Puel v Rodgers: Stats reveal more clinical finishing

By Emily Barker

Leicester City’s resurgence since the arrival of manager Brendan Rodgers has been somewhat remarkable and a delve into the stats of his first five games compared to predecessor Claude Puel’s final five throw in some interesting trends.

Puel’s side struggled to hit the back of the net on more than one occasion, despite often having a higher number of shots, shots on target and more corners than Rodgers in his opening games.

Rodgers’ team, on the other hand, converted a fewer total number of corners and shots into successful goals, and his side scored a far higher amount of goals than that of Puel.

The table below shows the games and the scores of Puel’s last five matches managing Leicester City.

If you compare the previous table to the one of Rodgers’, you can clearly see who has done better with their managerial time.

Having a further look at the stats (sourced from BBC Sport), comparing Puel’s last five games to Rodgers’ first five, is interesting. For example, although the sides’ possession rates are fairly similar, Puel had more corners but fewer goals than Rodgers.

Possession:

Shots:

Shots on target:

Goals:

Corners:

Claude Puel managed Leicester City Football Club for just 16 months before having his contract terminated by the club on Sunday, February 24, 2019.

One game was managed by caretaker manager Mike Stowell, before Brendan Rodgers was appointed on a permanent contract on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.

Rodgers made the move from Celtic, and is well-known for managing Premier League clubs Liverpool, alongside Swansea City, as well as in lower league with Reading and Watford.