CELTIC are the pass kings of world football according to new data released.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, Ange Postecoglou’s side passed the ball on average some 735 times from their first 13 Premiership matches this season.
That is the biggest figure from all 654 teams analysed across 40 top leagues around the globe.
English champions Manchester City are second (692), followed by Shakhtar Donetsk (682.1), Ajax (681.9), Bayern Munich (672.3) and PSG (667.4).
At the other end of the scale, Livingston made the least passes of all the clubs examined and they are joined by Motherwell (322.9) and Dundee (343.8.) in the bottom ten.
Scottish champions Rangers are 30th on the list, making on average 587.7 passes in their games.
The data also analysed how far the ball travelled on average in each game and calculated an average for the length of each pass.
Unsurprisingly, Celtic also came out on top for the distance their passes travelled in game, with an average of 12.8km per match, although came 22nd for the length of each pass (17.5km).
The stats show that Livingston are long ball merchants of the world game, with their passes being 24.4 metres on average, travelling 7.7km in a game.
Birmingham City are only slightly better off at 23.4 metres, with Motherwell next at 23.2 metres.
Club/Passes Metres/pass Km/match
Celtic 735 17.5 12.8
Rangers 587.7 17.8 10.5
Aberdeen 497.2 20.1 10
Hearts 488.6 20.4 10
Hibs 447.8 20.9 9.4
St Mirren 414.3 21.9 9.1
Dundee United413.5 20.9 8.7
St Johnstone 372.7 21.6 8
Ross County 358.8 21.3 7.7
Dundee 343.8 22.7 7.8
Motherwell 322.9 23.2 7.5
Livingston 315.8 24.4 7.7
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel