EPL Player Stats for the 2020/21 Season – Most Goals, Assists, Clean Sheets, and More

It’s official – Manchester City is the 2020/21 Premier League champion. Pep Guardiola’s men clinched their third EPL crown in four years, finishing 12 points clear of second-place Manchester United.

Not only did the Cityzens score more goals than anyone else (83), but they also finished the season with the best defensive record in the league (32).

With another thrilling campaign behind us, now feels like the perfect time to analyze the 2020/21 Premier League player stats.

You are probably aware that Harry Kane picked up the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award. But who made the most tackles? Who achieved the most shutouts? And who completed the most passes?

Join me as I assess the EPL player stats for the 2020/21 season.

Let’s kick things off by looking at the Premier League’s top scorers in 2020/21.

As you can see, Harry Kane finished one goal clear of Mohamed Salah at the top of the EPL scoring charts. Kane netted 23 goals in 35 appearances (0.66 goals per game), while Salah scored 22 goals in 37 appearances (0.59 goals per game).

Bruno Fernandes racked up a hugely respectable 18 goals from midfield. Son Heung-min and Patrick Bamford complete the top five.

Although Manchester City was the highest-scoring EPL team in 2020/21 (83 goals), the title winners’ top scorer – Ilkay Gundogan – only netted 13 goals.

The table above shows that Kelechi Iheanacho boasted the best goals per 90 minutes average in the Premier League last season. All 12 of his goals came in his final 15 appearances.

Edinson Cavani also ranks highly here. The Manchester United striker scored ten goals in 26 league appearances in 2020/21, although half of his appearances came as a substitute.

Having finished as the league’s top scorer for a third time, Kane is now level with Alan Shearer on the Golden Boot leaderboard. Could he break Shearer’s all-time EPL goalscoring record?

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The Playmaker Award is handed to the player who makes the most assists throughout the season. Here are the league’s top creators.

Not only did Kane scoop the 2020/21 EPL Golden Boot, but he also won the Playmaker Award. In fact, the Tottenham forward is the first player to finish top for both goals and assists since Andy Cole (1993/94).

It is hardly surprising to see Kevin De Bruyne at the top end of this list, is it? Along with Fernandes, the Man City star is among the bookmakers’ favorites for the 2021 Ballon d’Or.

De Bruyne only featured in 25 of Man City’s 38 league matches last term, yet he still managed to post the best assists per 90 mins ratio. The Belgian wizard averaged almost an assist every other game.

West Ham United’s Said Benrahma is a surprise inclusion on this leaderboard. The ex-Brentford winger enjoyed a solid debut top-flight campaign, notching up six assists in 14 starts (16 substitute appearances).

Here are the shooting stats from the 2020/21 Premier League season.

Unsurprisingly, Kane had more shots than any other player last season. Salah, Fernandes, and Patrick Bamford also chalked up 100+ attempts across the campaign.

Despite clocking up 93 shots, Sadio Mane only scored 11 goals (8.45 shots per goal). Fellow Liverpool forward had 83 shots but only netted nine goals (9.22 shots per goal).

It goes without saying that Mane and Firmino were wasteful last season. At the other end of the spectrum, the table below details the most efficient EPL shooters in 2020/21.

Sergio Aguero and Alexandre Lacazette got almost 60% of their shots on target, while Joe Willock and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also enjoyed efficient seasons. Unlike some of his teammates, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota ranks highly here.

It is always fun to look back at the passing statistics at the end of every season. Below, I assess the 2020/21 Premier League passing stats.

Georginio Wijnaldum, Mohamed Elneny, Thiago Silva, and Ruben Dias all achieved a +93% pass completion rate. But John Stones was the only player to break the 94% mark.

Alongside Dias, Stones enjoyed a remarkable campaign. Many believed that his Man City career was over, but the center-back has proved his doubters wrong in style. In my eyes, Stones is one of the most improved players in the Premier League.

A key pass is the final pass leading to the recipient of the ball having an attempt at goal without scoring.

As you can see, all the usual suspects feature in this section. It is no coincidence that four of the five players on this leaderboard also feature at the top end of the assist charts.

