Azpilicueta vs Flanagan – Does Liverpool or Chelsea ace come out on top?

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As we compare Liverpool and Chelsea’s unsung heroes – the statistics suggest Cesar Azpilicueta is clearly the better player, but is that a fair reflection?

The two young up-and-coming full-backs have been instrumental in their respective team’s form this season, yet when we compared the two, the statistics seemed to suggest that the Chelsea ace is superior.

Although Azpilicueta has been outstanding this season and the praise he gets from Chelsea supporters is much deserved, I believe Flanagan has been equally just as important to Liverpool.

The 21-year-old has been impressive this campaign, even more remarkably so considering it is his proper breakthrough season in Premier League football.

Azpilicueta has really earned his place in the Chelsea team over Ashley Cole, a player who is, rightfully considered a legend at Chelsea and was also widely considered the Premier League’s best full-back before the season started.

So as we compare the Chelsea and Liverpool stars – here is what the statistics say:

The first aspect we looked at was their faults, or at least their ratio of faults to minutes played…

According to Ppta, neither player has made an error which has led to a goal, however, Flanagan has made one which lead to a shot. It also suggest the Liverpool man is more frequent than Azpilicueta in losing challenges, player duels and aerial battles, as well as giving away more fouls per minute – although there really isn’t much in it.

The second aspect we looked at was their positive effect on a minutes per game ratio…

Cesar Azpilicueta, as expected, has recorded more clean sheets than Flanagan this season – which is largely down to the different styles in teams, as well as the quality in defensive personnel in their side too. Nevertheless, it was another straight set for the Chelsea man, beating Flanagan in all the options considered.

The third and final aspect we looked at was their all-round play, including the amount of touches they have both had per minute:

In this argument, the Liverpool defender does in fact come out on top. Flanagan has recorded an assist, which Azpilicueta hasn’t done, and Flanagan has created more goalscoring opportunities for his team. The Liverpool full-back also performs more successful dribbles per minute than his Chelsea competitor, although he does get dispossessed a lot more often.

The Chelsea man still comes out on top in the passing statistics and has more touches per minute than Flanagan, which does indicate that he has more influence in games.

And finally, the attacking influence of both the players when trying to put the ball in the goal:

Flanagan proves more influential in this case too, although, both players in truth still record a relatively low number of attempts at goal.