Stats Analysis – How Tottenham’s so-called flop has turned out to be the main man this season

Stats Analysis of Moussa Sissoko – Tottenham’s main man in the midfield

After thrashing Everton 6-2 away at the Goodison Park during the weekend, Tottenham Hotspur have certainly got themselves into the discussion for the title this season. They are currently six points behind leaders Liverpool and just two behind defending champions Manchester City.

This team deserves every credit they get throughout the season, predominantly they had most first-team players taking part in the latter stages of the World Cup. So a majority of their first-choice players had close to no pre-season training to get attuned to the season and what the manager wants.

As a result of that, the start was slow but the north London-based club learnt to win ugly. Hence, even though they weren’t playing all that well, the chances of getting a result was high just because they possessed the qualities to change the game in a moment.

Out of a highly talented bunch, there is one player who has really done well this season in the midfield and has been the main man for Spurs in the central areas of the field – Moussa Sissoko. Below we analyse the Frenchman’s performance this season and use some stats to back the facts up:

Stats Analysis – Moussa Sissoko

Firstly, kudos to manager Mauricio Pochettino for identifying where he can get the best out of the player. He has played in the forward line before, but it didn’t work out chiefly because his decision-making wasn’t great. Hence, the gaffer put him in central midfield as a floating number eight.

It is safe to say that the 29-year-old has flourished this season playing that role. His work rate on and off the ball is just exceptional, which helps the team to be active and assertive in the midfield. He can make those lung-bursting runs with the ball to break the lines and get into the final third.

Sissoko has made tackles at a rate of 1.3, meaning he is not shy of making a tackle or two to break down the opposition attacks. He dribbles past opposition players in tight spaces, at an average of 1.2 per game, epitomising his strength to make bursting runs through the midfield to create a goal-scoring opportunity.

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He may not be the most stylish number eight in the game, but the job he is doing is pretty effective. The work that the Frenchman does allows other stylish players to express themselves on the ball as they know an incredibly hard-working player is around them to rescue the situation if needed.

Stats Courtesy – Whoscored.com