Europa Conference League stats: Alternative stars of the quarter-final second legs
Friday, 15 April 2022
Article summary
Who made the most saves, crosses, clearances, ball recoveries and completed passes in the quarter-final second legs?
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UEFA.com has a treasure trove of statistics to highlight the players starring in the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's newest club competition.
In this piece, presented by Swissquote, we sift through the data to see who earned top billing across a number of match-defining metrics.
Most passes completed
93 Marius Høibråten (Bodø/Glimt)
79 Jonny Evans (Leicester)
73 Wesley Fofana (Leicester)
70 Valentin Rongier (Marseille)
64 Sverrir Ingason (PAOK)
As last week, Leicester defenders Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans feature prominently to underline the Foxes' commitment to building from the back. But they were outdone by Marius Høibråten, one of four of Bodø/Glimt's defensive players in the top ten. Ultimately, Roma's more direct approach prospered in a 4-0 win.
Crosses completed
4 Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
3 Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven)
3 Orkun Kökçü (Feyenoord)
2 James Maddison (Leicester)
2 Sidcley (PAOK)
2 Alexander Bah (Slavia Praha)
Further testament to Roma's switch to a direct approach: Lorenzo Pellegrini led the way with four incisive crosses. Not bad considering he was playing quite centrally, and it was this movement by the Giallorossi's attacking line that caused Bodø/Glimt so many problems.
Balls recovered
12 Wesley Fofana (Leicester)
11 André Ramalho (PSV Eindhoven)
10 Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord)
9 Jasmin Kurtić (PAOK)
9 Marius Høibråten (Bodø/Glimt)
9 Valentin Rongier (Marseille)
Wesley Fofana and André Ramalho switch places in the top two after Leicester's 2-1 victory at PSV Eindhoven once again proved an end-to-end affair. With the second leg stretched as both teams pushed, Fofana and Ramalho almost played as sweepers at times, using their pace to mop up at the back.
Clearances
10 Marcos Senesi (Feyenoord)
7 Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord)
6 Marius Høibråten (Bodø/Glimt)
6 William Saliba (Marseille)
5 Chris Smalling (Roma)
5 Bryan Cristante (Roma)
5 Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord)
Feyenoord ultimately made it past Slavia Praha, but don't for a minute think it was easy. The Czech side launched 47 attacks over the course of 90 minutes, mustering 17 attempts – that they only had one goal to show for their efforts was largely down to some committed defending. Marcos Senesi made the most clearances, and three team-mates join him in the top ten.
Most saves
5 Steve Mandanda (Marseille)
5 Nikita Haikin (Bodø/Glimt)
3 Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester)
3 Yvon Mvogo (PSV Eindhoven)
3 Aleš Mandous (Slavia Praha)
3 Ofir Marciano (Feyenoord)
Marseille also booked their place in the last four, but they too had to work for their away win at PAOK. Steve Mandanda made five stops, including a couple of fantastic acrobatic efforts in the closing stages as the home side threw caution to the wind. Opposite number Alexandros Paschalakis, the busiest keeper last week, conceded the only shot OM managed to get on target.
