When it comes to football matches, they don’t come much bigger than Real Madrid v Barcelona!
‘El Clasico’ is steeped in history, with Barcelona claiming most of the bragging rights in recent times.
But Real Madrid are flying under Jose Mourinho at the moment – and Sport-locker.net bring you these interesting stats ahead of the huge game tonight, thanks to our friends at Castrol.
“EL CLÁSICO” – THE WORLD’S BEST
According to Castrol EDGE Performance analysis, this weekend’s “Clásico” at the Bernabéu will feature the best players in Europe in various disciplines.
Of the 10 players with the best minutes per goal ratio in Europe’s top five leagues this season, four will be on the pitch on Saturday, and three, Higuaín, Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, will be wearing the white of Real Madrid:
Best Minutes to Goals Ratio in Europe’s Top Five Leagues 2011-12
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Rank |
Player |
Team |
Mins per goal scored |
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1 |
Higuaín, Gonzalo |
Real Madrid |
57.3 |
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2 |
Balotelli, Mario |
Manchester City |
62.1 |
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3 |
Dzeko, Edin |
Manchester City |
67.3 |
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4 |
Ronaldo, Cristiano |
Real Madrid |
70.8 |
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5 |
Messi, Lionel |
Barcelona |
75.8 |
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6 |
Yakubu |
Blackburn Rovers |
78.4 |
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7 |
Agüero, Sergio |
Manchester City |
80.5 |
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8 |
van Persie, Robin |
Arsenal |
83.9 |
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9 |
Gomez, Mario |
Bayern München |
88.1 |
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10 |
Benzema, Karim |
Real Madrid |
91.0 |
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Given his (relative) lack of game time, Higuaín’s 12 league goals already this season is a very impressive achievement. However this is explained by the fact that he has scored with every other shot in La Liga in 2011/12:
Best Goals to Shots Ratio in Europe’s Top Five Leagues 2011-12
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Rank |
Player |
Team |
Goals |
Total Shots |
Goals to Shots |
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1= |
Higuaín, Gonzalo |
Real Madrid |
12 |
24 |
50.0% |
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1= |
Fábregas, Francesc |
Barcelona |
7 |
14 |
50.0% |
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3 |
Barbosa, Cedric |
Evian TG |
5 |
11 |
45.5% |
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4 |
Ribéry, Franck |
Bayern München |
8 |
18 |
44.4% |
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5 |
Yakubu |
Blackburn Rovers |
9 |
22 |
40.9% |
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6 |
Podolski, Lukas |
1. FC Köln |
11 |
27 |
40.7% |
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7 |
Abdellaoue, M |
Hannover 96 |
8 |
20 |
40.0% |
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8 |
Klasnic, Ivan |
Bolton Wanderers |
6 |
15 |
40.0% |
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9 |
Lasogga, P-M |
Hertha BSC |
6 |
15 |
40.0% |
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10 |
Palacio, Rodrigo |
Genoa |
5 |
14 |
35.7% |
If Real Madrid’s players are the kings of finishing this season, there can be no doubting that Barcelona remain the pass masters of Europe: five of the six players who have made most passes per 90 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues this season are based at the Camp Nou, while the other, Xabi Alonso, will also be playing on Saturday:
Most passes per 90 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues in 2011-12
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Rank |
Player |
Team |
Passes/90 mins |
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1 |
Xavi |
Barcelona |
126.0 |
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2 |
Thiago Alcántara |
Barcelona |
100.7 |
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3 |
Alonso, Xabi |
Real Madrid |
90.2 |
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4 |
Busquets, Sergio |
Barcelona |
85.8 |
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5 |
Fábregas, Francesc |
Barcelona |
85.4 |
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6 |
Dani Alves |
Barcelona |
83.5 |
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7 |
Banega, Éver |
Valencia |
82.9 |
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8 |
Schweinsteiger, Bastian |
Bayern München |
82.4 |
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9 |
Arteta, Mikel |
Arsenal |
81.2 |
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10 |
Lahm, Philipp |
Bayern München |
80.0 |
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However in terms of creativity, Real Madrid boast an ace up their sleeve in the form of Ángel di María: the Argentine winger has set up more goals than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season:
Most assists in Europe’s top five leagues in 2011/12
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Rank |
Player |
Team |
Assists |
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1 |
Di María, Ángel |
Real Madrid |
11 |
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2 |
Silva, David |
Manchester City |
8 |
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3 |
Arango, Juan |
B Mönchengladbach |
7 |
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4 |
Valbuena, Mathieu |
Marseille |
7 |
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5 |
Messi, Lionel |
Barcelona |
7 |
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6 |
Mata, Juan |
Chelsea |
7 |
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7 |
Cassano, Antonio |
Milan |
7 |
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For those looking for individual genius, Lionel Messi will be the man to watch: he has made more successful dribbles than any player in La Liga this season, and is second only to Gökhan Töre in terms of successful dribbles per 90 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues:
Most successful dribbles per 90 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues 2011/12
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Rank |
Player |
Team |
Succ dribbles/90 mins |
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1 |
Töre, Gökhan |
Hamburger SV |
7.5 |
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2 |
Messi, Lionel |
Barcelona |
5.8 |
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3 |
Ribéry, Franck |
Bayern München |
5.1 |
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4 |
Draxler, Julian |
FC Schalke 04 |
4.9 |
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5 |
Götze, Mario |
Borussia Dortmund |
4.8 |
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6 |
Babel, Ryan |
1899 Hoffenheim |
4.7 |
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Who do you think will win the match tonight? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
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