Victor Lindelof vs Antonio Rudiger – A Statistical Comparison
Manchester United and Chelsea are expected to be two of the busiest clubs in the transfer market this summer as they have some serious improvements to do on their first team for next season. Both teams need defensive reinforcements of one kind or the other. While Manchester United have managed to land Victor Lindelof to solve their problems at the back, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea are now preparing to sign German defender Antonio Rudiger.
Both players have played in different leagues and are yet to play a game in England. So it will be interesting to see which of the two centre-backs can excel next season. For a teaser, we have come up with a statistical comparison of both the players based on their stats last campaign and they didn’t disappoint.
The former Benfica man is a ball playing defender and has some mesmerising stats from his previous season. With a passing accuracy of 90%, Lindelof was successful with every take-on he attempted at the back for the Portuguese side and was in terrific form for his country as well.
Rudiger on the other hand, had a passing accuracy of just 83%, and had a successful take-on rate of just over 63%, which is nowhere as good as the United man’s. However, Rudiger has a tendency to win most of his tackles and he averaged 1.31 successful tackles per game. Lindelof, who is less aggressive, won just 0.53 tackles per game.
Though strong in the air, Rudiger was not as effective as Lindelof, winning just 54.55% of his aerial duels and 46.37% of his total duels, which is far less than the 58.97% and 52.40% for Lindelof respectively.
Not afraid of putting his body on the line, Rudiger made 0.27 blocks per game while Lindelof had just 0.22 blocks per game to his name. However, the Swedish star triumphs the German in most other divisions.
With 1.63 interceptions per game and 3.72 clearances per game, Lindelof was more effective at the back, while the Chelsea man to be, had just 1.04 interceptions per game and 3.38 clearances per game.
Lindelof was also more disciplined, playing in the Portuguese league, committing just one foul on an average per game. Rudiger, playing in a slightly more competitive league, made 1.73 fouls per game, and was at times a liability for AS Roma.
The German defender is expected to cost around £34.2m, which is not bad for a 24-year old but by the looks of it, the £31m deal for Victor Lindelof is looking like a better one for Manchester United.
Stat Credit: Squawka.com