CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report
Issue no. 5- May 2015
Performance analysis:
Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Drs Raffaele Poli, Loïc Ravenel and Roger Besson
1.Introduction
Since 2010, the CIES Football Observatory has
been developing an innovative approach to analyse performance in football both at team and
player level. This analysis focuses on the volume
and efficiency of actions in key areas of the game.
The starting principle of our approach consists of
considering that in football the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts. Historically, all of the
great teams have been able to integrate individual talent in to the collective effort of the team.
Individual talent should serve the collective, not
the inverse.
From a practical standpoint, our approach begins by focusing on team statistics before moving
to the analysis of players on an individual level.
Indeed, we consider that the performance of
footballers should always be appraised by taking
into account the general context in which they
perform.
Individual performance depends heavily on the
astute assembly of complementary skills within
the framework of the style of play practiced by
teams, as well as on the matching of footballers’
characteristics and skills requested to play in a
given position with respect to the style of play
performed.
Moreover, individual performance is influenced
by the overall set up of teams. For example, it
is much easier for a player to be competitive in
a stable environment with a clear strategic line
than in an unstable one characterised by frequent
manager changes.
The strong interdependence between all these
contextual elements makes the analysis of performance in football a real challenge. A thorough
knowledge of the environment of professional
football, a fine understanding of the logics of the
game and a solid mastery of statistical techniques
are all key prerequisites to be effective in this field.
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Chapter two benchmarks big-5 league clubs
according to four key performance indicators
developed by the CIES Football Observatory research team: dangerousness, grip on the game,
duelling and set play. This allows us assessing the
strengths and weaknesses of teams compared to
competitors.
Chapter three ranks players using six complementary key performance indicators: rigour, recovery, distribution, take on, chance creation and
shooting. Each indicator refers to specific skills
that any ambitious club should have at its disposal when aiming to obtain top-level results.
The conclusion highlights some of the added
values that the effective analysis of performance
as developed in this report could provide to forward thinking clubs.
Figure 1: CIES Football Observatory approach for pitch performance analysis
Distribution
Take on
Duelling
Grip
Dangerousness
Recovery
Rigour
Set Pieces
Shooting
Chance
creation
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
2.
Team performance
This chapter compares big-5 league clubs on the
basis of four key performance indicators measuring the ability of teams to dominate their opponents in terms of shots (dangerousness), passes
(grip on the game), contests (duelling) and set
pieces (set play).
This analysis provides useful information for different ends: selecting starting line-ups, adapting
tactics, repositioning players, setting up priorities with regard to the technical profile of possible signings, etc.
a more reliable metric also from a predictive
standpoint.
Our analysis shows that Barcelona is not only
the most effective club from an attacking perspective, but it is also extremely well organised
defensively. Conversely, in the top ten table, only
Olympique Lyonnais conceded more and/or better chances to opponents than Real Madrid. This
suggests that improving defensive solidity should
be a priority for the ten-time Champions League
winner.
Dangerousness refers to the volume and quality of shots attempted and conceded, grip on the
game focuses on the number and position of
passes made or conceded, duelling refers to the
volume and outcome of dribbles and tackles,
while set play measures the efficiency at free kick
and corner levels.
In all cases, a greater figure than one indicates
that teams have on average performed better than
their rivals in the specific area considered. The
analysis below focuses on the ten big-5 league
teams at the top of the table for dangerousness1.
1
Annex 1 presents the data for all big-5 league clubs.
Dangerousness is a more robust indicator than
goals scored and conceded as the number of
events taken into account is greater, which reduces the role of chance. Dangerousness is thus
Figure 2: Dangerousness ranking, big-5 league
Own
Opponents
Ratio
1. FC Barcelona
Team
114.7
25.9
4.42
2. Juventus FC
63.2
19.4
3.25
3. Paris St-Germain FC
98.7
32.2
3.07
4. Club Atlético de Madrid
79.0
26.2
3.01
5. FC Bayern München
91.9
30.9
2.97
6. Real Madrid CF
108.0
38.0
2.84
7. Chelsea FC
75.0
30.5
2.46
8. SSC Napoli
81.6
36.4
2.24
9. Arsenal FC
74.5
37.3
2.00
87.3
45.5
1.92
10. Olympique Lyonnais
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
The analysis in the level of grip on the game highlights the considerable ability of Barcelona and
Bayern Munich in this field. Real Madrid has less
favourable figures than its Catalan rival both for
own and opponent passing.
However, the negative gap in the first case is lower than in the second: 33% compared to 43%.
This confirms that putting more emphasis on ball
recovery (i.e. pressing) should be a priority for
Real Madrid.
Figure 3: Grip on the game ranking, the ten most dangerous big-5 league teams
Own
Opponents
Ratio
1. FC Barcelona
Team
10,896
3,718
2.93
2. FC Bayern München
7,864
3,100
2.54
3. SSC Napoli
7,817
4,987
1.57
4. Arsenal FC
7,744
5,202
1.49
5. Chelsea FC
7,748
5,389
1.44
6. Real Madrid CF
7,293
5,310
1.37
7. Juventus FC
7,033
5,153
1.36
8. Olympique Lyonnais
6,271
4,773
1.31
9. Paris St-Germain FC
5,959
4,567
1.30
6,383
5,616
1.14
10. Club Atlético de Madrid
Barcelona tops the table also in duelling. This
is mainly due to the difficulty that opponent
players face in dribbling or avoiding successful
tackles. Again, the positive gap with respect to
Real Madrid is due to greater efficiency in defensive actions. Interestingly, this is also the case
for Bayern Munich. However, the German team
partially compensate this weakness with greater
efficiency in attacking duels, as well as an outstanding recovery work (see previous indicator).
