ANALYTICS. Busquets' remarkable game

• "Sergio Busquets' game deserves to be shown again and again to all of us who want/try to play in this position.Idol". This is how ex-blaugrana footballer Marc Crosas, defined on Twitter Busquet's incredible performance in the Valencia game. The midfielder had one of his best games dominating the whole game, leading the suffocating pressure of Barça and creating chances for the teammates. A 10 out of 10 game for one of the key components of Luis Enrique's Barça.
• These are the 5 figures that demonstrate Busquets' remarkable game.
• 1) 27 ball recoveries
• His average this season is 9 ball recoveries per game. Against Valencia he recovered the triple with an average of 1 recovery every 2 minutes and 20 seconds of real time game, according to Carles Domènech's data. He managed to steal the ball 27 times off an opponent's feet.
• 2) 106 passes
• The blaugrana footballeur was the player who intended the highest number of passes in the game and got a great 92% pass completion rate. Figures similar to those of Xavi Hernández at his best under Barça shirt that show Busquets is becoming the club's guide.
• 3) Leader in risky passes completion
• Although he played in a position that doesn't enable much risk, Busquets was the footballer with the highest number of risky passes completed against Valencia. Stats from LaTdP analytics show he completed 5 risky passes, one of them being an amazing pass to Messi in the phase that ended with Barça's penalty.
• 4) Winner of aerial duals
• Another statistical area in which the Catalan midfielder dominates is the one of aerial one-on-one. Busquets won 3 of the 4 one-on-ones he played and was the most valuable player in that area. Always aware and well positionned, the "5" blaugrana dominated on the ground and in the air.
• 5) Omnipresence
• During last night's game he was 67% of the time on Valencia's side of the pitch. Blaugrana pressure was suffocating and Busquets was one of main responsibles for the game to be concentrated on the opponent's side of the pitch. As shown on the heat map of Whoscored, Busquets was everywhere in the centre of the pitch, deciding of the game's tempo in this crucial zone.