Top 10 creators from set-pieces across the Top Five Leagues

Shot-creation from set-pieces is becoming an increasingly in-demand skill as top clubs across Europe look to overcome fine margins.

Following in the foot-steps of great set-piece takers in recent years, these players are currently some of the most proficient creators from set-pieces -

 

1. Marvin Plattenhardt

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 2.21

Overall shot-creating actions - 3.08

 

Hertha Berlin’s Marvin Plattenhardt generates the most shots from dead-ball situations across Europe. Combining lethal delivery with his left-foot, it is no wonder the German international is his team’s primary set-piece taker.

 

2. Benjamin Bourigeaud

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 2.18

Overall shot-creating actions - 4.98

 

Rennes midfielder Benjamin Bourigeaud is one of several exciting players at the Ligue 1 outfit and a mainstay in Bruno Genesio’s side. The Frenchman is a huge creative threat for opposition defences to worry about in both open-play as well as from set-pieces.

 

3. Hakan Calhanoglu

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.92

Overall shot-creating actions - 5.07

 

Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu has been one of Serie A’s most devastatingly effective creative 10s from midfield. The Turkish international crossed the Milan divide when he joined the Nerazzurri and has picked up where he left off with Milan and continues to be one of the division’s best set-piece creators.

 

4. Jonas Hofmann

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.88

Overall shot-creating actions - 5.91

 

Gladbach midfielder Jonas Hofmann has enjoyed a late renaissance in his Bundesliga career and has been one of Gladbach’s best players in recent seasons. He is effective in combining with his team-mates from open-play in the final third and is equally good from set-piece situations.

 

5. Trent Alexander-Arnold

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.19

Overall shot-creating actions - 4.98

 

It is sometimes difficult to believe that Trent Alexander-Arnold is just 23 but he is and has been one of Europe’s best creative players in recent years. Fullbacks have become increasingly important to a team’s ability to break opposition defences down and no other player is more effective with the ball at his feet than Liverpool’s right-back. Capable of unlocking defences with precise switches of the ball and capable of finding his team-mates during set-piece scenarios, it’s astonishing to think that he has improved this year but he has, and his numbers reflect as much.

 

6. Joshua Kimmich

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.75

Overall shot-creating actions - 4.56

 

Similar to Trent in more ways than one, Joshua Kimmich has been the perfect Phillip Lahm replacement for Bayern Munich and has cemented his reputation as one of Germany’s best young talents and most established players.

 

7. Pascal Gross

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.70

Overall shot-creating actions - 4.05

 

Out of contract in the summer, Brighton and Hove Albion’s 30-year-old Gross has once again been an effective creative player for his side despite playing in different positions and adjusting accordingly with the demands of the team. His numbers since joining Brighton have always remained healthy and it is no surprise that he is up there amongst Europe’s most effective from set-pieces.

 

8. Filip Kostic

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.66

Overall shot-creating actions - 4.35

 

Once again, a full-back appears on this list and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic is the quintessential wing-back for a modern-day football club. The Serb has been one of Europe’s most effective creators and has managed double figures in assists for three seasons running and is well on-course to repeat the same feat this season as well.

 

9. Lorenzo Pellegrini

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.62

Overall shot-creating actions - 5.29

 

Roma’s leader on the pitch and alongside Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Lorenzo Pellegrini is one of the two creative assets for Jose Mourinho’s side. The Italian-international is an advanced play-maker who is most effective when playing closer to the penalty area where he is able to get shots away and find his team-mates in space too.

 

10. Dani Parejo

 

Shots created from dead-ball situations per90 - 1.57

Overall shot-creating actions - 3.8

 

Without a doubt, one of Spain’s most under-rated midfielders who has the skill and awareness to play for the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, Villareal’s Dani Parejo is the midfield metronome at Villareal and the central hub of everything that’s impressive in attack for the team.