This is not the case for Real Madrid.
Figure 4: Duelling ranking, the ten most dangerous big-5 league teams
Own
Opponents
Ratio
1. FC Barcelona
Team
0.65
0.22
2.92
2. Arsenal FC
0.73
0.50
1.47
3. Chelsea FC
0.58
0.42
1.38
4. FC Bayern München
0.70
0.51
1.38
5. Real Madrid CF
0.63
0.46
1.37
6. Juventus FC
0.51
0.37
1.36
7. Olympique Lyonnais
0.41
0.32
1.26
8. Paris St-Germain FC
0.47
0.41
1.15
9. Club Atlético de Madrid
0.32
0.32
1.02
0.35
0.45
0.78
10. SSC Napoli
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Among clubs analysed, Barcelona has the best
statistics also from a set play perspective. This is
mainly due to the formidable ability to prevent
opponents scoring from free kicks and corners.
Conversely, Atlético Madrid is by far the most
effective team from an attacking perspective. As
for previous indicators, the lower ratio measured
for Real Madrid compared to Barcelona is due to
lower performance levels in defence.
Figure 5: Set play ranking, the ten most dangerous big-5 league teams
Own
Opponents
Ratio
1. FC Barcelona
Team
4.81
1.05
4.60
2. Club Atlético de Madrid
12.79
3.06
4.18
3. Chelsea FC
5.50
2.94
1.87
4. Olympique Lyonnais
5.83
3.42
1.70
5. Real Madrid CF
6.44
4.78
1.35
6. Arsenal FC
4.61
4.10
1.13
7. Paris St-Germain FC
4.92
5.58
0.88
8. Juventus FC
4.18
4.85
0.86
9. FC Bayern München
2.80
3.97
0.70
3.48
5.56
0.63
10. SSC Napoli
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
3.
Player performance
Players are ranked according to five positions:
centre backs, full backs, defensive midfielders,
attacking midfielders and forwards. KPIs are selected or weighted according to their importance
for each position as illustrated in Figure 6 below.
For increased robustness, only footballers who
played at least 60% of domestic league minutes
are included in the rankings.
Once strength and weaknesses are determined
at collective level, the assessment of the performance of players provides further insights to
gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics observed using teams as the unit of analysis. Our
approach focuses on six complementary areas of
the game.
From an individual skill standpoint, shooting
refers to the ability of players to take advantage
of goal opportunities through accurate shooting.
Chance creation is the ability to put teammates
in a favourable position to strike. Take on refers to the ability to create dangerous situations
by successfully challenging opponents, while
distribution is the ability to keep a hold on the
game through efficient passing. Finally, recovery
and rigour refer to the ability to minimise goal
opportunities for opponents through proficient
interception work, and respectively strength in
duels.
For footballers who play in different positions,
we considered the one most often played in. If
the position for a given game is too distinct from
the usual one, we exclude the match from the
analysis. This allows us to avoid, for the most
part, possible bias.
The approach developed permits us to identify
not only the top performing players in absolute
terms, but also the footballers who have performed the best with respect to teammates. This
allows us to unveil the hidden potential of players who are not yet part of the most competitive
clubs, as well as the level of dependence of clubs
on their best performing players.
To maximise their relevance, these key performance indicators combine systematically the
volume of actions undertaken and their outcome
(i.e. number of dribbles and % which were successful, the number of tackles and % successful
ones, etc.).
Rigour
Recovery
Distribution
Take on
Chance
creation
Shooting
Figure 6 : KPIs per position according to the CIES Football Obervatory
****
****
****
**
**
**
**
**
**
Defensive midfielders
***
***
***
*
*
*
Attacking midfielders
*
*
*
***
***
***
****
****
****
Centre Backs
Full Backs
Forwards
6
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
According to our analysis, Thiago Silva was the
best performing centre back of the 2014/15 season at both French and big-5 league level2. The
Paris St-Germain player outranks world champion Jérôme Boateng. This is mainly due to his outstanding performance level in the area of rigour.
2
Annex 2 presents the big-5 league top-12 absolute rankings for each position.
Raphaël Varane heads the relative ranking in
Spain. This not only reveals his great potential,
but also confirms previous analysis on the crucial
need for Real Madrid to improve defensive cohesion through a better division of labour between
all players fielded. Free agent Emir Spahić tops
the relative table in Germany.
Figure 7: Best centre backs per league, absolute and relative
League
Premier League
Ligue 1
Absolute
Relative
Dejan Lovren
Jores Okore
Thiago Silva
Loïc Perrin
Bundesliga
Jérôme Boateng
Emir Spahić
Serie A
Giorgio Chiellini
Rafael Marquéz
Liga
Javier Mascherano
Raphaël Varane
Barcelona’s Dani Alves and Jordi Alba top the
big-5 league table for full-backs, ahead of the
young Frenchman Layvin Kurzawa. The Monaco
player is undoubtedly ready to play for the very
best European clubs. The same is valid for the
Swiss full international Ricardo Rodríguez.
Players topping the relative rankings would also
deserve a chance to prove themselves in more
competitive teams. This holds particularly true
for the youngest player among them: 22-year-old
Djibril Sidibé of Lille.
