Opta: Liverpool lead pressing stats after five PL games

Liverpool top the Premier League for high pressures in the opponent's half after five matches of the 2026-27 season, with Opta data highlighting four statistical themes from Andoni Iraola's early tenure at Anfield.

Opposing teams are averaging just 9.1 passes per sequence in their own three-fifths of the pitch before a Liverpool player attempts a tackle, interception or challenge — the third-fewest defensive actions required of any side in the division.

In possession, Liverpool are moving the ball forward at 15.38 metres of progress per sequence, second only to Manchester United (15.44). Their direct speed has risen to 1.87 metres per second from 1.84 last campaign, while passes per sequence have dropped from 4.2 to 3.9 compared with 2025-26.

Defensively, Liverpool share the joint-most clean sheets in the league, with three in a row against Ipswich Town, Fulham and Bournemouth. Their expected goals against (xGA) across those fixtures averaged 0.75, and their overall xGA of 1.22 after five matchweeks trails only Arsenal (0.81) and Nottingham Forest (0.96).

Summer signing Jeremy Jacquet has made a particularly strong statistical impression. The 21-year-old centre-back, who joined from Stade Rennais, ranks third in the entire Premier League for aerial duel success rate at 76.9 per cent. Among all top-flight centre-backs, his 29 line-breaking passes into the final third are bettered only by Tottenham Hotspur's Jan Paul van Hecke (33).