Study: Rumoured Chelsea departee Antonio Rudiger amongst players with most successful aerial duel rate in Europe's top leagues

An aerial duel in football: something that doesn’t seem that important until you realise your players are absolutely terrible in the air and you’ve not scored from a single corner all season, *cough* Manchester United. All jokes aside, an aerial duel - no matter where it is on the pitch - can be incredibly important. Whether it’s defending from a goal kick being launched up the field, defending a corner or even having your striker score from a cross, there’s no doubting the importance of the physical side of the game.

We’ve decided to take a look at who’s winning the most aerial duels this season, and provide a bit of praise to the players who are getting stuck in for their team.

When it comes to comparing players from Europe’s top four leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga), the Premier League only has one representative in the top 10 for the highest percentage of aerial duels won, which is Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger who has won 77.78% of the duels he’s gone for. Huge props to the top two in this list coming in at just 24 and 22 years old. 

Rüdiger does, however, claim the crown for the highest duel success percentage in the Premier League, with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Adam Webster just missing out by a measly 1.31%. A surprise name in the mix is Liverpool’s Thiago who boasts an exceptional 75% of aerial duels won this season.

The Premier League is much more favoured when it comes to players with the most aerial duels won in Europe’s top four leagues where they have five of the top 10. Burnley fans can celebrate the fact that Chris Wood is third on the list and James Tarkowski is there in 8th. Tthis might tell you the type of players Sean Dyche likes playing for his club.

All the players we have used in the study have played at least ten games in their domestic league this season. Goalkeepers have not been included.

The results of the study have been split into five parts…

• Players with the highest percentage of aerial duels won in Europe’s top four leagues
• Players with the highest percentage of aerial duels won in the Premier League
• Players with the lowest percentage of aerial duels won in the Premier League
• Players with the most aerial duels won in Europe’s top four leagues
• Best aerial duel percentage per Premier League club

Players with the highest percentage of aerial duels won in Europe’s top four leagues

Players with the highest percentage of aerial duels won in the Premier League

Players with the lowest percentage of aerial duels won in the Premier League

Players with the most aerial duels won in Europe’s top four leagues

Best aerial duel percentage per Premier League club