Figure 8: Best full backs per league, absolute and relative
League
Premier League
Ligue 1
Absolute
Relative
Gaël Clichy
Patrick van Aanholt
Layvin Kurzawa
Djibril Sidibé
Ricardo Rodríguez
Bastian Oczipka
Serie A
Patrice Evra
Antonio Balzano
Liga
Dani Alves
Sergio Escudero
Bundesliga
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Former world champion Francesc Fàbregas outranks all other defensive midfielders at big-5
league level. This confirms that the Spaniard has
settled in perfectly at Chelsea. In second position
is Marco Verratti. The young Italian prodigy will
certainly go on to have an outstanding career.
The relative rankings allow us to highlight the
strong potential of two non-full international
players under contract with clubs in the bottom
half of the table in their respective leagues: N’Golo Kanté (Caen) and Mario Vrančić (Paderborn).
Figure 9: Best defensive midfielders per league, absolute and relative
League
Premier League
Ligue 1
Bundesliga
Serie A
Liga
Absolute
Relative
Francesc Fàbregas
Leroy Fer
Marco Verratti
N’Golo Kanté
Xabi Alonso
Mario Vrančić
Claudio Marchisio
Miralem Pjanić
Sergio Busquets
Dani Parejo
Three players born in 1991 head the big-5 league
table for attacking midfielders: James Rodríguez,
Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne. All these
players can have legitimate ambitions to win the
Golden Ball award in the years to come.
Bernardo Silva is the youngest player at the top of
the relative rankings. The Portuguese rising star
was born in 1994, three years after another young
talent heading the relative tables of his league:
Lucas Vázquez. Our analysis also highlights the
strength of more mature attacking midfielders
such as Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lars Stindl and Franco
Brienza.
Figure 10:Best attacking midfielders per league, absolute and relative
League
Premier League
Ligue 1
Bundesliga
Serie A
Liga
Absolute
Relative
Eden Hazard
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Dimitri Payet
Bernardo Silva
Kevin de Bruyne
Lars Stindl
Marek Hamšík
Franco Brienza
James Rodríguez
Lucas Vázquez
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Finally, Lionel Messi tops the big-5 league table for forwards ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. In
third position is another player of the Spanish
Liga: Luis Suárez. Our metrics also allow us to
highlight the outstanding talent of Alexandre
Lacazette (born in 1991) and Felipe Anderson
(born in 1993). They both have the potential to
be future superstars.
Figure 11:Best forwards per league, absolute and relative
League
Premier League
Ligue 1
Bundesliga
Serie A
Liga
Absolute
Relative
Sergio Agüero
Diego Costa
Alexandre Lacazette
Christophe Mandanne
Arjen Robben
Anthony Ujah
Felipe Anderson
Antonio Di Natale
Lionel Messi
Jonathas de Jesus
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Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Depending on the style of game played or intended by a team, it is also important to target
footballers with different characteristics for the
same generic position. That is why we identify as
many profiles as KPIs selected for each outfield
position considered.
James Rodríguez, Eden Hazard and Francesc
Fàbregas are the only players heading the table in
two distinct domains. This is a further indicator
of their outstanding talent. The performance level
of Real Madrid and Chelsea strongly depends on
their shape.
This approach is particularly useful to gain a
deeper understanding of players’ specificities
from the perspective of signing footballers providing complementary skills with respect to players available or, on the contrary, holding similar
characteristics to squad members on the verge of
being transferred to other clubs.
Figure 12:pitch positions and profile according to the CIES Football Observatory
Area
Position
KPI
Profile
Best (absolute)
Defence
Centre backs
Rigour
Timing
Thiago Silva
Recovery
Placement
Nicolas N’Koulou
Distribution
Technique
Javier Mascherano
Rigour
Timing
Lukasz Piszczek
Recovery
Placement
Olivier Veigneau
Distribution
Technique
Dani Alves
Take on
Pace
Juan Bernat
Chance creation
Vision
Leighton Baines
Shooting
Power
Maxwell Scherrer
Rigour
Timing
Lars Bender
Recovery
Placement
Maxime Gonalons
Distribution
Technique
Francesc Fàbregas
Take on
Pace
Fredy Guarín
Chance creation
Vision
Francesc Fàbregas
Shooting
Power
Paul Pogba
Rigour
Timing
Henrik Mkhitaryan
Recovery
Placement
Vieirinha de Freitas
Distribution
Technique
Eden Hazard
Take on
Pace
Eden Hazard
Chance creation
Vision
James Rodríguez
Shooting
Power
James Rodríguez
Take on
Pace
Karim Bellarabi
Chance creation
Vision
Luis Suárez
Shooting
Power
Lionel Messi
Full backs
Midfield
Defensive midfielders
Attacking midfielders
Attack
Forwards
10
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
5.Conclusion
The experience of the CIES Football Observatory
shows that a holistic approach to squad management provides clubs with a competitive edge3.
The definition of clear strategic lines and their
sustainable implementation are key steps to help
clubs to both prevent and manage difficult periods from a sporting perspective.
Conversely, an absence of, or ineffective strategic
planning at squad management level often lead
to upsetting performances and decisions dictated
by panic which will further damage results over
the long term. The extreme media pressure with
which football clubs are confronted often aggravate the negative consequences of poor planning.
interpretation of findings, combined with organisational concerns, still prevent the vast majority of teams from taking full advantage of evidence-based research.
From this perspective, the integration of top level performance analysis in the decision-making
process with regard to squad management and
scouting still has great potential to allow forward
thinking clubs to improve their results in a significant and sustainable manner.
