Ben Stewart
The best pressing teams across Europe: Bayern, Leeds, Monaco
The evolution of high pressing teams across Europe has been fascinating to witness and we’ve looked into who the top 10 high pressing teams have been this season.
We’ve ranked teams from Europe’s top five leagues on how many successful presses they complete per 90. For context, a successful press is when the squad gains possession of the ball within five seconds of applying a press.
In terms of league ranks, the Bundesliga is the best for pressing with an average of 50.39 successful presses per 90 and La Liga ranks fifth with 41.71 per 90.
10. Bayern Munich
Kicking things off at number 10 we have the reigning German champions, Bayern Munich. A staple of their modern gameplan is to be energetic off the ball and press the opposition from the front.
Bayern average 51.2 successful presses per 90, with their most successful presser being Thomas Müller, who has completed 123 successful presses this season.
9. Wolfsburg
Sticking with the Bundesliga, Wolfsburg are next up who average 51.8 successful presses per 90.
Maximilian Arnold has been their most successful presser and he ranks as the fourth-best presser in the Bundesliga with 153 successful presses.
8. Saint-Etienne
Saint-Etienne come in as the first French team on the list with 52.1 successful presses per 90. Mahdi Camara is one of seven players to have completed over 160 successful presses in Ligue 1 this season with 164 presses.
7. Leeds United
As the Premier League’s only entry onto today’s list, we have Leeds United who complete 52.7 successful presses per 90. Despite Marcelo Bielsa’s recent departure, this squad is still very much built in his blueprint.
Leeds are well above the Premier League successful presses average of 42.96 and they will be hopeful they have enough to beat the drop this season.
6. Celta Vigo
La Liga ranks as the lowest league for pressing, but they do have Celta Vigo as their sole entry onto today’s list.
Eduardo Coudet has built up an energetic team who complete 53 successful presses per 90.
5. RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig are currently on a good run in the Bundesliga, having not lost any of their last five matches. Domenico Tedesco arrived in December as their new manager and their pressing stats rank amoung the best in Europe.
The German club average 53.3 successful presses per 90 and Christopher Nkunku ranks as their most efficient presser.
4. Monaco
Coming in as the highest-ranking French team we have AS Monaco who have averaged 53.5 successful presses per 90.
Monaco themselves have struggled for consistency throughout the season as they currently sit eighth in Ligue 1. Highly rated Aurélien Tchouaméni has been their most successful presser with 148 so far this season.
3. Eintracht Frankfurt
The Bundesliga manage to dominate the list from here on and Eintracht Frankfurt rank as the third best pressing team in Europe with 54.2 successful presses per 90.
Their top scorer Rafael Borre ranks as the second-best presser in the Bundesliga with an impressive 166 successful presses this season.
2. Mainz 05
Bo Svensson has been in charge of Mainz 05 for just over a year now and they currently rank as the second-best pressing team in Europe.
Currently sat 10th in the Bundesliga, they have managed to completed 54.4 successful presses per 90. Silvan Widmer ranks as their top presser this season with 122.
1. Köln
Claiming the number one spot and solidifying the Bundesliga domination at the top of the list we have Köln.
Steffen Baumgart’s side have completed an impressive 57.1 successful presses per 90 and they currently sit seventh in the Bundesliga. Salih Özcan ranks as their most successful presser with 152 completed this season.