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Topics: Football, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga
Rory O'Callaghan
Topics: Football, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has pressed the least out of European football’s top strikers this season, according to new data.
Every forward in Europe’s top five leagues that has scored at least eight goals and played 10 full matches this season, have been ranked on their pressing using data from StatsBomb via FBref.
The data ranks players on their average number of ‘pressures’, defined as ‘applying pressure to an opposing player who is receiving, carrying or releasing the ball’.
Ronaldo comes bottom of the table with an average of just 6.46 pressures per 90 minutes.
The 36-year-old has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season but has come under fire for his lack of pressing in matches, with some viewing him as unsuitable for Ralf Rangnick’s preferred style of play.
Top of the list, which was released on Twitter by user Bhuvanesh_Daran, is Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis.
The Nigeria international has an impressive average of 20.80 pressures per 90 minutes, more than triple that of Ronaldo.
Second on the list is Liverpool forward Diogo Jota with an average of 20.70, while his club team-mates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane feature in the middle of the rankings with an identical average of 13.80.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior comes third on the list with an average of 19.60 per 90 minutes.
However, the majority of European football’s most highly-rated forwards featuring near the bottom of the rankings.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe is second-bottom with an average of just 7.74, only slightly better than Ronaldo’s.
Robert Lewandowski, who has already scored 31 goals for Bayern Munich this season, averages 8.77 – while Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has an average of 9.23.