Stats Show City's Dominance With the Ball Compared to the Rest of the League
Manchester City have been running away with the Premier League this season, sitting first in the table with an undefeated record thus far. Their dominance as a unit is already historic, winning 18 consecutive matches, a new Premier League record, and they sit on pace to break more Premier League records, including goals in a season, points in a season, winning points margin, and others.
Manchester City's players also have had their own share of individual dominance, using their second season in the tiki-taka system to its fullest. Pep's possession-based strategy has produced figures that extend beyond the wins, with a handful of City players controlling certain statistical categories.
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Out of City's field players, De Bruyne, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Kyle Walker, and David Silva are the leaders in minutes played, all logging over 1,600 minutes so far.
Player | Minutes Played |
Kevin De Bruyne | 1,879 |
Nicolás Otamendi | 1,871 |
Fernandinho | 1,815 |
Kyle Walker | 1,754 |
David Silva | 1,608 |
These same five players all sit in the top-10 for touches in the Premier League this season, constantly receiving the ball in the flow of the game. Otamendi and Fernandinho sit first and second in this category, the defender and midfielder often exchanging the ball through the heart of the field.
Kevin De Bruyne sits fourth in touches, with Arsenal's Granit Xhaka narrowly in between the Belgian and his City teammates. David Silva trails only De Bruyne for touches for attacking players, the two moving the ball forward from midfield the most often.
Player | Touches |
Nicolás Otamendi (City) | 2,178 |
Fernandinho (City) | 2,159 |
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) | 2,130 |
Kevin De Bruyne (City) | 2,119 |
César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) | 1,906 |
Jan Vertonghen (Spurs) | 1,873 |
David Silva (City) | 1,870 |
Nemanja Matic (United) | 1,858 |
Kyle Walker (City) | 1,837 |
Christian Eriksen (Spurs) | 1,725 |
City accounts for half of all players in the top-10 for touches, with Tottenham being the only other club to place more than once on the list. As a club, City have over 2,000 more touches than the next, and their dominant group of five have recorded over half of their touches this season.
The same five sit in the top-10 for passes completed on the season as well, with Xhaka being the only non-City player in the top five. Walker drops to the tenth spot in this category, although he's averaging nearly 30 more passes per match than he did last season, and is just as active up and down the pitch.
Pep has City in his traditional 4-3-3, and it's no surprise that the five featured players are benefiting from it as much as they are. With Walker and Otamendi in the back line and De Bruyne, Fernandinho, and Silva on top of them, the five are in prime position to control the game and possession, a staple of their style of play.
