Who’s covered the most grass, burst from the blocks and pressed opponents most frequently in the Premier League this season? We rank clubs and players for every running metric and reveal the ultimate workhorses.
Who bursts from the blocks?
How do the teams rank?
The Premier League is becoming faster – that’s a fact. A Sky Sports study confirmed sprinting has been on the rise for three consecutive campaigns. So, which club sprints most?
Ange Postecoglou has transformed Tottenham’s style of play since taking the helm this summer – despite losing talisman Harry Kane to Bayern Munich – and Spurs’ league-topping 1,920 sprints epitomise his front-foot approach.
The chart below shows how Spurs are notably clear of their rivals for bursting from the blocks, ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester United.
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Conversely, Palace are once again at the bottom of the chart – as they were last season. Struggling Sheffield United sit in 19th spot, while pass-masters Manchester City rank 18th – which is understandable, given their customary, patient approach on the ball.
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More surprising teams among the bottom rungs include Nottingham Forest and West Ham, who are renowned for countering – but the statistics suggest these bursts are primarily from usual suspects.
How do the players rank?
Newcastle paid Everton £45m for Antony Gordon’s services in January and the forward was already widely praised for his physical exertions and pace at the time – but the 22-year-old now ranks as the league’s top sprinter.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights of Newcastle against Arsenal in the Premier League
Gordon has made 274 sprints, ahead of Spurs duo Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, Nicolas Jackson, Dominik Szoboszlai, Bryan Mbeumo, Pedro Neto and Raheem Sterling.
Each club’s top sprinter
Pure speed
How do the players rank?
So, if you lined up all 462 players that have made an appearance in the Premier League this season, who wins in a short sprint?
Well, Luton winger Chiedozie Ogbene would be bookies’ favourite, having clocked a season-topping 36.93km/h this season – edging Neto – who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Szoboszlai is once again among the fold in third spot, ahead of Burnley defender Dara O’Shea, Gordon, Amadou Onana, Tahith Chong, Dominic Solanke, Mbeumo and Sander Berge.
Each club’s top speedster
Pressing power
How do the teams rank?
Everton rank second for distance covered and sixth for sprints and also rank top for tackles and fast breaks, while ranking second for winning aerials and duels.
Therefore, it will come as no surprise Sean Dyche’s side have registered a league-topping 2,416 individual player pressures this term – primarily in the middle and final thirds.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights of Everton against Brighton in the Premier League
Bournemouth sit second, ahead of Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Luton, Sheffield United, Fulham and Burnley.
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At the other end of the pitch, Aston Villa have registered the fewest pressures, followed by Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea – with the latter trio typically having a greater share of the ball and therefore needing to apply pressure less often.
However, it is important to note the numbers above register individual players pressing opponents. In terms of coordinated pressures by two or more defending players at the same time, the numbers differ slightly and suggest Arsenal, Liverpool and Fulham are far more structured when applying a coordinated team press.
How do the players rank?
Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure leads the way for pressures this term with a staggering 488 to date – that’s 66 clear of runner-up and renowned workhorse Jordan Ayew – who signed a new deal at Palace this month.
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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou discusses Heung-min Son’s evolving role at Spurs and praises the South Korean for how he’s adapted to playing through the middle after the departure of Harry Kane
Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie holds third spot, ahead of Bruno Fernandes, Dominic Solanke, Son, Jarrod Bowen, Odsonne Edouard and Gordon.
Each club’s top presser
Who covers the most grass?
How do the teams rank?
Newly-promoted Burnley are struggling this term with four points from 11 games and sitting 19th in the table, two points adrift of Bournemouth and Luton – but Vincent Kompany’s side have been praised and criticised for their ambitious style of play.
The Clarets have the youngest average starting XI in the Premier League at just 24 years and 223 days and rank impressively for regaining possession and taking opponents on, but creating, and finishing, chances has been a problem – in addition to making costly errors while building out from the back.
The effort, however, is unquestionable, given Kompany’s side have covered more distance than any other team with 1,250km clocked this term, ahead of Everton, Brentford, Newcastle, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Brighton.
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Crystal Palace and Burnley sit at polar ends of the table for distance covered
At the other end of the scale, Crystal Palace sit at the bottom of the table for distance covered – but that’s nothing new: the Eagles ranked rock-bottom in this metric last term, too.
How do the players rank?
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag named Fernandes as his new captain in the summer – but the appointment has been widely questioned amid the current crisis at the club.
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Roy Keane believes that Bruno Fernandes should not be captain of Manchester United, despite his talents as a footballer
However, the Portugal international hit back at critics with his match-winning goal against Fulham last week and scored from the spot during United’s crushing 4-3 defeat to Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
While United’s crisis deepens, the stats suggest Fernandes is still putting in a considerable shift – covering more distance than any other player in the Premier League this term.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United’s win against Fulham in the Premier League
The 29-year-old has registered 126.24km to date – the equivalent of three marathons, or running from Old Trafford to beyond Leicester, as the crow flies – and sits above Christian Norgaard, Doucoure (Everton), Kulusevski, Vladimir Coufal, Conor Gallagher, Bruno Guimaraes and Szoboszlai in the rankings.
Each club’s top runner
So, who are ultimate workhorses?
When factoring distance covered, sprinting, speed and pressing, Gordon, Son, Kulusevski, Mbeumo, Szoboszlai, Fernandes and Doucoure appear to be the Premier League’s standout workhorses so far this season.
However, Gordon ranks top for sprints, fifth for speed and ninth for pressing, which, arguably, makes him the Premier League’s most explosive all-round runner.
James Ward-Prowse’s dominance in the distance covered chart looks set to end, with the former Southampton midfielder recording league-topping distances in three of the previous four campaigns – having also finished behind only current team-mate Tomas Soucek in 2020/21.