Barcelona forward leads European charts in key defensive metric | OneFootball

There is a certain element of hunger and relentlessness about Hansi Flick’s Barcelona this season. Even before he arrived at the club, the German coach was renowned for turning his teams into well-oiled machines. At Barcelona, the reality of his football has been no different from initial expectations.

The German coach has been quite insistent with his players about the workrate that they are expected to show on the pitch and the way in which they are to challenge their opponents and fight for every ball. After all, that is the key philosophy that makes Flick’s teams so dangerous to play against.

However, perhaps nothing would showcase these efforts and inputs better than statistical data. After all, evidence is the best way to analyze the specifics of how any football team operates but a certain eye-opening stat regarding a specific Barcelona player really tells a lot about this team as a whole.

As highlighted by the data provided by WhoScored, Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is the player with the most ground duels won across Europe’s top five leagues so far this season. Keeping in mind that the player in question is a 17-year-old winger, that statistic becomes even more impressive.

As for the exact number of ground duels won, the Barcelona prodigy has 60 to his name. Due to this huge number of duels going in his favor, it is clear to see why Hansi Flick’s team is able to put pressure on their opponents in dangerous positions thanks to the sheer workrate that starts from their forwards in the frontline.

In second place, behind Yamal, is Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian has managed to win 51 duels so far this season, putting him nine behind Yamal’s tally. Interestingly, the difference in position between the two players should also be a key indicator in terms of the impressiveness of the Barça player’s feat.

What makes Yamal even more impressing, if that was even considered possible, is the fact that he is a machine when it comes to goal contributions as well. So far this season, he has managed to score 5 goals and provide 5 assists across all competitions. As for his dribbling and overall quality as a player, the winger needs no introduction anymore now that he is regarded as one of the world’s best by both teammates and rivals.