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Richard Jolly's Premier League Team of the Year for 2021
If every calendar year is a year of two halves, from a football perspective, spanning two different seasons, then 2021 is more than most.
- Published before Boxing Day fixtures, stats correct up to that date.
Few players have sustained brilliance in the Premier League across the 12 months.
It makes picking a statistical side of the last year harder though, with 34 wins and 106 goals, it is easy to crown Manchester City the team of the year. But as for the 11 individuals…
Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
Chelsea’s defensive efforts peaked in the Champions League, conceding only two goals in seven knockout games. But they have been excellent in England, too.
They had the best defensive record in the second half of last season, conceding only 13 times under Thomas Tuchel. This season, Mendy’s save percentage (84.1) is second only to Jose Sa.
He has overperformed his post-shot xG (PSxG) by +1.7, meaning he is behind only Sa and David de Gea this term.
Mendy had a 90.9 percent save ratio in last year’s Champions League, and boasts 18 Premier League clean sheets in 2021.
Right-back: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Go back to the early months of the year and there was a debate about Alexander-Arnold’s form. Statistically, however, it has been terrific.
During the first half of the year (20/21 season), he generated the third most expected assists (xA) in the Premier League with 6.20 while registering five assists and two goals then.
Frome the start of the 21/22 season to now, he has two more goals and eight assists, meaning he has been directly involved in 17 league goals from full-back during the calendar year.
His xA this season of 7.20 is the highest in the league, and the Englishman has also played the most passes into the penalty area and delivered the most crosses, just as he did last season.
Centre-back: Ruben Dias (Man City)
City have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League this year (29).
Last season, John Stones shaded Dias in the numbers game, with the best pass completion rate and points-per-game ratio.
But Stones has only started four league games this season, with Dias remaining consistent.
He is second for pass completion in each season (behind Aymeric Laporte this campaign) and City have got 92 points in games when he has played.
Centre-back: Romain Saiss (Wolves)
Defenders in the top teams sometimes have less defending to do.
So for a stopper, we turn to the busier Romain Saiss.
Until Bruno Lage called him the “Moroccan Maldini,” perhaps few had noticed him, but Saiss has made more clearances than anyone else: his 114 put him 11 clear of Mohammed Salisu and 26 ahead of Jamaal Lascelles in third.
He is also sixth overall, and second among centre-backs, for interceptions in a Wolves team that have the third best defensive record this season.
Left-back: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
Like Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo is a phenomenon. As a result, he stops Andy Robertson from making it a Liverpool double in the full-back positions.
Cancelo has made the most passes in the Premier League this season, while also registering the most touches.
He is top for passes into the final third and progressive carries, while ranking in the top 10 in shots, crosses and interceptions.
Centre midfield: Christian Norgaard (Brentford)
Christian Norgaard has only been in the Premier League for half of 2021 but, like N’Golo Kante and Idrissa Gueye before him, he has recorded numbers that seem off the charts.
He has attempted 65 tackles, 12 more than anyone else, winning 48 of those, 12 more than anyone else.
The Dane also ranks second for fouls and seventh for interceptions, so he gets the defensive midfielder’s berth ahead of countryman Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (top for tackles and pressures last season), Allan (who has the most pressures this season) and Rodri (the most passes of any midfielder this season).
Centre midfield: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
Pick a City midfielder for their goalscoring exploits and this season it would be Bernardo Silva.
But it is worth remembering Gundogan’s early-year burst of goals.
He scored 11 in the Premier League from the 1st of January: only strikers Harry Kane and Kelechi Iheanacho got more.
Over the calendar year he has 14 league goals and four assists, netting with 57 percent of his shots on target and boasting a 91 percent pass completion rate.
But for all-round numbers, this spot could instead go to Declan Rice, who is top among midfielders for progressive carrying distance and interceptions this season and sixth for tackles won.
Right winger: Raphinha (Leeds)
The best right winger in the division is found elsewhere in this side.
So enter Raphinha, who has had a remarkable year.
He has the most assists from January the 1st last season (seven).
This season he ranks fourth for goals, with eight, which is 44 percent of Leeds’ total.
His calendar year has brought 12 goals and eight assists, while this season, he ranks third for nutmegs, fourth for shots, fourth for dribbles, 10th for crosses and 11th for shot-creating actions.
Last season, he was ninth for shot-creating actions per 95 minutes.
Number 10: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Even as Fernandes‘ form seemed to suffer this season and he went on his longest United goal drought, his other numbers still held up.
This season, he is second for key passes and third for expected assists.
He is third for shot-creating actions, a chart he topped last season. Over the calendar year, he has 13 goals and eight assists in the Premier League.
It is down on his stellar 2020 (18 goals and 14 assists) but still impressive.
Left winger: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa / Manchester City)
Few would pick Grealish in a team of the season based on performances.
Go on numbers, however, and he stands out.
For the second consecutive season, he is second for shot-creating actions per 95 minutes, while ranking second for progressive carries and fourth for key passes.
Last season, he won the most fouls, while racking up the fourth most assists.
Allan Saint-Maximin is the only winger to have carried the ball more metres this season, while none did last year.
Centre forward: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Harry Kane scored 14 goals in the second half of last season but has had a negligible impact this season.
No centre-forward has flourished across the 12 months, so the league’s top scorer plays there in this team.
Salah got nine goals and two assists from 1st of January last season and his exploits since give him 24 goals and 11 assists in the calendar year.
He leads the league in both categories this season, plus expected goals, total shots, shots on target and goal-creating actions and is second only to Alexander-Arnold for shot-creating actions.
Salah was a prime reason why Liverpool became the first English team to score at least two goals in 18 consecutive games and have not failed to score in eight months.