Son v B.Silva: Who did it better?

As it is the end of the 2018/19 season, I will be doing a comparative analysis series on players who were closely matched based on performance, revealing who I felt ‘did it better’ during the season.

Let’s get into it starting with two of my favourites: Son Heung Min & Bernardo Silva.

OVERVIEW

	Son	B.Silva
Appearances	31	36
Minutes Played	2,045	2,853
Matches Started	23	31
Subbed on	8	5
Subbed off	16	4
Distance Run (km)	223.77	378.94
Distance Run per Match	7.22	10.53
Yellow Cards	2	3
Red Cards	1	0
SCORE	2	7

 

Both players had very productive seasons generally speaking. I don’t think we can read too much into Son playing less matches and minutes, as has he was on international duty for around 6 weeks during a crucial part of the season. In saying that, I think the key comparison stat in this section is the distance ran per match. Silva tops Son by over 3km (10.53 to 7.22) which is testament to the player who runs relentlessly from start to finish. Son would have had a better discipline record if it was not for that moment of madness vs Bournemouth towards the end of the season.

 

ATTACKING

	Son	B.Silva
Goals	12	7
Goals per Match	0.39	0.19
Minutes per Goal	171	408
Shots	74	62
Shots on Target	29	22
Shots off Target	22	14
Shooting Accuracy	56.86	61.11
Goals (inside box)	8	6
Goals (outside box)	4	1
Big chances scored	6	3
Big chances missed	5	8
SCORE	9	2

 

Son proved to be superior in front of goal than Silva, with a better goals per match & minutes per goal ratio (171 to 408). He also had more shots and shots on target, but Silva had a better shooting accuracy percentage, meaning he was slightly more economical with his shots than Son. Son trumps Silva to goals inside and outside the box, with Son also having scored more and missed less big chances across the season, therefore posing a greater all round scoring threat.

 

DEFENDING

	Son	B.Silva
Clean Sheets	0	15
Goals conceded	22	22
Blocks	2	3
Interceptions	8	25
Tackles	23	52
Tackles Won	12	39
Clearances	4	24
Headed Clearances	0	7
Aerial Battles Won	4	11
Own Goals	0	0
Errors leading to Goal	0	0
Penalties Conceded	0	0
SCORE	0	8

 

Silva clearly provided more defensively for his team than Son did, which isn’t too much of a surprise as Son tends to player in a slightly more advance role than Silva. However that should not take away from the effort of Bernardo this season. The key stats here are the number of interceptions (25), clearances made (24) and tackles won (39) over the season. Another fascinating stat is the aerial battles won by Silva (11) despite being under 5 ft 7, whereas Son stands at 6ft and recorded only 4.

 

TEAMPLAY

	Son	B.Silva
Assists	6	7
Big chances created	5	10
Passes	752	1,706
Pass Completion %	85.64	86.11
Passes forward	141	306
Passes Backward	217	468
Touches	1,182	2,286
Through balls	5	10
Crosses	25	70
Dispossessed	43	37
SCORE	0	10

 

Some of the above stats are partially dictated by team style (see number of passes) but the influence Silva has on team performance overall is greater than Son. Bernardo looked for the forward pass more often and provided 50% more through balls (10 to 5) and more than double the amount of crosses (70 to 25) than Son. The most revealing stat here is the number of times Silva was dispossessed. Despite playing more games and having far more possession of the ball, Silva was only dispossessed 37 times to Sons 43.

 

Conclusion: Who Did it Better?

Both players had fantastic seasons and deserve all the credit in the world for their performances. However when compared, despite Son being a greater goal threat, Silva had a far better record defensively and influenced the general play of his team more than Son. Therefore, I believe Silva did it better than Son in the 2018/19 premier league season.

(Stats courtesy of http://www.premierleague.com)