Chelsea Premier League stat pack before the restart

As return of the Premier League gallops ever closer, remind yourself of the key statistics from Chelsea’s season thus far.

Stats are what make up the foundation of football. It is the avenue for any pundit to make a judgement of a player or team, or the opportunity for fans to impress their friends with obscure numbers and data. Many cannot stand them; some cannot get enough of them. But the fact is stats are fact, so why not crunch the digits of Chelsea’s Premier League campaign thus far? All provided courtesy of WhoScored.

Starting simply enough, Tammy Abraham trounces his team mates on the goalscoring front, netting 13 goals across all competitions. The nearest man to him is fellow Englishman, Mason Mount, who is on six. Mount’s last arriving in the 4-0 trouncing of Everton, the final fixture for Chelsea before COVID-19 came crashing down upon across the globe.

Abraham has been stuck on unlucky 13 since scoring in the thrilling 2-2 draw with Arsenal in late January, his season prematurely then cut short by an ankle injury. It should come as no surprise the forward is leading this particular race, considering he has attempted 73 shots in total, six more than the next sharp shooter; Mount on 68.

In terms of contributions, Willian just wins the race for assists on five, closely followed by Callum Hudson-Odoi and that man Mount again, the young pair on four each. The mention of the former may come as surprise considering he has only made 17 league appearances this term, at least ten fewer than both his set up sidekicks.

Again, Willian’s contribution return is not a revelation; the Brazilian has a total of 51 key passes to his team mates, a ratio of 1.8 per game. This is only marginally matched by Pedro’s 1.9 per game, despite the Spaniard settling for just 17 key passes and one assist from his nine matches.

On the subject of samba style, Willian has successful dribbled his way past an opponent on 52 occasions, dazzling us with the sparkle of the South Americas. Yet, he is not the ultimate king of the ring when humiliating the opposition. That crown falls to Mateo Kovacic, the Croatian having beat his marker on 69 occasions with a success rate of 2.8 per game. This puts him on a pedestal with the league’s trickiest customers: Adama Traore, Wilfred Zaha, Allan Saint-Maximin, etc. Considering these are all traditionally wide men, Kovacic has a case for being the finest dribbler in the division.

His elegance has also been combined with efficiency, after completing 1343 accurate short passes and 77 accurate long passes, placing him second and fourth respectively in the Chelsea ranking table. Jorginho leads the way for concise passes, 1541 to be precise, with the Italian continuing his trend from last season of recycling play as the lynch pin of the midfield.

Kepa Arrizabalaga has the edge in the long-range department, owed to an unfair advantage of goal kicks and utilisation of his hands. His 101 accurate long passes are actually trumped by his 151 inaccurate short passes, shadowing his shaky performances and less than convincing presence in the Chelsea net. With just 41 saves, the 25-year old is way down in 21st among his fellow Premier League shot stoppers, conceding 32 goals and keeping just six clean sheets along the way.

A special section is saved just for Kepa’s fellow Spanish comrade: Cesar Azpilicueta. Captain and Mr. Consistent, the defender ranks highly—if not the highest—in most categories across the board, in compliance to his dependable nature.

He has made more tackles (64), blocked more shots (16), crosses (10) and passes (26) than any Chelsea player. He is second for interceptions (50), clearances (62) and total attempted passes (1736) and ranks third for aerial duals won (76), total key passes (31) and assists (three). Oh, and he has played more minutes than any other Blue (2,420). Seemingly superhuman in his ability, Azpilicueta shows no signs of slowing down, despite rapidly approaching his 31st birthday. His commitment to the club repaid by Frank Lampard as the manager looks to his experience in the face of his youthful contingent.

Honourable mentions go to Kurt Zouma for the highest amount of clearances (88) and winner of aerial duals (87). Less warranted prizes go to: Christian Pulisic for having been dispossessed 43 times and unsuccessfully attempting a dribble on 30 occasions, the 20 offside flags called against Abraham and Jorginho for picking up 10 yellow cards and allowing an opponent to beat him on 45 separate instances.

What’s your favorite Chelsea statistic of the season? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!