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
| NAme | Club | duels won | win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nikola Milenkovic | Fiorentina | 52 | 80% |
| Ronald Aruajo | Barcelona | 43 | 79.07% |
| Jose Gimenez | Atletico Madrid | 26 | 78.78% |
| Oscar De Marcos | Athletic Bilbao | 11 | 78.57% |
| Theo Hernandez | AC Milan | 11 | 78.57% |
| Antonio Rudiger | Chelsea | 42 | 77.78% |
| Konstantinos Mavropanos | VFB Stuttgart | 42 | 77.78% |
| Martin Zubimendi | Real Sociedad | 24 | 77.42% |
| Niklas Sule | Bayern Munich | 23 | 76.67% |
| Shkodran Mustafi | Levante | 23 | 76.67% |
Players with the highest percentage of aerial duels won in the Premier League
| Player | Club | Aerial Duels Won | aerial duels lost | total | percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Rudiger | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 54 | 77.78 |
| Adam Webster | Brighton | 26 | 8 | 34 | 76.47 |
| Thiago | Liverpool | 15 | 5 | 20 | 75.00 |
| Grant Hanley | Norwich | 45 | 17 | 62 | 72.58 |
| Jamaal Lascelles | Newcastle | 52 | 20 | 72 | 72.22 |
| Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | 65 | 26 | 91 | 71.43 |
| Joel Matip | Liverpool | 59 | 24 | 83 | 71.08 |
| Shane Duffy | Brighton | 51 | 21 | 72 | 70.83 |
| James Tarkowski | Burnley | 78 | 33 | 111 | 70.27 |
| Jan Bednarek | Southampton | 44 | 19 | 63 | 69.84 |
Players with the lowest percentage of aerial duels won in the Premier League
| Player | Club | Aerial duels won | aerial duels lost | total | percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jadon Sancho | Man Utd | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Phil Foden | Man City | 1 | 17 | 18 | 5.56 |
| Demarai Gray | Everton | 1 | 16 | 17 | 5.58 |
| Yoane Wissa | Brentford | 1 | 11 | 12 | 8.33 |
| Ryan Fraser | Newcastle | 1 | 10 | 11 | 9.09 |
| Tariq Lamptey | Brighton | 2 | 12 | 14 | 14.29 |
| Mo Salah | Liverpool | 5 | 26 | 31 | 16.13 |
| Sergi Canos | Brentford | 4 | 20 | 24 | 16.67 |
| Manuel Lanzini | West Ham | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16.67 |
| Daniel Podence | Wolves | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16.67 |
Players with the most aerial duels won in Europe’s top four leagues
| Player | club | aerial duels won |
|---|---|---|
| Joeslu | Deportivo Alaves | 156 |
| Morten Thorsby | Sampdoria | 104 |
| Chris Wood | Burnley | 93 |
| Ivan Toney | Brentford | 87 |
| Fabian Klos | Arminia Bielefeld | 82 |
| Milan Djuric | Torino | 82 |
| Ethan Pinnock | Brentford | 79 |
| James Tarkowski | Burnley | 78 |
| Christian Benteke | Crystal Palace | 75 |
| David García | Osasuna | 71 |
Best aerial duel percentage per Premier League club
| Player | Club | Aerial Duels won | aerial duels lost | total | percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granit Xhaka | Arsenal | 16 | 10 | 26 | 61.54 |
| Matt Targett | Aston Villa | 32 | 14 | 46 | 69.57 |
| Ethan Pinnock | Brentford | 79 | 43 | 122 | 64.75 |
| Adam Webster | Brighton | 26 | 8 | 34 | 76.47 |
| James Tarkowski | Burnley | 78 | 33 | 111 | 70.27 |
| Antonio Rudiger | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 54 | 77.78 |
| Cheikou Kouyate | Crystal Palace | 44 | 24 | 68 | 64.71 |
| Michael Keane | Everton | 56 | 28 | 84 | 66.67 |
| Liam Cooper | Leeds | 54 | 32 | 86 | 62.79 |
| Jonny Evans | Leicester | 29 | 14 | 43 | 67.44 |
| Thiago | Liverpool | 15 | 5 | 20 | 75.00 |
| Rodri | Man City | 34 | 19 | 53 | 64.15 |
| Harry Maguire | Man Utd | 41 | 20 | 61 | 67.21 |
| Jamaal Lascelles | Newcastle | 52 | 20 | 72 | 72.22 |
| Grant Hanley | Norwich | 45 | 17 | 62 | 72.58 |
| Jan Bednarek | Southampton | 44 | 19 | 63 | 69.84 |
| Lucas Moura | Spurs | 41 | 22 | 63 | 65.08 |
| Adam Masina | Watford | 26 | 12 | 38 | 68.42 |
| Angelo Ogbonna | West Ham | 27 | 27 | 54 | 50.00 |
| Leander Dendoncker | Wolves | 14 | 8 | 22 | 63.64 |