The effective analysis of performance at both collective and individual level as briefly proposed
in this report is part of the key actions that all
ambitious clubs should undertake to fight against
the culture of short-termism which is rife in the
professional game.
In addition, the development of a consistent approach in the area of performance analysis allows
clubs to identify on an objective basis their weaknesses, implement solutions to overcome them
and develop strategies to tackle possible threats.
While resistance to data-driven methods within
clubs is decreasing, pitfalls in the production or
3
Read also the CIES Football Observatory paper on paths
to sustainable success. An updated version will be available
shortly.
11
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Annexe 1a:
Big-5 league ranking - Dangerousness
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
.
19.
20.
.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
.
32.
33.
34.
.
36.
37.
.
.
40.
41.
42.
.
.
45.
46.
47.
48.
.
Barcelona (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
PSG (FRA)
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Bayern München (GER)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Chelsea (ENG)
Napoli (ITA)
Arsenal (ENG)
Lyon (FRA)
Manchester City (ENG)
Lazio (ITA)
Monaco (FRA)
Everton (ENG)
Sevilla (ESP)
Southampton (ENG)
Roma (ITA)
Dortmund (GER)
M'gladbach (GER)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Villarreal (ESP)
Liverpool (ENG)
Valencia (ESP)
Marseille (FRA)
Werder Bremen (GER)
Manchester Utd (ENG)
Leverkusen (GER)
Internazionale (ITA)
St-Etienne (FRA)
Torino (ITA)
Chievo (ITA)
Empoli (ITA)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Celta Vigo (ESP)
Milan (ITA)
Metz (FRA)
Rennes (FRA)
Hoffenheim (GER)
Schalke (GER)
Espanyol (ESP)
Bordeaux (FRA)
Hannover (GER)
Málaga (ESP)
Montpellier (FRA)
Guingamp (FRA)
Bastia (FRA)
Cagliari (ITA)
Crystal Palace (ENG)
Sampdoria (ITA)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
114.7
63.2
98.7
79.0
91.9
108.0
75.0
81.6
74.5
87.3
71.0
79.4
55.5
56.5
71.9
49.6
55.2
60.6
67.9
75.6
61.6
61.2
53.3
68.0
67.5
62.1
63.9
48.7
48.0
44.8
38.0
49.7
53.1
50.3
44.6
50.2
43.7
53.6
55.4
51.5
47.0
50.1
53.2
49.4
51.9
43.4
59.2
38.4
43.2
26.0
19.4
32.2
26.2
31.0
38.0
30.5
36.4
37.3
45.5
37.3
41.9
31.4
32.4
42.1
30.0
34.0
37.5
43.5
49.3
40.3
41.9
36.9
47.7
49.0
47.7
52.4
40.3
42.0
39.7
33.7
44.8
48.3
49.1
43.9
49.7
43.5
53.5
55.5
52.9
48.9
52.6
56.2
52.3
55.1
46.6
64.3
42.4
47.8
4.42
3.25
3.07
3.01
2.97
2.84
2.46
2.24
2.00
1.92
1.90
1.89
1.77
1.74
1.71
1.66
1.62
1.62
1.56
1.53
1.53
1.46
1.44
1.43
1.38
1.30
1.22
1.21
1.14
1.13
1.13
1.11
1.10
1.02
1.02
1.01
1.00
1.00
1.00
0.97
0.96
0.95
0.95
0.95
0.94
0.93
0.92
0.90
0.90
.
51.
.
53.
.
55.
56.
.
58.
59.
60.
.
62.
.
.
.
.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
.
77.
78.
79.
.
81.
.
83.
.
85.
.
.
88.
.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
Lille (FRA)
Tottenham (ENG)
Lorient (FRA)
West Ham (ENG)
Caen (FRA)
Getafe (ESP)
Genoa (ITA)
Nice (FRA)
Athletic Bilbao (ESP)
Freiburg (GER)
Augsburg (GER)
Sassuolo (ITA)
Rayo Vallecano (ESP)
Nantes (FRA)
Hellas Verona (ITA)
Frankfurt (GER)
Köln (GER)
Stoke City (ENG)
Swansea (ENG)
Hull City (ENG)
Mainz (GER)
Palermo (ITA)
Leicester (ENG)
Newcastle (ENG)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Hertha Berlin (GER)
WBA (ENG)
Granada (ESP)
Toulouse (FRA)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Sunderland (ENG)
Stuttgart (GER)
Paderborn (GER)
Lens (FRA)
Burnley (ENG)
Reims (FRA)
La Corunã (ESP)
Cesena (ITA)
QPR (ENG)
Eibar (ESP)
Córdoba (ESP)
Elche (ESP)
Udinese (ITA)
Atalanta (ITA)
Hamburg (GER)
Evian TG (FRA)
Almería (ESP)
Levante (ESP)
Parma (ITA)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
43.7
54.3
61.9
46.4
49.1
46.9
54.4
43.0
43.3
59.5
47.7
46.7
55.2
39.3
48.1
67.7
41.3
32.8
45.3
37.9
44.7
42.6
39.9
40.0
37.2
38.0
38.3
38.1
34.8
34.3
35.7
41.3
39.7
36.5
33.7
42.2
41.6
34.8
40.8
39.0
35.5
36.5
30.3
35.0
33.2
29.1
34.4
26.7
24.4
48.4
61.0
69.8
52.6
55.7
54.5
63.6
50.9
51.5
72.0
58.6
57.9
68.7
48.9
60.1
84.5
51.6
41.7
58.3
49.4
58.8
57.2
54.8
57.5
54.0
55.5
56.6
57.5
53.6
53.4
55.7
65.5
63.2
59.5
55.4
71.2
70.4
59.0
70.7
67.8
61.9
65.2
55.0
66.2
65.4
62.6
82.1
68.4
65.4
0.90
0.89
0.89
0.88
0.88
0.86
0.85
0.85
0.84
0.83
0.81
0.81
0.80
0.80
0.80
0.80
0.80
0.79
0.78
0.77
0.76
0.74
0.73
0.70
0.69
0.68
0.68
0.66
0.65
0.64
0.64
0.63
0.63
0.61
0.61
0.59
0.59
0.59
0.58
0.58
0.57
0.56
0.55
0.53
0.51
0.46
0.42
0.39
0.37
12
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Annexe 1b:
Big-5 league ranking - Grip on the game
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
.
13.
14.
15.
16.
.
18.
.
.
21.
22.
23.
.
25.
26.
27.
28.
.
30.
31.
32.
33.
.
.
36.
.
38.
.
40.
41.
42.
.
44.
45.
.
47.
48.
.
Barcelona (ESP)
Bayern München (GER)
Manchester City (ENG)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Manchester Utd (ENG)
Dortmund (GER)
Leverkusen (GER)
Napoli (ITA)
Internazionale (ITA)
Arsenal (ENG)
Chelsea (ENG)
Roma (ITA)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Lyon (FRA)
PSG (FRA)
Lazio (ITA)
Athletic Bilbao (ESP)
Lille (FRA)
Tottenham (ENG)
Celta Vigo (ESP)
Monaco (FRA)
Bordeaux (FRA)
Genoa (ITA)
Empoli (ITA)
Hoffenheim (GER)
Lorient (FRA)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Montpellier (FRA)
Toulouse (FRA)
Southampton (ENG)
Marseille (FRA)
Everton (ENG)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Palermo (ITA)
St-Etienne (FRA)
Cagliari (ITA)
Evian TG (FRA)
Stuttgart (GER)
Rayo Vallecano (ESP)
Nantes (FRA)
Schalke (GER)
La Corunã (ESP)
Valencia (ESP)
Metz (FRA)
Burnley (ENG)
Lens (FRA)
QPR (ENG)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
10,896
7,864
9,564
7,791
7,512
6,336
6,105
7,817
7,517
7,744
7,748
6,457
7,293
7,033
6,271
5,959
6,133
6,650
5,887
6,966
6,629
6,037
5,788
6,107
6,111
5,051
6,016
4,910
6,383
6,662
5,908
6,395
5,169
6,562
6,282
5,903
5,296
5,727
5,399
4,537
4,862
5,170
4,739
5,517
5,322
5,327
6,003
5,710
5,910
3,718
3,100
5,194
4,404
4,295
3,655
3,630
4,987
4,859
5,202
5,389
4,494
5,310
5,153
4,773
4,567
4,724
5,136
4,569
5,419
5,232
4,795
4,741
5,022
5,081
4,323
5,166
4,308
5,616
5,966
5,452
6,050
4,904
6,245
5,992
5,710
5,137
5,602
5,298
4,533
4,920
5,304
4,891
5,762
5,592
5,612
6,401
6,135
6,355
2.93
2.54
1.84
1.77
1.75
1.73
1.68
1.57
1.55
1.49
1.44
1.44
1.37
1.36
1.31
1.30
1.30
1.29
1.29
1.29
1.27
1.26
1.22
1.22
1.20
1.17
1.16
1.14
1.14
1.12
1.08
1.06
1.05
1.05
1.05
1.03
1.03
1.02
1.02
1.00
0.99
0.97
0.97
0.96
0.95
0.95
0.94
0.93
0.93
.
.
52.
.
.
55.
.
.
58.
.
.
61.
.
.
64.
.
.
.
68.
69.
.
71.
72.
73.
.
.
.
.
.
79.
.
81.
82.
.
.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
.
.
.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
Stoke City (ENG)
Liverpool (ENG)
Frankfurt (GER)
Reims (FRA)
Espanyol (ESP)
Newcastle (ENG)
Sevilla (ESP)
Málaga (ESP)
Villarreal (ESP)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Almería (ESP)
Freiburg (GER)
Leicester (ENG)
Sassuolo (ITA)
Nice (FRA)
Hamburg (GER)
Mainz (GER)
West Ham (ENG)
Hannover (GER)
Sampdoria (ITA)
Cesena (ITA)
Caen (FRA)
Augsburg (GER)
Chievo (ITA)
Levante (ESP)
Atalanta (ITA)
Granada (ESP)
M'gladbach (GER)
Milan (ITA)
Werder Bremen (GER)
WBA (ENG)
Parma (ITA)
Getafe (ESP)
Hull City (ENG)
Elche (ESP)
Crystal Palace (ENG)
Guingamp (FRA)
Hertha Berlin (GER)
Köln (GER)
Paderborn (GER)
Udinese (ITA)
Córdoba (ESP)
Bastia (FRA)
Rennes (FRA)
Eibar (ESP)
Swansea (ENG)
Sunderland (ENG)
Hellas Verona (ITA)
Torino (ITA)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
5,734
5,462
4,414
4,775
5,594
5,472
5,323
5,289
5,879
5,898
5,251
4,226
6,051
5,307
4,938
4,239
4,126
5,591
4,438
5,430
5,559
5,198
4,023
5,299
5,067
5,886
4,776
4,629
5,207
4,585
5,622
5,245
5,046
5,353
4,821
5,571
4,681
4,108
3,969
3,924
5,028
5,035
4,506
4,564
4,711
4,605
4,909
4,962
3,853
6,167
5,876
4,802
5,197
6,099
5,992
5,843
5,833
6,526
6,550
5,849
4,756
6,820
5,993
5,649
4,856
4,746
6,453
5,173
6,381
6,573
6,169
4,824
6,427
6,158
7,161
5,815
5,668
6,380
5,639
6,956
6,580
6,419
6,811
6,136
7,145
6,280
5,783
5,671
5,671
7,274
7,307
6,573
6,665
7,173
7,059
7,918
8,429
7,095
0.93
0.93
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.91
0.91
0.91
0.90
0.90
0.90
0.89
0.89
0.89
0.87
0.87
0.87
0.87
0.86
0.85
0.85
0.84
0.83
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.81
0.81
0.80
0.79
0.79
0.79
0.78
0.75
0.71
0.70
0.69
0.69
0.69
0.69
0.68
0.66
0.65
0.62
0.59
0.54
13
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Annexe 1c:
Big-5 league ranking - Duelling
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
.
