Europe's 'Big Five' Leaders: Tackles

With the season's over, we're taking a look back at some of the main statistical categories and showcase the leaders across Europe's top five leagues, being the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.

We last looked at the leaders for goal contributions. Today, we are looking at defensive stats, in particular, the leaders for tackles.

Four of the five leagues are represented here, with Serie A being the only league without a player to feature in this top 10. Let's take a look.

 

Christian Norgaard (Brentford) - 130

Brentford had a fairly successful first season in the Premier League. They managed to stay clear of the relegation battle, and were often putting up good fights against some of the top teams, including and opening day victory over Arsenal.

Christian Norgaard is their star man. He was signed from Fiorentina in 2019 and has grown to become one of, if not, the most important player at the club. It was smart of Brentford to lock him down to a contract extension in January.

Norgaard leads this list with 130 tackles over the season. He also ranks second for tackles won with 80, which gives him a tackle success rate of 61.5%.

 

Javi Galan (Celta Vigo) - 127

In some ways, Celta Vigo had a better campaign this year than they did the previous season. One way they were better was defensively, as in their 2020/21 campaign, they conceded 57 goals for a -2 goal difference. This season, they conceded 43 goals - which is ninth in the La Liga for least goals conceded - and had an even zero goal difference.

One of their best defenders this season was Javi Galan. He led the team and the league in tackles this season. He also was second in the league for tackles won with 77, just one shy off the top spot. 

Nevertheless, that gives him a 60.6% tackle success rate.

 

Oscar Valentin (Rayo Vallecano) - 119

Another from the Spanish La Liga, Oscar Valentin of Rayo Vallecano made 119 tackles this season, winning 66 of them for a 55.5% tackle success rate.

He led his team for tackles and tackles won, while also coming second in the league for tackles and fourth for tackles won.

He and the next entry on this list shares the third spot on this list. 

 

Danilo Soares (Bochum) - 119

Bochum's first season back in the German Bundesliga turned out to be successful, with them staying clear of the relegation zone and surviving for another year.

Defensively, they weren't bad but they also weren't anything special. They matched Borussia Dortmund for goals conceded with 52, but that does put them about mid table for that stat.

As for Danilo Soares, he topped the league for tackles by a good margin - 23 tackles, to be precise. He was also third for interceptions with 107, meaning he really topped the tackles + interceptions stat with 226, a good 50 tackles and interceptions ahead.

He also finished with the most tackles won in the league with 68, and a strong tackle success percentage of 57.1%.

 

Laurent Abergel (Lorient) - 117

The first French Ligue 1 entry on this list is Laurent Abergel from Lorient. Unfortunately, Lorient didn't have a fantastic year, finishing 16th in the league. But Abergel did the most he could so they could survive.

Last season he made 160 tackles with 108 won for a 67.5% success rate. All three of those would see him at the top of this list.

But we're looking at this season just gone, and this year he was significantly below that with 117 tackles and 73 won for a 62.4% success rate.

 

Benjamin Andre (Lille) - 115

Another Ligue 1 player next. Benjamin Andre had his best defensive season in his three seasons with Lille this year. Of course, being behind Abergel on this list means he is just behind him in the league rankings for tackles as well.

The two are first and second in the league, but swap round for tackles won as Andre has 78.

Which means, with 115 tackles and 78 won, he has a 67.8% tackle success rate - a good 5.4% better than Abergel.

 

Alfonso Espino (Cadiz) - 113

The third and final La Liga entry on this list, Cadiz's Alfonso Espino helped his team survive dropping back down to the Segunda Division, but only by one point.

Espino of course came third in the league for tackles, but ranks at the top for tackles + interceptions thanks to a league best 91 interceptions.

He also finished on top for tackles won, being the one to beat Javi Galan to the top spot by one. And with those 78 tackles won from 113 attempted, he had a very strong 69% tackle success rate - the highest percentage on this list.

 

Bruno Guimaraes (Lyon & Newcastle) - 112

Bruno Guimaraes started his season with Lyon before becoming Newcastle first marquee signing of their new era.

Because he played for two squads, it's not really fair to compare him to the rest of the league(s) he played in since he only has half a season worth of statistics.

But what we can say is he had 84 tackles won this season - the most across Europe's top five leagues.

It also means he has a list-high 75% tackle success rate. An absolutely fantastic rate, one that Newcastle will very much be hoping he can take into their future.

 

Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace) - 108

Tyrick Mitchell broke through into the Crystal Palace first team towards the end of last season. This season, under the guidance of Patrick Vieira, he started in 35 of the 36 games he played.

Mitchell repaid his manager with sublime performances which earned him his first call up to the England first squad earlier this year.

While he ranks high in the league for tackles made, he only made 54 successful tackles, meaning he had a 50% tackle success rate - the lowest on this list.

 

John McGinn (Aston Villa) - 104

Finally, we end with another Premier League player in Aston Villa's John McGinn. Villa fans will tell you he is one of their most important players - and they would not be wrong.

He finished third in the league for tackles and fourth for tackles won with 61. This gives him a 58.7% tackle success rate.