Anyone who watched Manchester City’s demolition of Manchester United will have seen Yaya Toure rampant in the midfield, scoring in the 4-1 win while new Old Trafford man Marouane Fellaini looked all at sea.
But the statistics from the game tell a very different story.
Incredibly, the numbers appear to show that Belgian midfielder Fellaini had a better game than the Ivorian, despite the result.
Fellaini made more total passes than Toure with a more accurate success rate and also covered more ground, with far more accurate passes in the opposition half.
Toure's stats
Goals: 1
Passes: 52
Pass Accuracy: 86.5%
Accurate Opposition Half Passes: 28
Chances Created: 2
Fellaini's stats
Goals: 0
Passes: 65
Pass Accuracy: 92.3%
Accurate Opposition Half Passes: 46
Chances Created: 0
City’s midfield was much more dynamic than United’s. Comparing Toure and Fellaini, although the Ivorian had less total passes, they’re all over the pitch in different areas.
Fellaini’s pass map, meanwhile, shows the Belgian playing the same pass out to the flanks over and over again, with the centre circle almost completely devoid of short passes.
The effectiveness of this tactic was where United fell flat. Young made just nine successful passes in his 52 minutes on the pitch, with just a 50 per cent accuracy in the opposition half. He also failed to create a single chance for his side, two unsuccessful crosses being his sole contribution.