.
10.
11.
12.
.
14.
.
16.
17.
18.
.
.
21.
22.
23.
.
25.
.
27.
28.
29.
30.
.
32.
33.
.
35.
.
37.
.
39.
.
.
42.
.
.
45.
.
47.
.
49.
Barcelona (ESP)
Torino (ITA)
Internazionale (ITA)
Liverpool (ENG)
Tottenham (ENG)
M'gladbach (GER)
Villarreal (ESP)
Arsenal (ENG)
Lazio (ITA)
Lorient (FRA)
Roma (ITA)
Chelsea (ENG)
Bayern München (GER)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Toulouse (FRA)
Juventus (ITA)
Genoa (ITA)
Valencia (ESP)
Manchester Utd (ENG)
Manchester City (ENG)
Rennes (FRA)
Lyon (FRA)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Granada (ESP)
Milan (ITA)
Augsburg (GER)
Nantes (FRA)
PSG (FRA)
Marseille (FRA)
Palermo (ITA)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Leverkusen (GER)
Monaco (FRA)
Celta Vigo (ESP)
Cagliari (ITA)
Metz (FRA)
Newcastle (ENG)
Sevilla (ESP)
Lille (FRA)
Dortmund (GER)
Nice (FRA)
Sampdoria (ITA)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Freiburg (GER)
Chievo (ITA)
Köln (GER)
Rayo Vallecano (ESP)
Southampton (ENG)
Almería (ESP)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
0.65
0.64
0.69
0.53
0.48
0.81
0.42
0.73
0.61
0.51
0.57
0.58
0.70
0.63
0.45
0.51
0.47
0.32
0.47
0.82
0.39
0.41
0.78
0.33
0.39
0.63
0.42
0.47
0.47
0.54
0.46
0.55
0.43
0.39
0.56
0.28
0.38
0.41
0.44
0.56
0.35
0.45
0.29
0.59
0.43
0.57
0.34
0.34
0.33
0.22
0.38
0.41
0.33
0.30
0.55
0.28
0.50
0.41
0.35
0.41
0.42
0.51
0.46
0.33
0.37
0.35
0.24
0.36
0.63
0.30
0.32
0.63
0.27
0.32
0.52
0.36
0.41
0.41
0.48
0.41
0.49
0.39
0.35
0.51
0.26
0.35
0.37
0.40
0.52
0.32
0.42
0.27
0.56
0.41
0.55
0.33
0.33
0.32
2.92
1.69
1.68
1.61
1.60
1.48
1.47
1.47
1.47
1.45
1.40
1.38
1.38
1.37
1.37
1.36
1.34
1.32
1.32
1.32
1.29
1.26
1.22
1.22
1.21
1.21
1.16
1.15
1.14
1.13
1.13
1.12
1.11
1.11
1.10
1.10
1.09
1.09
1.08
1.08
1.08
1.06
1.06
1.06
1.05
1.05
1.04
1.04
1.03
.
51.
.
.
54.
.
56.
57.
.
59.
60.
61.
62.
.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
.
77.
.
.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
.
86.
.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
.
97.
98.
