A look at the dribbling records of players in the round of 16 of 2023/24 UEFA Champions League (UCL) shows that only six of them completed as many as 5 take-ons in the first leg as per Fbref. Interestingly, five of these top dribblers are Europeans. Who are these playmakers?
Cancelo in action
The oldest among them is João Cancelo. This 29-year-old defender completed 6 dribbles for Barcelona yesterday. This value is greater than the total number of take-ons completed by the entire Napoli squad in the game. He has now completed a total of 22 of it in the ongoing UCL. This is only bettered by three players.
Vinicius Júnior and Brahim Diaz also made 6 complete dribbles within the period. Coincidentally, these two men did it for Real Madrid at Leipzig. It should be noted that the only goal in the clash was scored by Diaz after completing two successive dribbles. The former also made a goal attempt with one of his dribbles but his shot hit the upright.
The next three players in this category completed 5 take-ons each. These dribblers are Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Jeremy Doku. Musiala and Sane who identify as Germans did it for Bayern Munich while Doku achieved the feat for Manchester City as is a Belgian. However, the trio have African roots.
Image: Marca