Stats: PSG Still the Kings of Europe
Paris Saint-Germain just keeps on impressing. The two-time reigning European champions cruised to a 0-6 win at Villarreal on Tuesday, picking up a 4th victory in 4 league-phase matches in the Champions League. The win was fueled by a blistering start. Whereas their two victorious European campaigns had begun tentatively, Luis Enrique’s men are in great form right from the start of the season. After a sluggish start in the league, PSG now lead Ligue 1 McDonald’s as well as the European stage, with a superb run of 10 consecutive wins across all competitions. And this supremacy shows up in many statistical areas.
A Night of Records
Starting with the freshest news, PSG picked up yet another win on Tuesday despite the absence of several of their best players (Kvaratskhelia, O. Dembélé, N. Mendes and Marquinhos). Europe’s best team, and therefore the world’s, the flagship of Ligue 1 McDonald’s is on an impressive run. At Villarreal, the Parisians got their 14th consecutive Champions League victory, a record for a French club (matching OL in 2004-2006).
With 4 goals scored in 16 minutes and 2 seconds, PSG also set the record for the fastest team to score 4 goals in the competition. A record that bears the mark of Joao Neves, Désiré Doué, Senny Mayulu and Fabian Ruiz.
PSG Dominant in the European Top 5
Several tenets of Luis Enrique’s playing philosophy show in the way PSG are the best team in the 5 major European leagues. PSG are the team that touches the ball most per match (899 on average), ahead of Barça (895) and Bayern (874). As a corollary, PSG make the most passes per match (722 on average), again ahead of Barça (704) and Bayern (671). But while volume doesn’t necessarily mean quality, it does in Paris’s case: they complete 83.1% of their passes in the final third (joint leaders with Como and ahead of Inter).
Thanks to excellent possession (68.2%) and a fine ability to win the ball back cleanly, PSG are also the team that commits the fewest fouls in the European top 5. The Parisians have fouled only 60 times (an average of 6.6 per match), making them the benchmark ahead of England’s Everton (65) and... Brittany’s FC Lorient (74).
PSG 2nd out of 96
While PSG outperform the best teams in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga in many areas, there are also several statistical categories in which PSG are bettered by only one of the 96 teams in the European top 5. In terms of possession, Paris Saint-Germain average 68.2% (just behind Barça at 70.3%). As for evidence of PSG’s technical superiority, one can cite the percentage of successful passes (90.6%), where, here too, only Barça do better, by a whisker (90.8%). In the “zone of truth,” Parisian precision hurts, with an average of 217 passes completed in the final third of the pitch per match.
Next, PSG are the 3rd-best team in the European top 5 for shots on target per match (7.9 on average), behind Bayern and Barça by a hair (39.9% of shots on target versus 40.8% and 40.1% respectively). Ferran Torres, Vitinha and co. are also in the top 4 for expected goals (2.66 per match) and big chances created per match (4.7). The same goes for fouls won in the final third of the pitch.
