Known for his dribbling skills, Paris Saint-Germain's Brazil superstar Neymar Jr is the player who has drawn the most fouls this season after 12 rounds of Ligue 1 Uber Eats football. Take deep dive into who is proving too much for defenders in France's top flight...
Who will succeed Akim Zedadka? Last season, the LOSC right-back, then at Clermont Foot, was the player who drew the most fouls in Ligue 1 Uber Eats (89). The defender is less used this season and is not at the top of the table, where one player is already standing out!
Neymar at the top
Back to his best this season, with nine goals and seven assists to his name, Neymar has been driving Ligue 1 Uber Eats defenders crazy since the beginning of August. Paris Saint-Germain's mesmerising Brazilian dribbler has already drawn 37 fouls, more than half his total from last season (70 fouls drawn in 22 games). Even if he is still far from his record of 104 fouls in 20 games from 2017-18, the former Barcelona man is a real thorn in the side of opposing teams.
With this total, the Mogi das Cruzes native is dominating the competition this season. But two players are holding out behind him. Breel Embolo, who arrived in Monaco this summer, is also causing serious problems for his opponents. Powerful and very good at protecting the ball, the Swiss striker from AS Monaco ranks second, with 33 fouls drawn. He is one ahead of Jeanricner Bellegarde. The lively midfielder is the RC Strasbourg Alsace player who has won the most free-kicks this season.
Fouls drawn this season:
1. Neymar (PSG): 37
2. Breel Embolo (AS Monaco): 33
3. Jeanricner Bellegarde (RCSA): 32
4. Jonathan Bamba (LOSC): 27
-- Ludovic Blas (FC Nantes): 27
6. Nicolas Tagliafico (OL): 25
-- Dango Ouattara (FC Lorient): 25
8. Jonathan David (LOSC): 24
-- Rominigue Kouamé (ESTAC): 24
-- Enzo Le Fée (FC Lorient): 24
-- Alidu Seidu (Clermont Foot): 24
-- Mounaïm El Idrissy (AC Ajaccio): 24
Dango Ouattara making a name for himself
In the last 30 metres - exactly where you might expect Neymar to dominate - it is another striker who is standing out. A real revelation at the start of the season with FC Lorient (four goals and four assists), 20-year-old Dango Ouattara has the highest total in this area of the pitch, with 13 fouls drawn.
But Neymar is not far behind; the Parisian is on the leader's heels with 12 fouls drawn in the final third. The Brazilian star alone has drawn 32.4% of the fouls PSG have suffered in that area, where the Parisian club have the highest number of fouls (37) in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, while Clermont Foot have drawn the highest number of fouls across the whole pitch this season (174).
Individually, Breel Embolo is sitting on the third step of the podium (nine fouls drawn in the last 30 metres), but he is under pressure from Sofiane Boufal (Angers SCO) and Lionel Messi (PSG), who have both drawneight fouls.
Fouls drawn in the final 30 metres:
1. Dango Ouattara (FC Lorient): 13
2. Neymar (PSG): 12
3. Breel Embolo (AS Monaco): 9
4. Sofiane Boufal (Angers SCO): 8
-- Lionel Messi (PSG): 8
6. Hamza Sakhi (AJ Auxerre): 7
-- Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse FC): 7
-- Adrien Hunou (Angers SCO): 7
In terms of penalties won, five players share the lead, with two penalties awarded directly to their team after 12 games. They are Breel Embolo, Dango Ouattara, Folarin Balogun (Stade de Reims), Nicolas Pépé (OGC Nice) and Mounaïm El Idrissy (AC Ajaccio).