Caen (FRA)
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Hoffenheim (GER)
Everton (ENG)
Paderborn (GER)
Córdoba (ESP)
Leicester (ENG)
Levante (ESP)
Hamburg (GER)
Bordeaux (FRA)
Schalke (GER)
Stoke City (ENG)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Udinese (ITA)
Mainz (GER)
Lens (FRA)
La Corunã (ESP)
Montpellier (FRA)
Getafe (ESP)
Crystal Palace (ENG)
QPR (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA)
Hannover (GER)
St-Etienne (FRA)
Empoli (ITA)
WBA (ENG)
Stuttgart (GER)
Napoli (ITA)
Frankfurt (GER)
Hull City (ENG)
Hertha Berlin (GER)
Sunderland (ENG)
Evian TG (FRA)
Parma (ITA)
Swansea (ENG)
Athletic Bilbao (ESP)
Guingamp (FRA)
Málaga (ESP)
Cesena (ITA)
Espanyol (ESP)
Werder Bremen (GER)
Bastia (FRA)
West Ham (ENG)
Reims (FRA)
Eibar (ESP)
Elche (ESP)
Hellas Verona (ITA)
Burnley (ENG)
Sassuolo (ITA)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
0.37
0.32
0.45
0.47
0.56
0.39
0.40
0.39
0.53
0.35
0.65
0.46
0.52
0.40
0.53
0.32
0.32
0.34
0.37
0.31
0.39
0.44
0.49
0.31
0.46
0.41
0.50
0.35
0.43
0.37
0.44
0.44
0.34
0.39
0.41
0.25
0.27
0.32
0.30
0.24
0.40
0.21
0.29
0.21
0.24
0.18
0.24
0.31
0.24
0.36
0.32
0.44
0.46
0.56
0.39
0.41
0.40
0.54
0.36
0.67
0.48
0.55
0.42
0.59
0.36
0.36
0.39
0.43
0.36
0.46
0.52
0.59
0.38
0.57
0.52
0.63
0.45
0.56
0.48
0.58
0.58
0.46
0.53
0.59
0.36
0.40
0.47
0.44
0.38
0.68
0.37
0.53
0.42
0.48
0.41
0.54
0.72
0.63
1.03
1.02
1.02
1.02
1.00
1.00
0.99
0.98
0.98
0.97
0.96
0.95
0.94
0.94
0.91
0.90
0.89
0.88
0.87
0.86
0.86
0.85
0.83
0.82
0.81
0.79
0.79
0.78
0.78
0.78
0.77
0.75
0.74
0.72
0.70
0.70
0.68
0.68
0.67
0.62
0.58
0.56
0.54
0.51
0.50
0.44
0.44
0.43
0.39
14
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Annexe 1d:
Big-5 league ranking - Set play
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
M'gladbach (GER)
Hellas Verona (ITA)
Barcelona (ESP)
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Hull City (ENG)
Torino (ITA)
Athletic Bilbao (ESP)
Internazionale (ITA)
Monaco (FRA)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Werder Bremen (GER)
Valencia (ESP)
Freiburg (GER)
Rennes (FRA)
Schalke (GER)
Rayo Vallecano (ESP)
WBA (ENG)
Montpellier (FRA)
Udinese (ITA)
Marseille (FRA)
Atalanta (ITA)
Chelsea (ENG)
St-Etienne (FRA)
Everton (ENG)
Lyon (FRA)
Sunderland (ENG)
Parma (ITA)
Sevilla (ESP)
Tottenham (ENG)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Eibar (ESP)
Nantes (FRA)
QPR (ENG)
Crystal Palace (ENG)
Guingamp (FRA)
Empoli (ITA)
Reims (FRA)
Lens (FRA)
Arsenal (ENG)
Almería (ESP)
Hoffenheim (GER)
Roma (ITA)
Mainz (GER)
Nice (FRA)
Lazio (ITA)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Evian TG (FRA)
Villarreal (ESP)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
4.9
5.7
4.8
12.8
4.0
6.1
6.0
4.3
2.9
6.7
9.0
6.4
5.3
5.7
6.7
3.0
10.4
2.6
3.4
4.8
4.8
5.5
2.2
3.8
5.8
2.8
3.6
4.8
3.3
6.4
4.6
6.3
2.8
5.2
5.0
4.0
5.1
5.9
0.8
4.6
4.9
3.9
3.8
5.0
4.4
4.0
4.3
3.6
2.6
0.4
0.9
1.1
3.1
1.0
1.6
1.6
1.2
0.9
2.2
3.3
2.8
2.3
2.6
3.1
1.4
5.0
1.3
1.7
2.4
2.5
2.9
1.2
2.1
3.4
1.7
2.3
3.3
2.4
4.8
3.5
4.8
2.2
4.2
4.0
3.2
4.3
5.0
0.7
4.1
4.4
3.5
3.5
4.7
4.1
4.0
4.3
3.8
2.8
12.12
6.73
4.60
4.18
4.00
3.74
3.74
3.63
3.32
3.11
2.77
2.31
2.29
2.20
2.18
2.11
2.10
2.04
2.03
2.02
1.93
1.87
1.82
1.79
1.70
1.60
1.56
1.43
1.40
1.35
1.33
1.30
1.28
1.26
1.25
1.24
1.19
1.17
1.17
1.13
1.11
1.10
1.08
1.07
1.06
1.01
1.00
0.95
0.94
50.
51.
52.
53.
.
55.
.
.
.
59.
.
61.
62.
63.
.
.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
.
80.
.
82.
.
.
85.
86.
87.
88.
.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
.
