Premier League: Does running more actually make a difference?

In May last year, former Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said: “We are not good enough for transitional games. If you see our worst moments in the season, or the games in which we struggled, they were all games where the game became transitional.”

This quote helps explain why Chelsea intentionally run less, especially in the early part of the season. Directing his team to play slower while controlling the ball would have resulted in fewer turnovers and transitions resulting in Chelsea needing to cover great distances less frequently.

Playing more slowly on the ball in theory may have helped Chelsea’s players relax during the game before pressing harder for shorter periods.

This season, Manchester City ranks first in terms of average distance run per match in the Premier League.

Although this seems like a positive statistic, after their 3-0 win over West Ham earlier this season, Guardiola said: “I love… [how much we run]Last season we didn’t have that. But this is not enough, we have to play better [so] We can run less.”

Reading between the lines, Guardiola seemed happy with the increased commitment, but more likely wanted his team to play less end-to-end, rather than looking for more control.