Battle of Spanish Midfielders at their prime!

Classic Comparison -

Juan Mata 2012/13 VS David Silva 2011/12 !

Juan Mata and David Silva tale of two Spanish midfielders. Both of them left Valencia to start their new journey at the Premier League, Their journey is very different from one another. A decade ago, England witness an invasion of a different sort. The intensely physical Premier League braced itself for two technically gifted Spanish midfielders. They arrived one year apart, with tiki-taka football acting as a catalyst. They revolutionized English football. A decade on, football is played at a heavy metal pace unsuitable for the men who arrived from Spain a decade earlier. Fondly called as 'Merlin', David Silva has been Manchester City's most reliable player throughout the decade. Manchester City had an artist who conducted the orchestra for a decade. Juan Mata is probably one of the few who are technically adept as Silva. How different Mata's journey would have been with a little luck. ' The Wizard', He was Chelsea's player of the season twice in his first two years. Now he is at best a peripheral figure who remains popular. Having Jose Mourinho as the boss(twice) didn't help his cause. While one walks from Manchester having won 4 PL titles, the other would remain on an unsteady ship in turbulent waters.

Juan Mata vs David Silva

Juan Mata was a different breed during the 2012/13 campaign for Chelsea, He had " 19 goals and 35 assists" from midfield. He played 64 games throughout the season in which he helped Chelsea to win the Europa League. He averaged a goal and assist every 91 minutes throughout the season.

 David Silva had his best season at Eithad during their first title win in 44 years. During the 2011/12 season, he played 49 games throughout the season and won the Premier League. He averaged a goal and assist every 134 minutes throughout the season.

Premier League

Juan Mata averaged 2.8 key passes during the season and ended with 12 assist which was League high during the 2012/13 season. He created 98 chances in 35 games. He completed 85% of his passes, including 2.8 long passes per game. He attempted 1.3 crosses per game during the entirety of the Premier League season He also managed to get 12 goals. He averaged a goal and assist every 115 minutes throughout the entire Premier League season.

David Silva averaged 2.9 key passes during the season and ended with 15 assist which was league-high during the 2011/12 season. He created 104 chances in 36 games. He completed 87% of his passes, including 1.6 long passes per game. He attempted 1 cross per game during the entirety of the Premier League season. He also managed to get 6 goals. He averaged a goal and assist every 134 minutes throughout the entire Premier League season.

Champions League

Juan Mata averaged 2.7 key passes during the season and ended with 3 assists during the 2012/13 Champions League, As they crashed out during the group stage. He created 16 chances in 6 games. He completed 87% of his passes, including 2.7 long passes per game. He attempted 2 crosses per game during the entirety of the Champions League season He also managed to get 3 goals. He averaged a goal and assist every 74 minutes throughout the entire Champions League.

David Silva averaged 2.2 key passes during the season and ended with 2 assists during the 2011/12 Champions League, As they crashed out during the group stage. He created 13 chances in 2 games. He completed 87% of his passes, including 1.8 long passes per game. He managed to get 1 goal. He averaged a goal and assist every 170 minutes throughout the entire Champions  League.

Others

Additional Mata got 5 assists and 1 goal in 490 minutes of Europa League action. He was instrumental in Chelsea's run to semi-finals in both cup competition where he was involved in 5 assists and 1 goal in the FA cup, 2  goals, and  4 assists in the EFL cup. He added a goal and an assist to his tally in the club world cup.

Silva was involved in just a goal in the Europa League, and an assist in both Community Shield and the EFL Cup.

Verdict

Juan Mata was the best player in the Premier League during his first two seasons at Chelsea. Even though his career fell apart he was on par with the best midfielders during his first few seasons. Where Silva gained strength to strength throughout his career, Mata was unlucky where he fell victim to Jose twice and joined Manchester United during their dreadful era.

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Player Comparison : 2019/20

Mane vs Salah: Who were most pivotal in Liverpool's title win?

Sadio Mane 

Sadio Mane won PFA Fans' Player of the season, he won it by a massive margin. Between him and De Bruyne difference was 14 percent. Near about the same amount third place Alexander-Arnold got(17 percent). He played a massive part in Liverpool's title win, He contributed 18 goals and 7 assists as they bulldozed their way to 1st title in 30 years. His goals won Liverpool 18 points before the pandemic. Whenever Liverpool needed a hero, Mane delivered through -- Be it his header against Aston Villa or his winner at Norwich. His statistics may be less impressive than Salah's on paper, but he was the driving force behind their charge for a title. He was a standout performer overall, whether it was consistency, importance, character, or work rate. His all-round game was superior to his counterpart. He tormented defense from the left side. Despite playing 131 minutes less than the Egyptian, He ended the season with one less goal. His overall contribution is phenomenal, he won 32 tackles to 6 of Salah's. He created 10 big chances. He directly contributed to 29 percent of Liverpool's goal in 2019/20. He has been one of the most influential attacking players in 2019/20.

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah has topped the goal-scoring chart for Liverpool, Since his debut. No Liverpool player has been involved in more goals Since the Egyptians made his debut. In 108 appearances he has been involved in 101 goals ( 73 goals and 28 assists). He is the first-ever Liverpool player to record double digits for both goals and assists in two different seasons (2017/18 & 2019/20). He scored 19 goals and gave out 10 assists, yet people tell it has been a disappointing season for Salah. Standards have been set high for Salah due to his previous exploits. He was in the hunt for a third consecutive golden boot. There is plenty of brilliance among these goals and assists. Some incentive play, bemusing dribbling, one-touch play, all are in the lockers. If Liverpool scores one of those goals that defines them -- the free-flowing one, lighting quick moves on the counter, or to break down a low block, Salah is usually involved. Despite all those brilliance, he can underwhelm for periods, running into troubles, or making the wrong decision. On numerous occasions, he shoots when the best option would to be pass it to his teammates. He has created a total of 13 big chances this season only Alexander-Arnold(18) has created more in this team. His 2017/18 campaign was extraordinary, almost Messi level, and marked him out as one of the best players in the world. A drop in output was expected, but even in a team that is defined by the collective rather than the individual, Salah’s output still stands out even if his performances sometimes don’t. Salah was involved in 34 percent of Liverpool's goal significantly higher than his counterpart.

Verdict 

No wonder they both had outstanding campaigns in their own ways. But Mane's overall contribution has been more important to Liverpool, Then those of Salah's. Despite the statistics favoring the Egyptians, It's Senegalese who has come to Liverpool's rescue this season.  Mane was more pivotal than Salah in this year's title run in for Liverpool.

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Player Comparison : 2019/20

Record breakers : King of assists Kevin De Bruyne vs Thomas Müller

There are three players with 20+ assists in 2019/20 season, other being Messi. Here we are only comparing two of them ( De Bruyne & Müller), Messi is Messi : So, he isn't here on the list. With  Lionel Messi (Barcelona, 21 assists) along with  Thomas Müller (Bayern München, 21 assists)  leading the assists charts in top 5 leagues closely followed by Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, 21 assists).

Thomas Müller

What a season for the fan favorite at Allianz Arena, Muller struggled to perform ; regularly finding himself on the bench. He made just three starts under then manager Niko Kovac. He recorded four assists and failed to find the back of the net in eleven appearances. However, the appointment of Hansi Flick in September appears to have flicked a magic wand in Muller’s direction. The German has been on a non-stop sensational form; so far he has contributed eight goals and seventeen assists in 24 games under Flick. Flick has allowed Müller the creative freedom he needs to dictate the game in midfield, finding space to bring teammates into threatening positions. Müller has created a whopping 2.9  chances per game, and has created a total of 26 big chances. Thomas Muller has a pass completion rate of 75.92 % and a rate of 60% for passes into the box.He's excepted assists are at 12.7, The expected assists (xA) metric measures the underlying creativity of a player’s passes. He has created 96 chances this season.Unlike xG, a player having more assists than their xA does not necessarily mean they’re overperforming individually because the conversion of their passes into goals is dependent on the players receiving these passes.

Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne can count himself unlucky to have not overtaken Thierry Henry's Premier League record for the most assists in a single season, instead drawing level with his tally of 20.But De Bruyne actually believes that he did indeed break Henry's record, opining in his post-match interview that the Premier League robbed him of two assists against Arsenal. De Bruyne remarked: "I have got two more. You guys took two away from me. I’m still claiming that one. For me I was already there.” Simultaneously he saw his own Bundesliga record of 20 assists, set while playing for Wolfsburg in 2014/15,surpassed by his German rival. Kevin De Bruyne has created 33 big chances. While creating 3.8 chances per game.Kevin de Bruyne has a pass completion rate of 76.95% and a rate of 50 % for passes into the box. He has created a whopping 136 chances in Premier league, his closest rival Grealish has created only 91 chances. De Bruyne became the quickest player to reach 50 assists, the only to reach 15+ assists in three successive seasons. Henry said that De Bruyne foreshadowed his name standing next to his : “In the Belgium national team we used to joke about the assists record and I always used to say: ‘You were not far this year,’ and he would always say: ‘I’ll get you one day’.” No wonder he’s not too bothered about sharing the record.

Verdict

No wonder both of them had a wonderful season, but for me personally De Bruyne had a better season than his German counterpart. He was creating chances for fun, had they finished off their chances. De Bruyne would hold the record(most assists in premier league season). At some point in the season he was in Ballon d'Or conversation. So, for me De Bruyne had the better season out of this two.

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PFA Player of the season : Preview

Player of the season focus : Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson Vs king of the assists Kevin De Bruyne

Some of the biggest names in the professional game are in the hunt for the Players' Player of the Year award, after the PFA confirmed the shortlist for the prestigious accolade. With the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Danny Ings, Nick Pope, Jamie Vardy being up for the coveted award. Here we look into the two favorites Kevin De Bruyne and Jordan Henderson.

Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne is leading the race for this season’s PFA Player of the Year award.Despite Man City’s failure to win a third successive Premier League title due to Liverpool’s dominance, De Bruyne has enjoyed a fine campaign.The Belgium playmaker has scored 13 goals and recorded an impressive 20 assists in 35 league appearances this term.He equaled the record for most assists in a single Premier League season (20), which was set by Thierry Henry in the 2002/03 campaign.The 29-year-old Belgian has been ubiquitous on the score sheet for City since joining the club in 2015, and he's showing no signs of slowing down. De Bruyne has created 33 big chances, compared to that of Liverpool's midfield they have created 16 big chances in TOTAL ( Henderson 9, Keita 5, Fabinho 2, Wijnaldum 0). Liverpool's front three are widely considered to be best in the world by many pundits and fans alike, their  front three has created same amount of big chances as De Bruyne has (33) : Salah 13, Mane 10 , Firmino 10.Liverpool were a juggernaut in the league but it's tough to say one of their players stood head and shoulders above the rest, while De Bruyne did. De Bruyne has been head and shoulders above any other player in the league, with the consistency of his performances, how dangerous he is and how he dictates games with his quality.

Jordan Henderson

While Jordan Henderson has not come close to reaching De Bruyne’s stats this term, his influence on and off the pitch for Liverpool has been vital in their first top-flight triumph in 30 years.When Henderson first signed for Liverpool from Sunderland in June 2011, much doubt surrounded his ability and whether he would be good enough to play for the Reds.But Henderson overcame that and, eventually being named captain in June 2015.Arguably the most important player in Liverpool’s title-winning side.When Henderson is on the pitch, Liverpool look a more complete team.Injured for the final game of the season, Henderson will end the 2019/20 Premier League campaign with 30 appearances, 26 of which have been starts. Of those 30 games, Liverpool have won 27, only drawing with Manchester United and Everton, and losing to Manchester City after the title was confirmed. That’s 90% of games won with Henderson on the pitch, and 83 points from a possible 90 gained.Henderson may not have the individual numbers of De Bruyne, scoring just four goals and recording five assists, but once again the importance of his contributions cannot be understated. With FWA Footballer of the year already secured , he'll no doubt be eyeing up PFA Player of the year.

