London Football News

Stats show Benteke was the Premier League’s best in the air

Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke was by far the best player in the air during the Premier League season, statistics show.

Stats provided by fantasy football game Oulala show Benteke won 325 aerial duels at an average of nine per game.

Benteke won a whopping 114 more aerial duels than his nearest rival in the list, Burnley striker Sam Vokes.

Stats released at the end of the season also show that Benteke’s Palace team-mate Wilfried Zaha was the Premier League’s best when it came to taking on players – and was the most fouled player in the division.

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez registered the most through balls during the campaign, statistics also show.

Stats show the Chilean’s 48 through balls over the course of the campaign came out at an average of 1.3 per game in his 38 appearances.
That is significantly more than Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, who appears second on the list.

Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen was the Premier League’s most creative player over the course of the season, stats also show.

The Danish midfielder completed 112 key passes in 36 appearances – an average of 3.1 per game and the best in the division by a comfortable margin.

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Sanchez came third and eighth respectively in this category, the stats show.

Eden Hazard of Chelsea is fourth, while Dimitri Payet appears 10th despite leaving West Ham in January.

Meanwhile, Tottenham striker Harry Kane was involved in the most Premier League goals during the 2016/17 campaign.

Kane’s 29 goals and seven assists, totaling a direct involvement in 36 league goals, was two more than Sanchez, who is second on the list.

Kane’s Spurs team-mate Dele Alli is fourth, while Chelsea duo Diego Costa and Hazard appear third and 10th respectively.




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