2020 AFC Champions League: The Stats Leaders

There were several standout performers and performances from the 2020 edition of Asia's premier club tournament that thrilled fans the Continent over.

We break down the statistics – provided by the AFC's official data provider Stats Perform – to review some of the key categories and those who excelled in them.

Goals

Two players finished the campaign on seven goals but it was Al Nassr's Moroccan star Abderrazak Hamdallah who won the Top Scorer award over Ulsan Hyundai's Junior Negrao by virtue of having played fewer total minutes throughout the competition.

1. Abderrazak Hamdallah, Al Nassr – 7
1. Junior Negrao, Ulsan Hyundai – 7

3. Trent Buhagiar, Sydney FC – 5
3. Bjorn Johnsen, Ulsan Hyundai – 5
5. Alan, Isa Alkasir, Baghdad Bounejdah, Ado Onaiwu and Yoon Bit-garam - 4


Chances Created

The tournament's MVP Yoon Bit-garam was a major reason for Ulsan Hyundai's run to a second AFC Champions League title.

The midfielder was a source of not only goals (4) but also laying on opportunities for his teammates as he edged Beijing FC's Spanish playmaker Jonathan Viera in this category.

1. Yoon Bit-garam, Ulsan Hyundai – 22
2. Jonathan Viera, Beijing FC – 21
3. Kim In-sung, Ulsan Hyundai – 19
4. Han Seung-gyu, FC Seoul – 17
5. Leandro, FC Tokyo – 16


Clearances

Al Nassr's centre-back Maicon was kept busy throughout the 2020 AFC Champions League campaign as the Brazilian stood firm in the heart of the Riyadh side's backline.

The defender edged out Sydney FC veteran Alex Wilkinson by the narrowest margin with both appearing in six matches.

7 – Al Nassr's Maicon was dominant in the air, with the Brazilian winning a Matchday high seven of his nine aerial duels against Al Taawoun. 

1. Maicon, Al Nassr – 34
2. Alex Wilkinson, Sydney FC – 33
3. Shojae Khalilzadeh, Persepolis – 32
5. Boualem Khouki, Al Sadd – 30
5. Tsukasa Shiotani, Al Ain – 30


Duels Won

Pakhtakor's Serbian striker Dragan Ceran made the most of his 6'2" frame to bully defences in this year's competition by topping the duels won category.

A particularly impressive return as Ceran played less matches than the rest of the top five.

DRAGAN CERAN - AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2019 - Action

1. Dragan Ceran, Pakhtakor – 54
2. Khalid Al Ghannam, Al Nassr  53
2. Abderazzak Hamdallah, Al Nassr – 53
2. Siamak Nemati, Persepolis – 53
5. Shojae Khalilzadeh, Persepolis – 51


Shooting Accuracy (of players with a minimum of 15 shots)

The top scorer from the 2018 AFC Champions League, Baghdad Bounedjah, showed once more he has lost none of his potency up front with a 61 percent accuracy (from 18 shots) and four goals for the tournament.

Spare a thought for Vissel Kobe's Douglas who despite boasting an impressive 56 percent accuracy (16 shots) only netted once.

Baghdad Bounedjah's 87th minute strike not only salvaged a point for Al Sadd against Al Nassr on Monday but also took the Qatar side into the Round of 16.

1. Baghdad Bounedjah, Al Sadd – 61.1%
2. Douglas, Vissel Kobe – 56.2%
3. Junior Negrao, Ulsan Hyundai – 55.5%
4. Renato Augusto, Beijing FC – 55%
5. Kim in-sung, Ulsan Hyundai – 52.9%


Passing accuracy in final third (of players who have made more than 250 passes)

Of those who made more than 250 passes into the final third, Persepolis' Kamal Kamyabinia (317 passes) leads the way with a passing accuracy of 91.6 percent, followed by Yokohama F. Marinos' Takuya Kida (380 passes) on 89 percent.

93 – Of the players who have made more than 100 passes, Kamal Kamyabinia has the best accuracy with 93% of his 294 finding the intended target. 

1. Kamal Kamyabinia, Persepolis – 91.6%
2. Takuaya Kida, Yokohama F. Marinos – 89%
3. Koh Myoung-jin, Ulsan Hyundai – 88.7%
4. Thiago Martins, Yokohama F. Marinos – 88.2%
5. Ehsan Pahlevan, Persepolis – 88.1%


Saves

Despite losing the services of first choice goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo after he tested postive for COVID-19, Ulsan Hyundai's number two Jo Su-huk stepped up in a big way and more than filled his namesake's shoes with several big performances and memorable saves.

Jo So-huk

1. Jo Su-huk, Ulsan Hyundai– 26
2. Brad Jones, Al Nassr – 25
3. Li Shuai, Shanghai Shenhua – 22
4. Cassio, Al Taawoun – 21
4. Apirak Worawong, Chiangrai United – 21


Tackles Won

There may have been some eyebrows raised when Beijing FC chose to leave out CSL 2020 Top Scorer Cedric Bakambu from their squad for Qatar, but Brazilian midfielder Fernando more than justified his selection with a series of outstanding showings across the pitch.

4 – Beijing FC's Fernando is one of four players to score their first-ever ACL goal in Qatar, the others being Perth Glory's Jonathan Aspropotamitis, Jeonbuk's Gustavo and Shanghai Shenhua's Zhu Jianrong. 

1. Fernando, Beijing FC– 18
2. Shojae Khalilzadeh, Persepolis – 14
3. Choi Chul-soon, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors – 13
4. Khojiakbar Alijonov, Pakhtakor – 12
4. Fahad Al Rashidi, Al Taawoun – 12


Dribbles Completed

And finally, one of the most eye-catching categories was topped by Pakhtakor's Jaloliddin Masharipov.

The tricky Uzbekistan star enjoyed an excellent campaign but there was a bittersweet conclusion after his 15th minute red card in the quarter-final against Persepolis saw his tournament end prematurely.

Pakhtakor's matchwinner Jaloliddin Masharipov celebrates after the win over Shahr Khodro FC on Wednesday. 

1. Jalolioddin Masharipov, Pakhtakor – 24
2. Caio, Sharjah – 22
3. Jonathan Viera, Beijing FC – 21
4. Khalid Al Ghannam, Al Nassr – 21
4. Abderazzak Hamdallah, Al Nassr – 19

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