With the conclusion of the season, it is possible to conduct a player analysis that measures which players had the most positive impact on their team as well as the players with the best individual performances during the season. The ratings model that we made allows us to find that out. The players with the highest average ratings during the season are the players that fulfil the premises presented previously. For this analysis, the selected players are required to have a minimum of 1500 minutes over the season, not taking into account the type of defence used nor the position played.
Player of the Season: Premier League 22-23
Through the average ratings obtained, we understand that Rodri, Man. City’s defensive midfielder, was the player with the highest average rating obtained followed by his teammate K. De Bruyne, B. Fernandes (Man. United), H. Kane (Tottenham) and M. Ødegaard (Arsenal). Only Harry Kane represented a team that failed to qualify for the Champions League. Furthermore, Tottenham didn’t even qualify for European competitions.
Rodri was a key part of the Man. City squad that managed to win the title. In a season in which this player was involved in the majority of the possible minutes, his defensive and first phase of the passing contribution was vital to the effectiveness of Man. City’s attack and defense.
In order to understand, more precisely, Rodri’s impact, we made a graphical analysis of all the top 8 performing Ms and Ws in this season. This graphical analysis allows us to better appreciate the tremendous season of the Man. City’s midfielder. (List of players available here: TOP PERFORMING Ms AND Ws: PREMIER LEAGUE 22-23)
Top 8 Ms and Ws Analysis: Premier League 22-23 (per 90 stats)
Observing the graph, we can notice that passing wise, Rodri was, by far, the player with the most completed passes per 90. Taking into account that we only consider the data in which these players played in the M or W position, we can see that Rodri was an above average player at almost every metric that we evaluate. The Man. City player only has a stat below the average mark: Assists per 90. For a defensive midfielder, it is normal to not have a lot of assists but, in Rodri’s case, the incredible impact all over the field allows for an outstanding performance in almost all regards.
Taking all this into account, we can consider Rodri the player of the season.
Meaning of the used abbreviations:
- INT – Interceptions per 90
- TKL – Tackles per 90
- PRG P – Progressive Passes per 90
- PRG C – Progressive Carries per 90
- AST – Assists per 90
- P – Passes completed per 90
Data from FBref.