- Chelsea star Eden Hazard is the best dribbler in Europe’s top five divisions
- Research by the CIES Football Observatory puts the Belgian top this season
- Hazard was ahead of PSG’s Neymar and Lionel Messi of Barcelona in ranking
- Manchester United’s Paul Pogba was joint-12th in the dribbling chart
- Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele has highest ratio of successful dribbles
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is the best dribbler in Europe’s top five leagues, superior to Neymar and Lionel Messi, according to the latest research by the CIES Football Observatory.
The Belgian star came out on top when calculations were made using a formula that multiplied the average number of dribbles per game with the percentage of successful ones.
According to the data, Hazard averages 6.4 successful dribbles per 90 minutes in Premier League fixture, with 75 per cent of his dribbles ending with a successful outcome such as a pass to a team-mate, a shot or a goal.
Chelsea star Eden Hazard is the leading dribbler in the big five European leagues
75 per cent of Hazard’s dribbles have a successful outcome, according to this season’s stats
Hazard ranks higher for dribbling stats than Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian star Neymar
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi came in third on the CIES Football Observatory ranking
| Player | Team | Successful dribbles per league match |
% of successful dribbles | CIES Index score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eden Hazard | Chelsea | 6.4 | 75 | 100 |
| Neymar | PSG | 7.3 | 62 | 94 |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 5.5 | 62 | 70 |
| Tanguy Ndombele | Lyon | 3.7 | 74 | 56 |
| Mousa Dembele | Tottenham | 3 | 88 | 56 |
| Papu Gomez | Atalanta | 3.7 | 71 | 55 |
| Arthur Masuaku | West Ham | 4.3 | 59 | 53 |
| Sofiane Boufal | Southampton | 4.6 | 53 | 51 |
| Mario Lamina | Southampton | 3 | 79 | 49 |
| Nabil Fekir | Lyon | 3.4 | 70 | 49 |
| Allan Saint-Maximin | Nice | 4.1 | 55 | 47 |
| Andre Carrillo | Watford | 3.4 | 65 | 46 |
| Paul Pogba | Man United | 3 | 73 | 46 |
| Source: CIES |
Hazard has scored 15 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season and has created a further 11 goals for his team-mates.
The overall score placed Hazard just ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian Neymar, who tries more dribbles during games on average but loses possession more often.
Neymar’s percentage of successful dribbles this season is identical to that of his former Barcelona team-mate Messi at 62 per cent.
The player with the highest percentage of successful dribbles is Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele, but the stats show the Belgian is less likely to attempt them.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba ranked joint-12th in the dribbling index
Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele has the highest percentage of successful dribbles
Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele featured high in the rankings following some impressive displays
Dembele received the same score in the CIES index as Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele, the 21-year-old midfielder currently on loan from Amiens.
Among the other Premier League players in the top 10 are Arthur Masuaku of West Ham, plus Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina of Southampton.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba ranks joint-12th in the table with Watford’s Andre Carrillo. Pogba on average will attempt three dribbles per league match and is successful with 73 per cent of them.
Nine of the top 15 players in the list currently play or formerly played in France, revealing the excellent of the French system in developing skilful players.
