TheStatsWay

• In this type of analysis, we evaluate the best & worst players in Liga Portugal throught their performances. This way, it is possible to understand which were the best and the worst performing players in the league.
  • This analysis takes into account matches played up to 15-11-2023.
    • All players shown played, at least, 450 minutes in one of the predefined types of defense.

GOALKEEPERS (GKs):

• In terms of best & worst players in Liga Portugal, we need to start with the Goalkeepers:
  • Famalicão´s young player Luíz Júnior is, according to our model, the best rated GK in the league;
    • Daniel Leite, who started the season as Estoril´s starting GK, is the worst performer at goal;

• BEST PERFORMING GKs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Luiz Júnior	7.86	Back 4	990	Famalicão
Amatolli Trubin	7.57	Back 4	540	Benfica
Kewin	7.56	Back 4	900	Moreirense
Marcelo Carné	7.10	Back 5	540	Estoril
Bruno Brígido	7.04	Back 5	630	Estrela Amadora

• WORST PERFORMING GKs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Daniel Leite	4.78	Back 4	450	Estoril
Vinicius Silvestre	5.30	Back 5	540	Portimonense
Hugo Souza	5.68	Back 5	630	Chaves
Ignacio De Arruabarrena	5.93	Back 5	540	Arouca
Fabijan Buntić	6.00	Back 4	900	Vizela

CENTRE-BACKS (CBs):

• With regard to the best & worst players in Liga Portugal, we need to evaluate the Centre-Backs:
  • António Silva is, right now, the best performing Centre-Back in the league but we need to give credit to the Sporting backline with 3 players in the Top 5 CBs;

• BEST PERFORMING CBs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
António Silva	7.82	Back 4	809	Benfica
Gonçalo Inácio	7.65	Back 5	892	Sporting CP
Ousmane Diomande	7.47	Back 5	940	Sporting CP
Otávio Ataide	7.21	Back 4	900	Famalicão
Sebastián Coates	7.17	Back 5	857	Sporting CP

• WORST PERFORMING CBs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Bruno Rodrigues	4.70	Back 5	495	Chaves
Gonçalo Silva	5.18	Back 4	827	Farense
Miguel Lopes	5.25	Back 5	675	Estrela Amadora
Artur Jorge	5.29	Back 4	450	Farense
Anderson Jesus	5.30	Back 4	890	Vizela

FULL-BACKS & WING-BACKS (FBs & WBs):

• In the particular case of the Full-back/Wing-Back position, the Top 5 players are from very different backgrounds:
  • Frederik Aursnes is, in this season, the best FB in the league until now;
  • Rodrigo Gomes and Costinha have some similarities. They are both having great seasons playing at the Wing-Back position playing in midtable/bottom placed teams;

• BEST PERFORMING FBs & WBs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Frederik Aursnes	8.42	Back 4	810	Benfica
Rodrigo Gomes	7.27	Back 5	528	Estoril
Costinha	7.15	Back 5	990	Rio Ave
Alexander Bah	7.05	Back 4	559	Benfica
João Mário	6.87	Back 4	793	FC Porto

• WORST PERFORMING FBs & WBs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Afonso Freitas	4.84	Back 5	541	Vitória Guimarães
Bruno Langa	5.72	Back 5	450	Chaves
Hevertton Santos	5.76	Back 5	678	Estrela Amadora
Leonardo Buta	5.81	Back 4	891	Gil Vicente
Ricardo Esgaio	5.88	Back 5	678	Sporting CP

MIDFIELDERS & WINGERS (Ms & Ws):

• As far as the top players in the Primeira Liga, the Midfield/Wing area is one of the most exciting:
  • Gil Vicente’s Maxime Dominguez is the most underrated player in this list, with an average rating of 7.89;
  • Benfica’s trio dominates our model in terms of the performances of the midfielders and the wingers;

• BEST PERFORMING Ms & Ws:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Rafa Silva	8.44	Back 4	891	Benfica
Orkun Kökçü	8.12	Back 4	542	Benfica
Ángel Di María	8.00	Back 4	611	Benfica
Maxime Dominguez	7.89	Back 4	911	Gil Vicente
Ricardo Horta	7.86	Back 4	779	Braga

• WORST PERFORMING Ms & Ws:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Yuki Soma	5.29	Back 5	640	Casa Pia
Gaius Makouta	5.63	Back 4	844	Boavista
Amine Oudrhiri	5.68	Back 5	885	Rio Ave
Neto	5.68	Back 5	703	Casa Pia
Aloísio Souza	5.69	Back 5	706	Estrela Amadora

CENTRE-FOWARDS (CFs):

• The analysis of the top strikers in Primeira Liga had a clear outcome:
  • Playing at the top, Viktor Gyökeres managed to achieve great performances earning the title of the Best Centre-Foward playing in Portugal.
    • Henrique Araújo is having a terrible season on the loan spell from Benfica to Famalicão;

• BEST PERFORMING CFs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Viktor Gyökeres	8.16	Back 5	895	Sporting CP
Simon Banza	7.24	Back 4	719	Braga
André Silva	7.04	Back 5	909	Vitória Guimarães
André Luis	6.83	Back 4	880	Moreirense
Samuel Essende	6.74	Back 4	868	Vizela

• WORST PERFORMING CFs:

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Henrique Araújo	4.84	Back 4	503	Famalicão
Rafa Mújica	5.42	Back 5	507	Arouca
Roko Baturina	5.45	Back 4	480	Gil Vicente
Jhonder Cádiz	5.60	Back 4	496	Famalicão
Ronaldo Tavares	5.86	Back 5	484	Estrela Amadora

PREVIOUS POSTS:

1- BEST/WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 16-08

2- BEST/WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 23-08

3- BEST/WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 30-08

4- BEST/WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 06-09

5- BEST & WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 20-09

6- BEST & WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 27-09

7- BEST & WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 04-10

8- BEST/WORST PLAYERS: PRIMEIRA LIGA 23/24 UNTIL 11-10

Data from FBref.