Why Mahrez NOT Vardy has been the player of season so far

Why Riyad Mahrez, and not Jamie Vardy, has been the player of the season so far

Jamie Vardy’s record-breaking run of goals swept up the headlines but Riyad Mahrez has been Leicester City’s most effective player in their remarkable rise


Riyad Mahrez celebrates after completing his hat-trick against Swansea City.

That Leicester City sit on top of the Premier League table after 15 matches, with just one defeat, is remarkable. While Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United continue to drop points, the Foxes march on. Alex Ferguson believes Leicester have a “great chance” of upsetting the odds and going the distance if they can add to their squad in January but, for the time being, Claudio Ranieri’s team are the best in the league regardless. The table doesn’t lie.

The story of the season beyond the collective achievements of this team has no doubt been Jamie Vardy. The striker’s scoring streak of 11 consecutive league matches may have ended at the weekend, but Leicester still had enough about them – and then some – to dispatch a sinking Swansea side. The role of summer signing N’Golo Kanté in their 3-0 win cannot be understated but their was little doubt about who was the star of the show.

A hat-trick from the sensational Riyad Mahrez was a particular highlight in what has been a season of high points for the Algerian. The 24-year-old picked up a perfect 10 rating for his display at the Liberty Stadium, becoming the first player to achieve that score more than once this season, having garnered the same rating on the opening day of the campaign against Sunderland. A man of the match showing on Saturday was enough to take Mahrez’s rating for the season to 8.33, a score that is unrivalled in England’s top-flight.

Vardy’s consistent goalscoring and Mesut Özil’s creative exploits – with 12 assists he now has twice as many as many as any other Premier League player – have impressed this season but Mahrez deserves the greatest credit. The winger is now third in the scoring charts, with 10, while only Özil has registered more assists than Mahrez’s six.

With a direct hand in 16 league goals, Mahrez’s total contribution is bettered only by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (20 goals), Neymar (19) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (18) in Europe’s top five leagues. And that is from a player who scored four and set up three goals last season. While his talent was clear to see in his first season in the top flight last time out, his startling consistency is having a huge impact on the outcome of matches this time around.



Of course, the winger’s rapid development owes much to the form of his team as a whole. The table toppers sit way down in 18th in terms of possession (44.2%) but only three sides have fired off more shots on target. While a patient passing approach is not high on the list of priorities at the King Power, Leicester also give away possession through hitting a lot shots and attempting defence-splitting passes. If possible they try to instigate attacks quickly to prevent the opposition from regaining any shape, hence why they don’t hold on to the ball for long. That willingness to break at speed and take risks offers a stark contrast to a number of teams at either end of the table – Leicester’s last two opponents, Manchester United and Swansea City, spring to mind in particular – but it is also playing into Mahrez’s hands.

While it’s true that the Algeria international likes to have space to run into, he is equally adept at breaking the lines by working his way out of tight spaces. Mahrez has completed the most dribbles in the Premier League (50), accounting for 31% of Leicester’s total tally, and he ranks among the top 10 players for both shots (42) and key passes (31). The quality of the chances he has created has allowed Vardy in particular to flourish – only Özil has laid on more clear cut opportunities (11). Players of his ilk often dazzle with their trickery and fleet of foot and thought, but Mahrez backs that up with an end product where so many fall short. He is simply the most effective winger in England right now.

Mahrez, along with Vardy, Albrighton and even Kante, might be lightweight but their willingness to work for the team and win back possession quickly has made this slight Leicester side – centre-backs aside – an intimidating prospect. Mahrez (11), along with Vardy (15), is one of only 14 players to win possession in the attacking third more than 10 times this season.

However, while Vardy, Albrighton, Kante and Drinkwater have rightly been lauded for their work ethic in winning the ball upfield it’s key to have a player that can carry play forward at speed to pick out team-mates in those situations. Mahrez is the man with magic in his boots at Leicester and should be considered the player of the season so far.

Guardian