4. Mason Mont vs. Phil Foden
This is where things get very interesting. The discussion around Phil Foden and Mason Mount has been in the news as several pundits have started picking their team of the seasons. Before getting into the comparison, just a piece for art lovers: check out Mount’s heat map this season, it’s a masterpiece!
Without further ado, let’s get into the numbers. The first metric that everyone likes to compare his goal involvements. Mount has 14 goal involvements (consisting of eight goals and six assists) in 28 games, where he started 16 times. Foden has a total of 20 goal involvements (which consists of 12 goals and eight assists) in 40 games, where he started 34 times.
Let’s start with Mount. While Mount is known to be a creative midfielder, his defensive work rate is impressive. He averages 1.9 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game, even though Tuchel has played him as a forward regularly. He is the leader off the ball as he presses ferociously and has helped Chelsea win possession in dangerous areas. Now, Mount doesn’t have too many assists in his bank, but that is partly due to the Blues’ poor finishing record this season. Most forwards have failed to finish chances, and Mount’s creativity has often gone to waste because of this. This feature of Chelsea’s game is confirmed further by the number of big chances that Mount has created.
Thanks to @WhoScored for these awesome H2H graphics ahead of the #UCLFinal (4/5) pic.twitter.com/1UultQvRRD
— The Pride of London (@PrideOLondon) May 29, 2021
On the other hand, let’s look at Guardiola’s favourite player, Foden. Foden has majorly played on the left throughout the season, as suggested by his heat map. While he hasn’t started regularly, his impact on games has been enormous. There have been several games where he has come off the bench and scored crucial goals. Foden’s defensive work rate has not been anything significant, but that is understandable due to his advanced position. He averages 0.9 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game. In attack, Foden has wreaked havoc on the left side and has been simply unstoppable. While he hasn’t started every week, he has been terrific whenever on the pitch.
Mount has been phenomenal this season as he has played in several systems in different positions and has been one of Chelsea’s most consistent players. Similarly, Foden has been Guardiola’s trump card as he has changed many games. It will be an exciting match-up as both players will probably start in similar positions!