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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark McDougall

The startling Celtic and Rangers pressing stat that ranks them above Liverpool

When you think of a team who are dominant in the high press then you automatically go to Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp's men are known for their in-your-face style of play and hunting in packs mentality but incredibly both Celtic and Rangers appear to perform the press better.

Of course, you have to to take into account the fact that Liverpool are playing against a better standard of opposition but it highlights the work being done by both Neil Lennon and Steven Gerrard.

Both sides are often tasked with finding new ways to beat teams who go to Ibrox and Celtic Park and deploy the low block tactic that can often make these games an arduous task.

The high press is one way of getting around that when the opposition have the ball and it's clear to see it is often working.

(Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The data that tells us this is called the 'passes per defensive action' or PPDA if you prefer.

The lower the number, the higher the intensity of the press.

In Liverpool's case, they rank at 9.13 - according to Wyscout. It's not a great ranking given their reputation with clubs including Barcelona, Leicester and even Manchester United ahead of them.

Manchester City are also in there at 8.6 but in European football's 'big five' leagues, Bologna top the rankings with an incredible rating of 5.98.

But where do Glasgow's big two fit into all of this?

(SNS Group)

The league average for the Scottish Premiership is 10.19. Only five teams rank worse than that with Hamilton Accies (14.34), Kilmarnock (14.05), St Mirren (12.39), Aberdeen (11.25), and Hibs (10.79) struggling to get the ball back as quick as their opponents.

At the other end of the scale you see some of the leagues surprise figures rank third and fourth with Motherwell (8.26) and Livingston (8.7) in there.

But it's the top two who are up there on these standings as well with Rangers ranking highest.

Their opponents will make just 6.81 passes while Celtic are just behind them on 7.93.

Both are impressive stats and would rank them highly around Europe.

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