Under pressure: top 10 players in Europe’s top five leagues for passes played whilst being pressed

Over the last decade, pressing has transformed football. It is hard to find a team at the elite level that wins anything without high-pressing being part of their game plan. Leicester City won the Premier League in 2015/16 in an enormous upset and they did so by sitting back and springing counter attacks. However, they are an outlier in this sense and Manchester City and Liverpool are dominating the Premier League in recent seasons, with both teams relying on winning the ball high up the field as part of their attacking play, as much as their defensive play.  

With that being the case, it is important for teams at the top level to have players who are capable and comfortable with receiving and passing the ball under intense pressure. Those that struggle with this will struggle to play modern elite football. However, there are still players who are outstanding in this manner and will take and pass the ball in the kinds of situations many wouldn’t want to, due to being surrounded by opponents.  

Thanks to fbref’s ‘passes under pressure’ metric we can see who those elite players are. The metric records every instance that a player passes the ball as they are being closed down by an opposition defender. Here are the top ten players in Europe’s top five leagues according to the stat:  

 

Marco Verratti (PSG) 

The diminutive midfielder tops the pile for this metric with 15.2 passes under pressure per 90. Considering his pass completion % is 91.6, this is extremely impressive. He is able to maintain elite accuracy in his passes despite being pressured often. This is a key part of what makes him one of the world’s best midfielders.  

 

Rodri (Manchester City) 

Next up, Manchester City’s deepest midfielder, Rodri. The Spaniard makes 14.5 passes under pressure per 90 and is a vital part of Pep Guardiola’s side being such a dominant possession side. He is often the one that receives the ball from the defence in build-up phases.  

 

Milan Duric (Salernitana) 

The presence of the Bosnian on this list is surprising, given that the previous two players on the list play for teams competing at the top of their leagues, whilst Salernitana narrowly avoided relegation from Serie A.  

Whilst the Italian side only just survived in the Italian top-flight the 22-year-old was one of their better players as he made 14.4 passes under pressure per 90 and scored five goals and made four assists.  

Unlike the previous two players, Duric’s ball retention is poor though, as he completes only 63% of his passes.  

  

Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) 

Returning to elite players, we have Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich. Whilst the German has played at right back at times during his career, under Julian Nagelsmann he has been utilised as the deepest midfielder in every Bundesliga game that he has been available for. As Bayern are a possession dominant side, that saw him make 92.5 passes per 90 with 13.9 of those made under pressure.  

His pass completion % isn’t as strong as Verratti’s although he still completes over 85% of his passes.  

  

Joselu (Alaves) 

Like Duric, Joselu is a forward, rather than the majority of this list which are midfielders. The former Newcastle man played for bottom of the league Alaves and one would presume that the reas he appears here is that his side struggled to hold the ball well, giving him the ball in situations where he was highly likely to lose it as he was surrounded by so many opposition players.  

As such, he made 13.6 passes per 90 in pressured situations from a total of 32.34 passes per 90. His pass completion rate of 61.2% ranks him in the 6th percentile for forwards.  

  

Rafinha (Real Sociedad) 

Back to midfielders, Rafinha joined Sociedad on loan from PSG in January and became an important part of their midfield. He is a player extremely comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and made 13.5 passes per 90 in these situations in 21/22. He maintained a completion % of 88.1 and was very progressive with the ball, making 3.84 progressive passes and 8.25 progressive carries per 90.  

  

Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad) 

Another Sociedad - and ex-Newcastle - player to feature on the list is Mikel Merino. The Spaniard made 12.9 passes under pressure per 90 in 21/22. However, he was a little less secure in possession, completing just over 77% of his passes. He was notably more aggressive as a passer than Rafinha though, as he attempted 5.42 progressive passes per 90, which could account for the slightly lower accuracy.  

At 25-years-old, he is a player who could still attract a bigger team to make bids for this summer after a season where he also contributed four goals and two assists from midfield.  

  

Marcel Sabitzer (Bayern Munich) 

Next, a player usually more associated with pressing than playing under pressure. Sabitzer was a pressing machine when playing for RB Leipzig but now plays in the most dominant side in the league in Bayern. He played 12.8 passes under pressure per 90.  

However, he was not a key member of the starting XI in the way Kimmich was as he only played 31% of the available minutes in the league this season.  

  

Jorginho (Chelsea) 

Chelsea’s number six is ninth in our list as he makes 12.8 of his 74.22 passes per 90 under pressure. That makes him notably less involved than players like Rodri, Kimmich or Verratti but it does mean that a higher portion of his total passes are made under pressure.  

  

Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool) 

Finally, Liverpool’s Spanish midfielder, Thiago. After a slow start to life in England and a season interrupted by injuries, the Liverpool midfielder has exploded this season, dictating multiple big games and demonstrating his ability to receive the ball anywhere on the field, turn away from an opponent and play forwards.  

12.7 of his 85.54 passes per 90 have been made under pressure and he maintains an accuracy of over 90%. That’s despite making 9.62 progressive passes per 90, enough to rank him in the 99th percentile for midfielders.