Just a month remains of the 2021/22 Premier League season, which has seen West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini emerge in front of Tottenham ace Oliver Skipp as one of the best passers.
Manchester City, naturally in a Pep Guardiola side, lead the way as a team and individually. The Citizens boast the best pass success rate of any club so far this term at 89.6%, above Chelsea (86.5), Spurs (84.9) and Liverpool (84.5) from a high 22,017 balls, per WhoScored.
- Everton’s last XI before Moshiri takeover, only one survivor
- England at the World Cup: Three Lions’ group stage record ahead of Qatar
Liverpool have played the second-most total passes with 19,722, but have also played 502 more inaccurate short balls than City. No top-flight team has misplaced more short passes than the Anfield natives to date (2,209), while Aston Villa have misplaced the least (1,587).
Individually, Aymeric Laporte tops the standings for the largest total for passes (2,467) and accurate attempts (2,341), per SofaScore, among Premier League players who have played at least 10 games. With the top-spots in either column occupied by Manchester City stars.
Premier League’s best passers so far – Most passes
The three Premier League stars with the most total passes all come from the Manchester City stable. Laporte’s 2,467 heads competition from fellow Citizens defender Joao Cancelo with 2,450 and teammate Rodri, with the midfielder recording 2,357 so far this season.
Virgil van Dijk is the top talent not wearing sky blue, with the Liverpool star playing 2,353 total passes. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rounds out the top-five, with the Tottenham midfielder recording 2,097 attempts as the leading player not at either of the title-contending outfits.
Premier League’s best passers so far – Most accurate passes
While Cancelo is second for total passes, the Portuguese is not in the top-three for playing the most accurate attempts. Laporte’s 2,341 are in the clear lead, with Rodri in second on 2,149 and Van Dijk moving into third with 2,100. Cancelo has completed 2,091 attempts.
Hojbjerg also falls out of the top-five when it comes to finding a teammate with his passes. The Dane is only sixth with 1,870 of his 2,097 passes finding another Spurs shirt. He ranks behind Ruben Dias, with the centre-half finding another Manchester City man 1,901 times.
Premier League’s best passers so far – Accurate passes by per cent
Three Manchester City men again lock out the top-five for passing when it comes down to the percentage completed. Laporte again leads the way with 94.89% of his attempts going to a player in sky blue. Dias, meanwhile, is second with a 93.65% competition rate so far.
No Tottenham or Liverpool players are in the top-five, however. Instead, Chelsea’s Thiago Silva is third on 92.38%, ahead of West Ham star Lanzini (92.19) and John Stones (91.66). Curtis Jones is the Reds’ best in 10th on 90.32% and Skipp in 13th (90.06%) is Spurs’ best.
Premier League’s best passers so far – Chances created
Liverpool set the example for what they can do when their passes work out, though. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah have laid on the most assists in the Premier League so far this season with 12 each. Andrew Robertson is also third, with the Scot creating 10.
Alexander-Arnold and Salah have also created the highest number of big chances to date with 18 and 17 each. Harry Kane sits second with Salah on 17 and is sixth for assists with eight to his name – behind Mason Mount and Paul Pogba, who have both recorded nine.
A Manchester United star has the highest total of key passes, meanwhile. Bruno Fernandes has created 84 chances, ahead of Alexander-Arnold (79), Manchester City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne (67), and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (61).
Premier League’s best passers so far – Long balls
Excluding goalkeepers, Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen has played the highest number of accurate long balls in the Premier League this season so far with 192. His total eclipses the 175 of Alexander-Arnold, Ruben Neves’ 170, Van Dijk’s 144 and Rodri’s 142.
As for shot-stoppers, Burnley’s Nick Pope has found a teammate most often when going long with 276 successful passes. Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel is the next best with 236 so far, ahead of Jordan Pickford (221), David Raya (202) and Lukasz Fabianski (188).
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
