Manchester City have been on the receiving end of some horrendous tackles of late – ‘butchery’ is the way Raheem Sterling have described their plight.
Joe Bennett’s disgraceful tackle on Leroy Sane in last month’s FA Cup tie with Cardiff City was lucky not to have caused the German more serious injury, while Kevin De Bruyne and Brahim Diaz have also been unfortunate recipients.
However, for all their unjust treatment, City are not the most fouled team in the Premier League according to whoscored.com – far from it.
Sterling is the ninth-most felled player in the English top-flight, at a rate of 1.9 times per game, while the only other City player to crack the top 40 is David Silva (No32 at 1.4)
Below, we take a look at the top five Premier League players who have hit the turf more times than anyone else this season.
No.5 Eden Hazard – Chelsea
It’s a miracle that Hazard still has ankles given the punishment he’s been dished during his six years so far in the Premier League.
In fact, he has never finished outside the top three for most fouled players since he landed on British shores in 2012 – so he’s got some catching up to do this campaign, at 2.5 per game.
But he’s eluding more legs and managing to score as many goals as always, with 12 goals in all competitions so far this year.
=No.3 Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Crystal Palace
In the eyes of England fans, Loftus-Cheek arrived on the scene after a virtuoso display in – ahem – a friendly stalemate against Germany.
In truth the Chelsea loanee has been lighting up the midfield of a pretty ponderous Crystal Palace for most of the season, though he is currently on the sidelines nursing an injury.
He is fouled 2.6 times per game, but while he draws attention, his returns of one goal and two assists are underwhelming given his talent.
= No.3 Dele Alli – Tottenham
This has not been a vintage year for Alli, but he causes worry enough among back-lines for them to dirty his Hotspur whites on a consistent basis (2.6 fouls per game).
He’s not likely to dribble around you but he will cut you open and most certainly throw his weight around – having dished out a number of meaty, and ethically questionable, challenges himself.
Love him or loathe him, he’s certainly in the thick of things.
No.2 Wilfried Zaha – Crystal Palace
Much like Hazard, the fact that Zaha completes 4.2 dribbles per game means his legs take a seeing to by clumsy defenders, at a rate of 2.9.
However, his productivity has taken a downward turn of late as Palace struggle to find the net – and it’s partially of his own making too.
Indeed no one comes close to Zaha in the Premier League in terms of being dispossessed. It currently stands at 3.8 times per game, long strides clear of second-most Salomon Rondon (2.8).
No.1 Richarlison – Watford
Richarlison is frustration personified. If he’s not bamboozling defenders, he’s shooting gilt-edged chances high and wide.
But for a 20-year-old who swapped his life in Brazil for a rather alien Vicarage Road he’s done rather well. So much so that figures of £50m are being bandied about for his services.
And while he loves a soft foul now and again, he is being hacked at a rate of 3 times per game. Someone think of his shins.