PSG (FRA)
Juventus (ITA)
Caen (FRA)
Dortmund (GER)
Hannover (GER)
Leicester (ENG)
Manchester City (ENG)
Southampton (ENG)
Genoa (ITA)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Milan (ITA)
Hertha Berlin (GER)
Lorient (FRA)
Bayern München (GER)
West Ham (ENG)
Frankfurt (GER)
Elche (ESP)
Chievo (ITA)
Getafe (ESP)
Köln (GER)
Sampdoria (ITA)
Napoli (ITA)
Leverkusen (GER)
Augsburg (GER)
Liverpool (ENG)
Granada (ESP)
Levante (ESP)
Metz (FRA)
Bastia (FRA)
Celta Vigo (ESP)
Toulouse (FRA)
Manchester Utd (ENG)
Newcastle (ENG)
Bordeaux (FRA)
Espanyol (ESP)
Palermo (ITA)
Burnley (ENG)
Stuttgart (GER)
Sassuolo (ITA)
Swansea (ENG)
Paderborn (GER)
Cesena (ITA)
Cagliari (ITA)
Córdoba (ESP)
La Corunã (ESP)
Stoke City (ENG)
Málaga (ESP)
Lille (FRA)
Hamburg (GER)
Own
Opponent
Ratio
4.9
4.2
4.1
4.4
3.7
2.7
2.6
1.7
2.7
2.7
4.1
4.4
2.1
2.8
2.6
3.9
4.1
2.5
3.3
2.1
2.5
3.5
2.6
3.5
2.1
2.8
2.7
0.8
3.2
2.4
2.4
2.3
2.9
2.2
2.5
3.0
2.4
3.4
1.8
1.0
2.0
1.4
2.0
1.7
0.8
0.7
1.4
0.7
0.5
5.6
4.9
4.8
5.2
4.4
3.2
3.2
2.1
3.2
3.3
5.2
5.5
3.0
4.0
3.8
5.5
6.0
3.7
4.9
3.1
3.9
5.6
4.3
6.0
3.6
5.1
4.9
1.5
6.1
4.6
4.7
4.4
5.8
4.6
5.2
6.3
5.4
8.1
4.4
2.3
5.0
4.4
8.0
7.4
3.6
3.6
7.8
5.2
3.7
0.88
0.86
0.85
0.84
0.84
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.82
0.80
0.80
0.79
0.71
0.70
0.70
0.70
0.69
0.68
0.67
0.66
0.65
0.63
0.61
0.59
0.58
0.56
0.55
0.54
0.53
0.53
0.51
0.51
0.49
0.49
0.49
0.47
0.45
0.42
0.41
0.41
0.40
0.31
0.25
0.23
0.21
0.20
0.18
0.14
0.14
15
Monthly Report no. 5 - Best clubs and players of the big-5 league season
Annexe 2:
Big-5 league rankings, best players per position
Centre backs
Full backs
1. Thiago Silva (Paris SG/FRA)
100.0
1. Dani Alves (Barcelona/ESP)
100.0
2. Jérôme Boateng (Bayern/GER)
97.1
2. Jordi Alba (Barcelona/ESP)
92.8
3. Javier Mascherano (Barcelona/ESP)
94.8
3. Layvin Kurzawa (Monaco/FRA)
87.1
4. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus/ITA)
93.5
4. Gaël Clichy (Man. City/ENG)
77.3
5. Davide Astori (AS Roma/ITA)
86.3
5. Antonio Valencia (Man. United/ENG)
76.4
6. Gerard Piqué (Barcelona/ESP)
85.6
6. Patrice Evra (Juventus/ITA)
76.3
7. Jérémy Mathieu (Barcelona/ESP)
83.3
7. Ricardo Rodríguez (Wolfsburg/GER)
75.6
8. Nicolas N'Koulou (Marseille/FRA)
81.7
9. Mats Hummels (Dortmund/GER)
80.8
9. Djibril Sidibé (Lille/FRA)
71.8
10. Emir Spahić (Leverkusen/GER)
80.2
10. Dušan Basta (Lazio/ITA)
69.9
. Loïc Perrin (St-Etienne/FRA)
80.2
11. Leighton Baines (Everton/ENG)
69.5
12. Dejan Lovren (Liverpool/ENG)
79.6
Defensive midfielders
. Marcelo Vieira (Real Madrid/ESP)
. Maxwell Scherrer (Paris SG/FRA)
75.6
69.5
Attacking midfielders
1. Francesc Fàbregas (Chelsea/ENG)
100.0
1. James Rodríguez (Real Madrid/ESP)
100.0
2. Marco Verratti (Paris SG/FRA)
96.3
2. Eden Hazard (Chelsea/ENG)
93.8
3. Xabi Alonso (Bayern/GER)
91.2
3. Kevin de Bruyne (Wolfsburg/GER)
81.2
4. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona/ESP)
82.4
4. David Silva (Man. City/ENG)
75.4
5. Claudio Marchisio (Juventus/ITA)
82.1
5. Dimitri Payet (Marseille/FRA)
71.7
6. Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona/ESP)
81.8
6. Marek Hamšík (Napoli/ITA)
68.1
7. Luiz Fernandinho (Man. City/ENG)
81.4
7. Jesús Navas (Man. City/ENG)
67.7
8. Miralem Pjanić (AS Roma/ITA)
80.7
8. Patrick Herrmann (M'gladbach/GER)
66.7
9. Arturo Vidal (Juventus/ITA)
79.1
9. Isco Alarcón (Real Madrid/ESP)
65.7
10. Lucas Biglia (Lazio/ITA)
78.8
10. Santi Cazorla (Arsenal/ENG)
64.3
11. Paul Pogba (Juventus/ITA)
77.7
11. Bernardo Silva (Monaco/FRA)
55.7
12. Nemanja Matić (Chelsea/ENG)
75.9
12. Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (Monaco/FRA)
54.5
Forwards
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/ESP)
100.0
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/ESP)
93.5
3. Luis Suárez (Barcelona/ESP)
92.8
4. Arjen Robben (Bayern/GER)
88.5
5. Sergio Agüero (Man. City/ENG)
67.0
6. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon/FRA)
65.1
7. Diego Costa (Chelsea/ENG)
65.0
8. Neymar Júnior (Barcelona/ESP)
64.1
9. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP)
62.5
10. Felipe Anderson (Lazio/ITA)
61.5
11. Carlos Tévez (Juventus/ITA)
59.3
12. Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal/ENG)
58.0
16