BARCELONA AND BAYERN Munich are statistically the best passers in European football, according to the latest Huawei Team Rankings.
The Catalan giants are famed for their high pressing and passing style as they look to dominate matches from start to finish.
While they have altered their style slightly under Luis Enrique, that core philosophy remains, as no top flight team in the continent has completed more passes in the opponents’ half than the Spanish giants, having made an impressive 6,489 successful passes beyond the halfway line.
That figure is almost 600 more than Pep Guardiola’s Bayern have completed in opposition territory (5,896), while Barca’s average possession has been a whopping 70 per cent this term, with the German side leading that category with 71%.
Manchester City have racked up 5,406 completed passes in the opposition half so far in the 2014-15 campaign, but their average possession is significantly lower than their Champions League rivals, standing at 60%.
Meanwhile, PSG’s record of 5,312 passes nearer the opposition goal is 96 less than City and they dominate possession much more, with 65% their average time on the ball.
Arsenal’s passing figure stands at 4,754, just 20 more than Juventus, while Chelsea, Roma, Napoli and Everton complete the top 10, having all completed over 4,220 passes in opposing territory and maintained average possession rates of 56% or more.
Eibar sit last in the Huawei rankings, with just 1,737 passes completed outside of their own half, over 200 less than Levante and Granada, who sit just above them.
Want to keep track of all the key statistics in Europe’s top five leagues? Curious how your team are doing? Check out the Huawei Team Ranking!