Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is the best dribbler in Europe’s top five leagues, ahead of Neymar and Lionel Messi, according to the recent research by the CIES Football Observatory.
The Belgium international was on top when calculations were made that multiplied the average number of dribbles per game with the percentage of successful dribbles.
According to the data, Eden Hazard averages 6.4 successful dribbles per game in Premier League fixture, with 75 per cent of his dribbles ending with a successful results such as a pass to a team-mate, a goal or a shot.
Hazard has already scored 15 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season and has also created 11 goals.
The overall score placed Hazard just above Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, who attempts more dribbles per game but loses possession more often than the Belgian.
Neymar’s percent of successful dribbles this season is similar to that of his former team-mate Lionel Messi at 62 per cent.
Mousa Dembele has the highest percentage of successful dribbles but the stats show that he is less likely to attempt them.
Other Premier League players in the top 10 are Arthur Masuaku of West Ham, Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba is on 12th joint with Watford’s Andre Carrillo. Pogba on average has attempted at least three dribbles per league match and has been successful with 73 per cent of them.
Nine of the top 15 players in the list currently play or formerly played in the French Ligue 1.
