Manchester United’s Ander Herrera v Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic
The Premier League is home to some of the finest talents in world football and there are a number of players in the various teams in the country that are fighting for supremacy in the position in the league. The Premier League definitely has some of the best midfielders on show this season and Manchester United’s Ander Herrera and Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic have been right up there with the best. Playing in a similar position, both players have notched up some impressive figures and here is a stat comparison between the duo for the current Premier League season.
While the Spanish star has played most of the games as a part of the midfield three for Mourinho alongside Paul Pogba, Matic has been used extensively as a partner to N Golo Kante in the midfield for Chelsea. Both players have been the first choice for their clubs this season and have been solid with their contributions at both ends of the field.
With a pass completion of 88%, Herrera has 1491 passes to his name this season compared to 1306 from Matic at a similar success rate. But Herrera’s passes have been more effective as he has 26 key passes, 10 more than his Chelsea counterpart. Herrera has also created 29 chances, seven more than Matic this season but the Serbian midfielder has six assists to his name, twice as many as Herrera.
Coming to the defensive side of the game, Herrera has won 48% of his duels while Matic, considerably stronger is close to him and has managed to win 47% of his duels. But when it comes to ariel duels, Matic has an upper hand. He has won 64% of his duels in the air compared to just 60% from Herrera this season.
But the Chelsea star has been far more disciplined as he has picked up just four yellow cards and has never been sent off. He has just 29 fouls to his name this season compared to Herrera’s 38, which have seen him pick up five yellows and a red in the domestic league this season. Herrera trumps Matic in the number of interceptions made. While Herrera has made 73 of them this season, Matic has just 43 to his name but that has been a job for Kante, making Matic that much more comfortable.
Neither of them have scored a goal yet this season but are first choice midfielders for their side. Stats wise, Herrera is the winner by a slight margin here even thou Chelsea star has more assists. Even impact wise, in our opinion, Manchester United’s deep playmaker has been a better player than Matic this season.