Manchester City stats: The champions regress in most areas during failed title defence

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The former Premier League champions have made fewer tackles and got fewer shots away, but their passing has improved.

It is fair to say that last year’s title was hard earned for Manchester City, having spent the least amount of time at the top of the table of all the contenders.

Such is their spending power, they are expected to compete each year and with further investment last summer, a strong title defence was widely anticipated. However, it has not happened for City, with them struggling to keep up with the pace eventual champions Chelsea set from the get-go.

A second-placed finish is not to be sniffed at, but finishing with seven fewer points, winning three fewer games, drawing two more and losing one more than last season is clearly disappointing. Let’s take a look at their other stats to see how they’ve improved, or regressed, in key areas.

In defence, things have gone backwards, with their tackling success falling from 76% to 74%. Their number of tackles has also fallen, though by just 0.6%. Their number of successful tackles has also decreased, this time by 3%. That has seen them concede one extra goal.

Passing has also taken a hit, with their success rate falling from 86% to 84%, although their number of passes has increased by 6% and their number of successful passes increasing by 4%.

Up front, shooting accuracy fell from 35% to 34%, their number of shots fell by 0.4% and their number of shots on target fell by 4%. That has seen them score 19 fewer goals as a result.

Despite decreases in all areas, the numbers are minimal for Manchester City and won’t cause much concern. However, players are needed to improve an ageing squad, which this season has simply failed to keep up with runaway winners Chelsea.