Bernardo Silva is the Premier League’s serial winner in new table showing football’s most and least-successful players since last year’s shutdown… but which Bayern and Red Star Belgrade stars beat him, and who’s failed to win a SINGLE game?!
- Bernardo Silva has the highest league win percentage as a starter since last year
- A CIES Football Observatory report has shown which players have had the most and least success when starting league games since the pandemic hit in 2020
- Red Star’s Milan Gajic was the most successful, winning 21 out of 22 games
- While Schalke’s Bastian Oczipka is still yet to register a league win as a starter
- West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has only managed two wins in 27 games
Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has won a staggering 88 per cent of games as a Premier League starter since Covid shut down football last year, while West Brom’s Sam Johnstone has seriously struggled.
A report from the CIES Football Observatory has shown which players from across Europe have had the most and least success when starting at least 20 domestic league games since the pandemic hit a year ago.
While Silva leads the way for Premier League players, his win percentage is only bettered by two other players in Europe – Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry, who has won 91 per cent of his games as a starter, and Red Star Belgrade’s Milan Gajic, who boasts the best record of 21 wins from 22 games when starting.
Bernardo Silva (left) and Serge Gnabry (right) boast two of the highest win percentages in Europe when starting domestic league games since March last year
Atletico Madrid’s Mario Hermoso has also enjoyed a brilliant run at centre back for Diego Simeone, where he has won 76 per cent of his games when named in the starting XI.
Real Madrid enforcer Casemiro isn’t far behind the Spaniard, having won 77 per cent of 31 games he’s started.
For Ligue 1, there’s no sign of PSG duo Neymar or Kylian Mbappe.
Instead, Lille’s Canadian forward Jonathan David leads the way, having won 16 of his 22 games as a starter in his debut season for the club.
Mario Hermoso has also enjoyed a brilliant run at centre back for Atletico Madrid
Red Star’s Milan Gajic (right) boasts the best record of 21 wins from 22 games when starting
In Italy, Alexis Saelemaekers has impressively registered 18 victories in his first 23 games as a starter for AC Milan, putting him head and shoulders above any other player in the Serie A.
And while all of the above have enjoyed a largely successful year in what has been a turbulent 12 months for the world, there are other players that have been on the losing side more often that not.
None more so than Schalke defender Bastian Oczipka.
The German club’s almighty collapse has been well documented this season, but Oczipka’s record as a starter since March last year has been beyond woeful.
The 32-year-old left back is still yet to register a win in 23 Bundesliga games, making him the least successful player in Europe’s major leagues since Covid brought football to a standstill.
However, Schalke defender Bastian Oczipka (left) and West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone (right) have endured rotten runs for their club in their respective leagues
Meanwhile, Baggies keeper Johnstone hasn’t done that much better, winning just two of the 27 Premier League games when he’s been named as starter.
Eibar defender Anaitz Arbilla and Parma’s Simeone Iacoponi have also only managed two league wins in that same time, while they have played six and five games fewer than Johnstone respectively.
In Ligue 1, Dijon’s Bruno Ecuele Manga is the only player to have a worse record than Johnstone, having managed two wins in 28 games.