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount made 90 key passes yet only finished the campaign with six assists to his name.

Essentially, a progressive pass is a forward pass that attempts to advance a team closer to the opponent’s goal.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson – Liverpool’s full-back duo – are clearly the progressive passing kings. TAA tops the list with 278, while Robertson has 265 to his name. Their closest challengers are a fair way behind.

The table above shows that Alexander-Arnold finished the 2020/21 EPL season with a higher overall progressive passing distance than any other player in the league.

Interestingly, TAA is the only outfield player in the top five. Given that all the other players on the leaderboard are goalkeepers, it is no real surprise that Alexander-Arnold is one of the most valuable soccer players in 2021.

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That is it for the 2020/21 Premier League attacking and passing stats. It’s now time to check out the EPL defending statistics from last season.

Along with Kane, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy season for Spurs. The former Southampton midfielder joined Tottenham last summer and started every single league game for his new club in 2020/21.

Brighton may have finished all the way down in sixteenth place, but Yves Bissouma was still able to win the second-most tackles in the league. The 24-year-old has gained plenty of admirers this year.

Wilfried Ndidi, Luke Ayling, and Ruben Neves also enhanced their reputations by producing consistent defensive displays throughout the campaign.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka made the most blocks by a considerable margin last term, ending the season with 113 blocks to his name. In fact, his nearest challenger – Everton’s Ben Godfrey – finished 28 behind.

As well as winning the fourth-most tackles, Ayling made the fifth-most blocks in 2020/21. Needless to say, the Leeds right-back enjoyed an outstanding maiden EPL season.

Although relegated West Brom was the only side to concede more goals than Southampton last term, Jan Bednarek still managed to make the most interceptions in the 2020/21 Premier League season.

You probably won’t be surprised to see Wan Bissaka and Ndidi ranking highly in the interception charts, too, while N’Golo Kante is another familiar face on this particular leaderboard.

Despite missing six of West Ham’s final nine games, Declan Rice made the second-most interceptions in the league. As a result, the Hammers’ captain is being linked with a move to an elite club.

Burnley and Fulham defenders dominate the clearance charts, with Ben Mee and Tosin Adarabioyo sitting joint top of this list. James Tarkowski and Joachim Anderson aren’t too far behind.

Having also made the third-most blocks in the division, Mings also sneaks into the top five when it comes to clearances. The Aston Villa center-back played a key role in his sides’ much-improved eleventh-place finish.

Let’s finish by taking a look at the goalkeeper stats from the 2020/21 Premier League season. First up – the EPL clean sheet charts.

On the way winning his third Premier League title with Man City, Ederson achieved a whopping 19 shutouts. Consequently, the Brazilian shot-stopper picked up the Golden Glove for the second season running.

Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy and Villa’s Emi Martinez pushed Ederson close, but no keeper outshone the Man City gloveman last season.

Having kept 19 clean sheets in 36 games, Ederson finished the campaign with a shutout percentage of 52.6%. Mendy was the only other player to break the 50% barrier, keeping 16 clean sheets in 31 appearances.

If it were not for Sam Johnstone’s heroics between the sticks, West Brom would have certainly conceded more goals in 2020/21.

The Baggie were relegated with the worst defensive record in the league, but their goalkeeper cannot be to blame for their shortcomings.

Similarly, Aaron Ramsdale and Alphonse Areola enjoyed impressive seasons with relegated teams. They both faced a barrage of shots, yet they managed to make countless saves.

Burnley’s Nick Pope saved exactly 77% of the shots he faced last season, finishing just ahead of Martinez (76.8%) in the save percentage charts.

At just 21 years old, Illan Meslier made the fourth-most saves and chalked up the fourth-best save percentage in the 2020/21 Premier League. Not bad for an EPL newbie, right?

Personally, I love looking back at all the numbers at the end of every Premier League season.

Of course, the goal and assist leaderboards are always fun to analyze. But when you dig a litter deeper, you can discover tons of interesting trends among the statistics.

If you enjoy stats like me, why not check out some of my other stat posts for different sports tournaments around the world.