Hard Yards: Kevin de Bruyne Leads Champions League in Impressive Stat Category
Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne may have been earning plenty of plaudits with his goals (1) and assists (3) in the Champions League this season, but the Belgian playmaker has been putting in plenty of hard yards as well.
Running vast distances is not something usually associated with players of De Bruyne's type, who can often be considered lazy, but the City star has made sure he cannot be tarred with the same brush after covering more ground than any other Champions League player.
Data sourced from UEFA.com reveals that De Bruyne is the only player in the competition to have run in excess of 48km - 48,052m to be precise - after four matchdays so far.
That puts him ahead of Atletico Madrid midfield star Saul Niguez, who has covered just over 47.6km, and Fred of Shakhtar Donetsk, just over 47km.
APOEL's Vinicius and Chelsea's Marcos Alonso complete the top five for most distance covered, while another Shakhtar player in Taras Stepanenko is 6th on the list on 46.7km.
Nemanja Matic has been covering the ground for Manchester United this season, with 46.2km under his belt, while a handful of Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow player also feature in the top 20, giving an insight into the demands and coaching styles at both clubs.
Top 20 Most Distance Covered in Champions League This Season (UEFA.com):
Player | Minutes Played | Distance Covered (km) |
Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) | 360 | 48.1km |
Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid) | 360 | 47.6km |
Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk) | 360 | 47km |
Vinicius (APOEL) | 360 | 47km |
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) | 360 | 46.8km |
Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk) | 360 | 46.7km |
Richard Almeida (Qarabag) | 360 | 46.5km |
Luca Zuffi (Basel) | 360 | 46.3km |
Nemanja Matic (Man Utd) | 360 | 46.2km |
Fernando (Spartak Moscow) | 360 | 45.9km |
Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP) | 357 | 45.7km |
Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord) | 360 | 45.7km |
Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht) | 360 | 45.4km |
Tonny Vilhenna (Feyenoord) | 360 | 45.4km |
Aleksandr Golovin (CKSA Moscow) | 357 | 45.1km |
Jean-Paul Boetius (Feyenoord) | 360 | 45km |
Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow) | 360 | 44.8km |
Scot Brown (Celtic) | 340 | 44.7km |
Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) | 337 | 44.4km |
Michael Lang (Basel) | 360 | 44.3km |