Incredible stat reveals where Everton rank in Europe for 'direct play'

Everton have been placed second in a set of statistics designed to see which teams are the most direct in Europe.

The list of numbers has combined 27 leagues from across the world, but when narrowed down to Europe's top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A) they placed second behind Luton Town.

It comes from the CIES Football Observatory who have combined SkillCorner’s physical and tactical ('game intelligence') data with Wyscout’s technical ones to create a direct play index. Given a score out of a 100, it allows them to rank teams from 27 leagues worldwide from those with the most direct attacking style to those with the most elaborate offensive play.

They scored a total score of 80.7, which was less than Luton's 87.7 figure but way ahead of third-placed Sheffield United with 73.9. That score is calculated by multiplying and dividing figures such as sprints during possession p90, 'call-for-the-ball' runs in space (%) and km covered by the ball in possession.

They boasted the most sprints during possession p90 in Europe which was certainly impressive with 18.6 and it's clear to see how Dyche has got them playing; they are working extremely hard and that's probably why their luck has turned in recent weeks.

Prior to the run they currently find themselves on, their expected goal statistics were up among the best in the Premier League - it even bettered Manchester City at one point - which suggested it would be a matter of time before things turned around.

Despite a shaky start to the season, he has steadied the ship with five wins in eight games and the likes of Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Garner, Jarrad Branthwaite, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Amadou Onana have all starred.

Of course, Sean Dyche was known for his direct style of play with Burnley across his 10 years at Turf Moor. He has brought a similar approach to Everton, utilising the fact that they are the tallest team on average in the Premier League to his advantage.

Although, Everton boast more technical players than his Burnley side did with the likes of Jack Harrison, Dwight McNeil, James Garner and Jarrad Branthwaite, to name a few, but the ranking tells us that he is maximising the physicality of this squad as it is right now.