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The Premier League has changed over the past few years, with the emphasis being put on pressing and playing out from the back more often in recent times. For a team to succeed in the Premier League, there has to be a positive contribution from all the players, including the strikers.
Premier League forwards strive to be good defensively
Several Premier League teams make use of attacking players in a defensive role. Gegenpressing, a term popularized by Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, is one such style of play that relies on a high defensive output from the forward players. If executed properly, it chokes the opposition and will lead to better control of the game overall.
Football is becoming more reliant on physicality and pace. Long gone are the times when a striker could stay in enemy territory and rely completely on playing off the shoulder of the last defender.
Although that is one aspect that still leads to goals, strikers are heavily criticized if they don't put in efforts to win back possession and challenge for the ball. On that note, here are five Premier League strikers who have excelled defensively this season:
#5 Che Adams
Che Adams has been heavily involved defensively this season, making crucial challenges and winning the ball back. The Saints man has scored just two goal in the Premier League this campaign. However, after an impressive performance in the international break, Adams now has five goals in six matches for club and country in all competitions.
He has made seven tackles out of which he has won five, which is quite notable for a striker. Southampton head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl will be pleased to see the strikers pitching in defensively and trying to set up a counter-attack.
Adams hasn’t started quite as often for the Saints as he would have liked, which is largely due to Hasenhuttl preferring Nathan Redmond and Adam Armstrong as his frontmen. However, if he finds a scoring touch combined with a high defensive output, he will be an invaluable asset to the Premier League club.
#4 Chris Wood
Burnley are known to be a rugged and tough team to come up against, with most of their players being highly physical. Chris Wood, the New Zealand international, is definitely an aerial threat while attacking, but he has also been contributing defensively and putting pressure on the opposition.
He has made eight tackles, including three in the attacking third, and has won six tackles overall. The Clarets are in a tough spot in the Premier League and are fighting to avoid relegation. Wood has always been a reliable man for Sean Dyche up front, having scored more than 10 goals in four consecutive seasons.
The Burnley striker currently has only two goals to his name in the Premier League this season, something he will be looking to improve upon in the fixtures to come. There is no drop in his work rate though, as shown by the efforts he is putting in to help out his defense.
#3 Emmanuel Dennis
After putting on an impressive performance on his Premier League debut for Watford and winning the man-of-the-match award, Emmanuel Dennis has endeared himself to the fans. The 24-year-old has scored four goals and registered five assists in 10 matches for the Hornets, while displaying his defensive prowess as well.
Dennis made 22 tackles and won 11. Although the success rate may not be as high as he would have liked, the fact that he has made 22 tackles shows his tenacity and commendable work rate.
After some challenging times with Club Brugge and FC Koln, several people raised eyebrows when Watford signed the Nigerian forward. However, with his performances in the Premier League so far, he has silenced all his doubters.
#2 Raúl Jiménez
Raúl Jiménez was back in the Wolverhampton Wanderers’ starting eleven this season and looks set to pick up where he left off. He suffered a fractured skull due to an unfortunate injury sustained against a tussle with David Luiz back in November 2020. However, the Mexican has not shied away from being physical and has made 11 tackles and won nine of them.
Wolves’ no. 9 has always been a fan favourite, and his work rate and commitment are a few reasons he is adored amongst the Molineux faithful. Although he may commit the odd foul, he is not one to turn down an opportunity to win the ball back. Five of his tackles have been in the attacking third and have greatly helped his team in several scenarios.
After a poor start to the Premier League season, Bruno Lage’s men have picked up form and are currently sixth in the league. Jiménez scored his 50th goal for the club against Everton earlier this month and also netted the only goal in a 1-0 win over West Ham recently.
#1 Michail Antonio
Based on the way West Ham United have performed this Premier League season, it might not be much of a surprise that Michail Antonio is number one on this list. Aside from bagging six goals in 11 appearances for the Hammers, Antonio has also shown a lot of improvement in his defensive contributions.
West Ham, on the whole, have been playing some brilliant football and Antonio is a crucial component of David Moyes’ game plan. He has made 15 tackles so far and has won 13 of them, which is no small feat.
Almost half of these have been in the attacking third. The Jamaican international has enormous amounts of strength and has improved his hold-up play.
Antonio is in fine form and won the Premier League Player of the Month award for August. He has always been versatile, having played in the right-back and right-wing positions previously. This versatility, combined with a renewed hunger to win, has contributed to him being at the top of this list.
