Best Pressing Forwards in the Premier League

Who pressed the most, and the highest, in the 2021/22 season?

In 2016, on an episode of Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Liverpool manager was asked by Jamie Carragher about his philosophy, and in particular his preference for using a pressing system. Klopp replied:

“Counter-pressing makes exactly the same [influence as a playmaker]. No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation.”

Over six years has passed since then, and asking forwards to play a key role chasing down and applying pressure to opposition defenders is now far more popular in the Premier League than it used to be.

With that in mind, and having collected the data from Fbref, we can now see which of the forwards have been pressing the most - and highest.

Looks like Norwich’s Teemu Pukki was asked to do a lot! And could, now that the Canaries have been relegated, be a useful addition for a reasonable price for any team that utilises a high press. As you would expect, three of the Liverpool’s forwards are featured prominently and if it wasn’t for Pukki, then Diogo Jota would be one of the best in the league; alongside Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.

Oh, and can you guess who that player is on the far bottom left? Go on, say it. Yes, of course, it’s the ever hard working team player Cristiano Ronaldo.