the Champions League dramatic draw against Manchester United in which Pašalić was fairly quiet, Atalanta got their month in Serie A off to a solid start, with a 2-1 win over Cagliari. In this one, Pašalić opened the scoring inside 6 minutes, netting his first of what was to be several goals in the month. With a rating of 8.7/10, he was man of the match for his 89 minutes of effort. With a pass success of 78%, creating 4 chances and getting 5 shots in the game he was a real handful and crucial in the away win which started kept Atalanta’s unbeaten run going.

November 20th: Atalanta 5-2 Spezia – Following the win over Cagliari, the international break delayed any further club games, and Pašalić featured in two of Croatia’s World Cup qualifiers, netting and assisting in the 7-1 demolition of Malta, while playing a minor role in the 1-0 win at home to Russia. Back in Italy, Atalanta were free-scoring as they bagged 5 at home to Spezia, with Pašalić being involved in 3 of the 5. Netting Atalanta’s first and third, he grabbed his 3rd club goal (4th overall) for the month. With a 9.4/10 rating, it was his second best performance of the month which is pretty decent going. Creating 6 chances in the game, making 7 recoveries and making 5 key passes, he was just a nightmare for the Spezia defence.

November 27th: Juventus 0-1 Atalanta – After another dramatic Champions League draw away this time to Young Boys, the return to domestic competition brought about arguably their most impressive victory of the month. Although their lowest scoring fixture, edging the win over Juventus is a huge victory for Atalanta, and although Juve are in a downward spell, the victory in this one will be massive for confidence and keeping their run going across all competitions. Pašalić only featured for 31 minutes and so was fairly quiet in comparison to other performances, however still a key member of the side in a truly impressive win.

November 30th: Atalanta 4-0 Venezia – In the final game of the month, it was Pašalić’s personally best performance, with a hattrick and 9.7/10 performance in their 4-0 battering of Venezia. With his 3rd man of the match performance, he was utilised in a more left-wing role as opposed to being a central midfielder, and his freedom to attack more is evident in the goals scored, bringing him up to 7 for the whole month across all competitions. Alongside his impressive 3 goals, he made 1 key pass, made 3 recoveries and created 1 chance. Bringing his massive month to a close, it’s been a truly terrific November for the Croatian midfielder, and one that brings him the NextGoalWinner POTM award.