Player Focus: Biggest Player Impacts on Results

A team's results are never down to a single player, no matter how much the 'one man team' phrase is banded around nowadays, but it's fair to say that some players appear to have had a significant influence on those around them this season.

In this piece WhoScored takes a look at the 5 players who’ve made the biggest difference in terms of win ratios when starting in comparison to when they are not in the XI. To be considered all players must have missed over 5 league games from the start this season, and here's a rundown from 5 to 1.

5. Juan Mata (Chelsea)

Win Ratio with: 66.7%    Win Ratio without: 14.3%        Difference: 52.4%

To state that Juan Mata is a key player for Chelsea is an understatement, but just how important the Spaniard has been this season becomes apparent when looking at the results without him in the side. Chelsea have played 7 Premier League games without Mata in the starting XI, winning just once, and it isn't that the games the 24 year old has missed have been against top sides either.

The playmaker hasn't missed a match against any of the league's top 7 this season, while the only game the Blues managed to win without Mata starting saw the Spaniard come on against Wigan. When introduced in the second half the game was finely poised at 2-1, with Chelsea able to add two more once the Spain international had entered the fray.

In the other six games that Mata didn't feature from the start they’ve lost to West Brom, QPR and Southampton, and drew with Swansea, Fulham and QPR once again, netting just three goals in the process.

4. Brandão (Saint Etienne)

Win Ratio with: 73.3%    Win Ratio without: 17.6%        Difference: 55.7%

Veteran striker Brandão made the move from Marseille to Saint Etienne last summer and he's had an impressive campaign at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard. It certainly wasn't an immediate impact from the Brazilian, however, with the 32 year old not starting a league game until October. Indeed, he's only started 15 Ligue 1 matches, but the difference in results for les Verts when he's in the side is telling.

His inclusion forces star man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back into a wider role, and it's a move that has suited all parties. Saint Etienne have won 11 and lost none of the 15 games the Brazilian has started, compared to winning 3 out of 17 when he hasn't been in the XI. The fact that those wins have come against Bastia, Brest and Evian suggests that Christophe Galtier has a lot to thank the striker for.

Perhaps the biggest indication of a forward's influence lies in the goals the side have scored with and without him, and Saint Etienne have averaged more than twice as many (2.2 to 1.06) when Brandão has started.

3. Ilkay Gündogan (Borussia Dortmund)

Win Ratio with: 72.7%    Win Ratio without: 14.3%        Difference: 58.4%

The midfielder's influence since his arrival at Dortmund is something that was discussed by James Horncastle in his latest article for WhoScored, and Gündogan’s importance to the club has certainly grown significantly. The 22 year old has only missed 7 Bundesliga games from kick-off for Jurgen Klopp's side this season, but they've really struggled without him.

Prior to a recent 4-2 win at Augsburg, which the side found themselves behind in at half-time having rested a number of key players including the German international, Dortmund had failed to win all 6 games that Gündogan hadn't started this season. This included two defeats to Hamburg and a loss at home to Schalke, as well as draws with Hannover, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf.

While the young midfielder is often the more attacking of the two players in Dortmund's double pivot, his impact defensively is clear. The Champions League semi-finalists have conceded 0.86 goals per game with him in the side, compared to a massive 2.29 without him.

2. Salomon Kalou (Lille)

Win Ratio with: 68.4%    Win Ratio without: 7.7%        Difference: 60.7%

Like Brandão, Salomon Kalou is another Ligue 1 player who has missed a large section of his side's respective matches this season. The forward made the move across the channel from Chelsea last summer and has had an impressive impact at Lille, despite the club having a reasonably difficult campaign.

It's certainly been a season of ups and downs for Rudi Garcia's side, and the peaks and troughs seem to correlate fairly accurately with Kalou's presence, or lack thereof, in the side. The former Ligue 1 champions have started 13 league matches without the Ivorian and won just once, against bottom half side Ajaccio.

Lille have slumped to draws against Nancy, Reims, Sochaux, Bastia and Troyes twice without the 27 year old in the starting XI, averaging 1.89 goals per game with Kalou in the side and 0.92 when he hasn't been selected from kick-off.

1. Adil Rami (Valencia)

Win Ratio with: 60.9%    Win Ratio without: 0%        Difference: 60.9%

The French international hasn't had a remarkable season with Valencia but when he has been absent from the starting XI - on 8 occasions this season - the La Liga outfit have struggled to pick up points. Indeed Los Che have failed to win a single league match when Rami has not started, compared to a win ratio of almost 61% when he has been in the side.

The centre-back has been out through both injury and suspension at one stage or another this season, and it has often cost the Champions League hopefuls. Although he has missed tough matches at Real Madrid and Atletico, from which the side have managed to pick up impressive points, Valencia have lost to Bilbao and Sociedad without him, as well as drawing against lowly Deportivo and Zaragoza.

Ernesto Valverde's side have conceded a huge 2.25 goals per game without the 27 year old in the starting XI, compared to 1.17 when he has been in the side from kick-off, shipping five against the aforementioned Sociedad and three to both Deportivo and Espanyol.