Verdict

No doubt Henderson has been important for this Liverpool team , he's also lead them well both on and off the field. Helped to raise funds for NHS during this pandemic. But it feels like this belongs to De Bruyne for what he has achieved this season. Normally PFA Player of the season are given to those players that has had an outstanding season, so it's intriguing to see who'll win.

Odds

De Bruyne had been backed into 1.22, when the market was suspended, while Henderson was 3.00.

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"England's right back dilemma"

Two of the best young fullbacks!

England are blessed with two of the most skillful player in a position. Trent Alexander Arnold and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are two of the best player at their respective  position , in the league as well  as in Europe. Both have different and unique skill set to that of other , Arnold might excel at the at attacking likewise wan-bissaka excels at defensive duties. Stats speaks for themselves Trent had the most assists out of defender , whereas Wan-Bissaka completed most tackles in Europe's top 5 league. Each great at others expense, still young (21 and 22 years ) they have plenty of time to improve . Both of them are regular starters at their clubs , playing week in week out have help them to improve certain aspects of their game, still there remains question mark over who will start for England in the upcoming  UEFA Euro 2020. Trent alexander arnold has been starting for England for couple of times since his debut back in 2018. While Aaron wan-bissaka is still to represent his country he was close to getting his debut back in September. With Southgate  preferring the younger duos over the experienced duo of Walker and Trippier , he still has dilemma over  picking one over other. At international level Trent alexander arnold wont't get the same defensive solidity he gets at Liverpool, while Aaron wan-bissaka brings in the defensive might that his counterpart lacks. Leaving either one of them in bench will no doubt harm England in one way or other. As Jamie Carragher said "it's like having Kevin de Bruyne at right back"  , Trent finished only behind de Bruyne for assists provided in the premier league. He broke his own record which he set in the previous campaign (2018/19), each passing game Trent looks like a playmaker playing at right back . Likewise Jamie did praise wan-bissaka by quoting " he might be the best one on one defender in the world " as portrait-ed by Carragher or just ask "Raheem Sterling(wink emoji)" .England might miss the other one left in the bench. Many have hinted  at Trent playing in midfield as for now he's a vital cog in Jurgen klopp's all conquering Liverpool. Southgate can play three at back with wan-bissaka playing at right center back with trent playing in right wing back position , this seems to be the best system to utilize both of their talents simultaneously. Let's leave the decision making to the manager..

Passing and attacking

Full-backs used to be judged first and foremost on their defending, but in the modern game they have to place far more emphasis on their attacking play.

Wan-Bissaka (79.9%) and Alexander-Arnold (75.8%) not much of a difference.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team attack down the wide areas and Alexander-Arnold makes an incredible 7.5 crosses per 90 minutes in the league, not including corners.

But Wan-Bissaka’s attacking game still leaves a lot to be desired and the 22-year-old is averaging just 2.86 crosses per 90 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, Alexander-Arnold also comes out on top for chances created (2.6 per 90 minutes)with Wan-Bissaka  creating (0.7)

Wan-Bissaka has 1.7 successful dribbles per 90 at a completion rate of 68.0% but Alexander-Arnold finds himself behind. (0.6 at 37.4%).

Defensive actions

Defending is the one area of Alexander-Arnold’s game that has come under some scrutiny this season.

Liverpool have been dominated most Premier League games in 2019-20 so Alexander-Arnold averages 1.6 successful tackles per 90 minutes and has a success rate of 53.3%.

However, Wan-Bissaka is miles ahead in this department as the United defender averages an incredible 3.8 successful tackles per 90 with an 82.6% success rate.

In terms of interceptions, Wan-Bissaka leads the way once again with 2.0 per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season.

That is followed by the Liverpool defender who has made 1.3 interceptions per 90 in the 

league so far.

Conclusion

So, what’s the conclusion?

Well, we’ll let the  user reveal all.

"Both  full-backs are excellent in their own way. Trent Alexander Arnold is an attacking full-back that excels when playing higher up the pitch , played a vital part in ending the title drought . Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a defensive beast, putting up great defensive numbers which have contributed to United qualifying to the Champions League this season."

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