European football's best XI this season 2020 - according to stats
- 4 years ago
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Ciro Immobile all feature in European football's best XI of the campaign with leagues currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic
Coronavirus chaos mean the Premier League has been stopped until at least April 30.
Whether that return date is realistic remains to be seen, but Euro 2020 has now been postponed to allow domestic leagues to finish.
Nevertheless, we’re roughly three-quarters of the way through the respective seasons in most of Europe’s top five leagues and a team of the season is beginning to take shape.
We’ve put together an XI of the best players across Europe, according to key statistics.
It features many of the names that you might expect, but there are some surprises while many of the usual suspects don’t make it.
Goalkeeper - Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)
Liverpool’s Alisson, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen tend to be the usual names when it comes to the debate over the world’s best goalkeeper, but there’s a surprise name that tops the charts when it comes to the stats this season - Crystal Palace’s Vicente Guaita.
That’s at least according to OPTA’s stats for goals prevented, which takes into account saves made from expected goals on target. Guaita tops the list in terms of stopping such goal-bound shots.
Right-back - Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
The 21-year-old has already been talked up as revolutionising the right-back position, drawing comparison to playmakers and David Beckham for his crossing ability, and that’s borne out by his stats.
Last season he was named in the Guinness World Records for most assists in a season from a defender with 12. He’s already matched that tally with nine games left to play this campaign, the most for any defender in Europe’s top five leagues, while only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has more in the Premier League this season.
At the other end, he’s also part of a formidable Reds backline. Only Real Madrid have conceded fewer league goals (19) than Liverpool this season.
Centre-back - Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Living up to his reputation and getting sent off against Manchester City in the Champions League, Spain’s most dismissed in history has behaved himself in La Liga, receiving seven bookings and no red cards.
He’s featured at the heart of their defence for 25 of their 27 league games, with their title challenge built upon their stellar record of just 19 goals conceded.
He’s also scored goals in the league for Madrid - at Madrid only Karim Benzema has scored more than his tally of five in La Liga this season.
Centre-back - Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
The current PFA Player Of The Season remains the highest-rated centre-half in Europe according to WhoScored.com with an average rating of 7.4.
He’s not nearly as busy in terms of blocks, tackles and interceptions as other centre-halves, but a lot of that is down to helping Liverpool establish dominance out from the back. He
Coronavirus chaos mean the Premier League has been stopped until at least April 30.
Whether that return date is realistic remains to be seen, but Euro 2020 has now been postponed to allow domestic leagues to finish.
Nevertheless, we’re roughly three-quarters of the way through the respective seasons in most of Europe’s top five leagues and a team of the season is beginning to take shape.
We’ve put together an XI of the best players across Europe, according to key statistics.
It features many of the names that you might expect, but there are some surprises while many of the usual suspects don’t make it.
Goalkeeper - Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)
Liverpool’s Alisson, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre Ter Stegen tend to be the usual names when it comes to the debate over the world’s best goalkeeper, but there’s a surprise name that tops the charts when it comes to the stats this season - Crystal Palace’s Vicente Guaita.
That’s at least according to OPTA’s stats for goals prevented, which takes into account saves made from expected goals on target. Guaita tops the list in terms of stopping such goal-bound shots.
Right-back - Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
The 21-year-old has already been talked up as revolutionising the right-back position, drawing comparison to playmakers and David Beckham for his crossing ability, and that’s borne out by his stats.
Last season he was named in the Guinness World Records for most assists in a season from a defender with 12. He’s already matched that tally with nine games left to play this campaign, the most for any defender in Europe’s top five leagues, while only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has more in the Premier League this season.
At the other end, he’s also part of a formidable Reds backline. Only Real Madrid have conceded fewer league goals (19) than Liverpool this season.
Centre-back - Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Living up to his reputation and getting sent off against Manchester City in the Champions League, Spain’s most dismissed in history has behaved himself in La Liga, receiving seven bookings and no red cards.
He’s featured at the heart of their defence for 25 of their 27 league games, with their title challenge built upon their stellar record of just 19 goals conceded.
He’s also scored goals in the league for Madrid - at Madrid only Karim Benzema has scored more than his tally of five in La Liga this season.
Centre-back - Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
The current PFA Player Of The Season remains the highest-rated centre-half in Europe according to WhoScored.com with an average rating of 7.4.
He’s not nearly as busy in terms of blocks, tackles and interceptions as other centre-halves, but a lot of that is down to helping Liverpool establish dominance out from the back. He