Most dribbles? Top tackler? See 2025/26’s stats leaders

The 2025/26 Premier League season has ended and now it’s time to look at the players who performed best across a number of key categories. Football writer Adrian Clarke has gathered data to analyse the 2025/26 stats leaders.

You can find more player and club stats from 2025/26 and every previous Premier League season in our dedicated stats page.

Who overperformed their xG most?

Scoring from outside the box on four separate occasions, Antoine Semenyo netted almost six more goals than he should have done according to Opta’s Expected Goals (xG) metric. Two other individuals with an eye for the spectacular, AFC Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi and Fulham star Harry Wilson, also overperformed when it came to their season’s goal count.

Biggest overperformance against Expected Goals (xG) 

Player	Goals	xG	xG difference
Semenyo (MCI)	17	11.09	5.91
Kroupi (BOU)	13	8.35	4.65
Wilson (FUL)	10	5.83	4.17
Gibbs-White (NFO)	15	10.84	4.16
Dewsbury-Hall (EVE)	8	4.31	3.69

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Who was involved in the most goals?

The 2025/26 Coca-Cola Premier League Golden Boot and Coca-Cola Premier League Golden Playmaker award winners were directly involved in far more goals than anyone else across 2025/26, sharing 65 goals and assists between them. Erling Haaland’s joint career-high eight assists swelled his tally to 35, while Bruno Fernandes’ record-breaking 21 assists also got him over the 30-barrier for goal involvements.

Most combined goals and assists 

Player	Total	Goals	Assists
Haaland (MCI)	35	27	8
Fernandes (MUN)	30	9	21
Thiago (BRE)	23	22	1
Semenyo (MCI)	21	17	4
Bowen (WHU)	20	9	11
Joao Pedro (CHE)	20	15	5

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Who created the most chances?

Manchester United captain Fernandes blew everyone away in terms of creation, laying on 58 more opportunities than Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai, who was ranked in second. Portuguese playmaker Fernandes topped the list for key passes in open play (98) and from set-pieces (38) as he helped guide his team into third spot in the division.

Most chances created

Player	Chances created
Fernandes (MUN)	136
Szoboszlai (LIV)	78
Fernandez (CHE)	68
Rice (ARS), Stach (LEE)	63

Who was the best dribbler?

He only made 19 league starts, so it was quite some feat for Manchester City’s wing wizard Jeremy Doku to complete the highest number of successful dribbles. Beating defenders at will with his clever footwork, speed and power, the Belgian was by some distance the best ball carrier. Everton’s exciting forward Iliman Ndiaye was his closest rival.

Most dribbles completed

Player	Dribbles
Doku (MCI)	84
Ndiaye (EVE)	73
Minteh (BHA)	65
Semenyo (MCI)	59
Kayode (BRE)	55

Who won the most duels?

After enjoying a standout campaign from beginning to end, it was no surprise Elliot Anderson produced more winning duels than any other Premier League player. The combative Nottingham Forest midfielder was always in the thick of the action. Second-ranked James Tarkowski won an impressive 67.92 per cent of his duels.

Most duels won

Player	Duels won
Anderson (NFO)	297
Tarkowski (EVE)	235
Joao Gomes (WOL)	226
Konate (LIV)	220
Van Dijk (LIV), Williams (NFO)	216

Who was the division’s best tackler?

A bunch of industrious central midfielders dominated the rankings when it came to winning tackles. Everton’s James Garner, who also ran further than anyone else in 2025/26, led the way with 71 successful challenges. He was closely followed Wolves dynamo Joao Gomes, and Portuguese pair Mateus Fernandes and Joao Palhinha.

Most tackles won

Player	Tackles won
Garner (EVE)	71
Joao Gomes (WOL)	68
Fernandes (WHU)	67
Palhinha (TOT)	66
Mitchell (CRY), Anderson (NFO)	63

Who made the most blocks?

For the fourth time in five seasons, Everton centre-back Tarkowski registered more blocks than everybody else in the Premier League. Brave and positionally astute, the experienced defender regularly throws himself in the way of goalbound shots. Gabriel Magalhaes also made the top five en route to a title winners’ medal.

Most blocks

Player	Blocks
Tarkowski (EVE)	52
Senesi (BOU)	47
Collins (BRE)	41
Milenkovic (NFO)	36
Gabriel (ARS)	34

Who made the most interceptions?

Toffees midfielder Garner did not only win the most tackles in 2025/26 season; he also shared top billing for the highest number of interceptions too, alongside Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo. Marcos Senesi and Marc Guehi were the two centre-backs who stepped in to intercept the ball with the greatest frequency.

Most interceptions

Player	Interceptions
Caicedo (CHE), Garner (EVE)	59
Senesi (BOU)	56
Ampadu (LEE), Guehi (CRY)	50

Which goalkeeper had the best save percentage?

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma impressed during his first campaign in English football for Man City, saving over 72 per cent of the shots he faced. His tally of 15 clean sheets was second only to David Raya. The athletic Matz Sels, Emiliano Martinez and Robin Roefs also had save percentages in excess of 70 per cent.

Best save percentage (min. 20 saves)

Player	Save %
Donnarumma (MCI)	72.12%
Sels (NFO)	70.90%
Martinez (AVL)	70.68%
Roefs (SUN)	70.13%
Darlow (LEE)	70.00%

Who prevented the most goals?

According to Opta’s statistics, Man Utd No 1 Senne Lammens kept out an additional 6.5 goals in his debut season than he actually conceded. The Belgian’s 79 saves played a big part in the Red Devils’ resurgence in 2025/26. Another FIFA World Cup 2026 ‘keeper, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen, also made a difference, preventing 5.5 extra goals as the Seagulls earned a place in the UEFA Conference League.

Most goals prevented 

Player	Goals prevented
Lammens (MUN)	6.5
Donnarumma (MCI)	5.7
Verbruggen (BHA)	5.5
Pickford (EVE), Sels (NFO)	3.6