Alternative Premier League stat leaders team of the season
With the Premier League now done and dusted for another season, we look back at some of the statistical leaders over the campaign gone by to compile an alternative team of the season.
To clarify, in this instance each player has made the cut due to one particular statistical category in which they came out on top in 2018/19. A minimum of 10 starts over the course was set as a requirement.
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool) - Best save success
As well as earning the Golden Glove courtesy of his 21st clean sheet of the season on the final day against Wolves, Liverpool stopper Alisson boasted the best save success rate over the 2018/19 campaign. That is, the save percentage of shots on target that he faced, with the Brazilian keeping out 76 of 97 attempts on his goal (78.4 per cent).
Right-back: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace) - Best dribble success
It was a truly sensational breakthrough season for the Palace full-back, who ranked among the top three players in the league for both tackles (129) and interceptions (84). It is, however, his dribbling that sees him make the grade here, having boasted the best success rate, just ahead of Eden Hazard, of those to have completed more than 50 (67.8 per cent).
Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - Best tackle success
While Liverpool’s commanding centre-back rarely found himself in positions in which he was forced into tackles, the Dutchman still completed 38 without being dribbled past on a single occasion. For context, no other Premier League player made more than five tackles without being beaten at least once. The man is a colossus.
Centre-back: Harry Maguire (Leicester) - Best aerial success
While Maguire may not have hit the heights of his World Cup campaign with England, he certainly did so when it came to aerial duels. The Leicester star rose highest to win 118 of 151 battles over the course of the season, boasting the best success rate in the division (78.1 per cent) by a distance.
Left-back: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Manchester City) - Best win rate
He’s certainly not the first player you think of when it comes to those that pushed City to the title but Zinchenko arguably had the greatest impact. At a time when Fabian Delph and Danilo were flattering to deceive and the champions were dropping points, the youngster stepped in as a makeshift left-back and didn’t disappoint. The Ukraine international started nine of the last ten league games in City’s winning run and ended up victorious in all 14 of his starts over the season.
Right wing: Sadio Mane (Liverpool) - Best conversion rate
Few would have had the Senegal international even among their outsiders for the Golden Boot but Mane earned a share of the award with his 21st and 22nd goals of the season on the final day. It was a day that saw the record broken in terms of the number of players to reach double figures in the Premier League, and of those 32 Mane boasted the best conversion rate (25.3 per cent).
Centre midfield: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester) - Most possession won
Were it not for his predecessor’s remarkable impact at the King Power Stadium, Ndidi would probably get more of the credit that he deserves. That’s not to say Leicester fans undervalue the Nigerian, whose ball winning capabilities have been unrivalled since moving to England. The 22-year-old won possession 324 times in total over the season, which was 37 more than his closest rival.
Centre midfield: James Maddison (Leicester) - Most key passes
An instant hit with the Foxes, Maddison reached a landmark that no other player managed on the final day of the season, with two key passes against Chelsea taking his overall tally to 100 exactly. In the process the 22-year-old became the first player to finish outside of the top six to create so many chances since Dimitri Payet in 2015/16.
Left wing: Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth) - Big chances created
Sticking on the theme of creativity, very few would have had Fraser down as one of the leagues best in that regard prior to the season but the Scotland international enjoyed a spectacular campaign. Only Hazard registered more assists than the winger (14) - having managed just 12 across his previous five top-flight seasons - but the 25-year-old was way out in front for big chances created, with a tally of 28 at least ten more than any other Premier League player and second only to Lionel Messi in Europe’s top five leagues.
Forward: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) - Most valuable goals
Like Mane, Aubameyang’s exploits on the final day of the season earned him a tie for the Golden Boot award and his double at Burnley was another example of the striker’s goals proving invaluable. Had it not been for his brace, the score would have been 1-1 and Arsenal would have had two fewer points, and when applying that theory over the season the Gabon international directly earned his side six more points (19) than any other player in the league.
Forward: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - Biggest goal contribution to club
With Chelsea finishing well off the pace Hazard was never likely to be in the running for the PFA Player of the Year award but the Belgian was perhaps the most important individual to any side. That certainly rings true when considering that the forward’s 31 goals and assists combined equated to 49.2 per cent of his club’s overall goal tally - a higher proportion than any other player.
