Speed kills. Take one look at the fastest soccer players 2020 according to the UEFA Champions League technical report and you’ll find some of the world’s most devastating attackers — players like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Kingsley Coman.
However, it also says a lot about the changing tactics of the modern game that you’ll also find “defenders” who can more frequently be found going forward — think Alphonso Davies, Ferland Mendy and Kyle Walker.
These are the 10 highest speeds recorded in the 2019-20 Champions League with the 21-year-old French phenom leading the way.
Fastest Soccer Players 2020 MPH
#1. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) — 21.11 mph
#2. Lukas Klostermann (Leipzig) — 21.01 mph
#3. Hans Hateboer (Atalanta) — 20.95 mph
#4. Achraf Hakimi (Dortmund) — 20.79 mph
#5. Alphonso Davies (Bayern) — 20.74 mph
#6. Kyle Walker (Man City) — 20.72 mph
#7. Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid) — 20.70 mph
#8. Kingsley Coman (Bayern) — 20.63 mph
#9. Erling Haaland (Dortmund) — 20.52 mph
#10. Luis Muriel (Atalanta) — 20.51 mph
The technical report also includes a top for both average sprints per match and distance run per match. The reason for Slavia Prague ranking so highly in both can probably be explained by this quick reminder of who they played during the 2019-20 group stage:
This wasn't the kindest draw for Slavia. Photo: Wikipedia
However, the respective top 10s also do a good job illustrating how hard Diego Simeone’s Atlético and Antonio Conte’s Inter work, and the dynamic transition play of Lucien Favre’s Borussia Dortmund and Erik ten Hag’s Ajax.
Top 10: Most Sprints Per Match 2020
#1. Peter Olayinka (Slavia) — 60.33
#2. Petr Sevcik (Slavia) — 59.40
#3. Lukas Masopust (Slavia) — 56.67
#4. Koke (Atletico) — 56.44
#5. Zeki Celik (Lille) — 56.33
#6. Achraf Hakimi (Dortmund) — 56.00
#7. Alphonso Davies (Bayern) — 51.38
#8. Hee-Chan Hwang (Salzburg) — 51.17
#9. Jadon Sancho (Dortmund) — 50.88
#10. Sardar Azmoun (Zenit) — 49.67
Top 10: Average Player Distance Run Per Match 2020
#1. Petr Sevcik (Slavia) — 8.37 miles
#2. Tomas Soucek (Slavia) — 7.89 miles
#3. Marcelo Brozovic (Inter) — 7.75 miles
#4. Saul Niguez (Atletico) — 7.61 miles
#5. Koke (Atletico) — 7.48 miles
#6. Donny van de Beek (Ajax) — 7.38 miles
#7. Vladimir Coufal (Slavia) — 7.31 miles
#8. Lucas Tousart (Lyon) — 7.28 miles
#9. Dusan Tadic (Ajax) — 7.21 miles
#10. Sander Berge (Genk) — 7.17 miles
