Best Premier League free-kick takers ranked, from Ward-Prowse to Cresswell
The Premier League is home to some top-class free-kick takers.
Stepping up to a dead ball and arrowing it into the back of the net is one of the coolest things a player can do in the same. The nonchalant precision of it, the thunderous power of it, everything just oozes cool.
Aaron Cresswell’s recent stunner against Everton means that, since the start of 2018/19, there have been 16 players who have scored more than one direct free-kick in the Premier League? Who are they? How many free kicks do they have?
We’ve separated players using the tie-breaker of minutes played. So if two players have scored the same number of free-kicks, whichever one is ranked higher has played fewer minutes.
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16. Lucas Digne
Club: Everton and Aston Villa
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Such has been the level of Lucas Digne’s performance for Everton (and Aston Villa) that he has almost entirely shaken off the tag of Barcelona flop and is now just regarded as a potent creative force.
15. Aaron Cresswell
Club: West Ham
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
The newest member of this list is the Quiet King of the London Stadium, Aaron Cresswell. The left-back feels like he should have many more free-kick goals but that’s mostly down to his incredible creative ability from set-pieces.
Aaron Cresswell's first half by numbers against Everton:
34 passes
9 passes into final third
6 final third entries
3 crosses
1 free-kick taken
1 superb goal
0.05 xGThe Hammers bagging from set-pieces yet again. 👏 pic.twitter.com/zvP0PuxUnq
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 3, 2022
14. Luka Milovojevic
Club: Crystal Palace
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Palace’s powerhouse Milovojevic is more associated with a devastating penalty record but he is also a more than capable free-kick taker.
13. Jonjo Shelvey
Club: Newcastle
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Newcastle’s big man has a real penchant for the spectacular and strikes the ball so cleanly. His presence on this list isn’t a surprise.
12. Riyad Mahrez
Club: Manchester City
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Manchester City’s wing wizard is dangerous from the dead-ball. Just ask Nigeria how they feel about the 96th minute winner in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final that the Algerian rattled into the top corner. That he’s only scored twice for City is the surprise.
11. Willian
Club: Chelsea and Arsenal
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
There’s no doubt that Willian’s time at Chelsea ended poorly, and his time at Arsenal was middling all over. For a superb player his career in England ended in acrimony, but there were flashes of his quality for both clubs and fittingly he scored one free-kick for both teams.
10. Raphinha
Club: Leeds
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Leeds’ Brazilian is currently being tracked by Europe’s best and brightest and while he obviously has a wide-ranging skill-set, his ability to sweetly strike a set-piece has to be an attractive attribute for prospective buyers.
9. Christian Eriksen
Club: Spurs and Brentford
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Christian Eriksen’s return to the Premier League with Brentford has been one of the feelgood stories of this current season but his exellence for Spurs, including from free-kicks, cannot be forgotten.
8. Harry Wilson
Club: Bournemouth
Direct free-kicks scored: 2
Harry Wilson looked the next big thing, or at least one of the next big things, when Liverpool loaned him out to Bournemouth in 2019/20. That season he scored 7 times, including 2 strikes from free-kicks. He never kicked on to the next level, but he’s still here.
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Claim Here7. Ruben Neves
Club: Wolves
Direct free-kicks scored: 3
Wolves’ defensive midfield maestro proved himself repeatedly for Wolves, and his range shooting from open or set-play has been deadly.
6. Granit Xhaka
Club: Arsenal
Direct free-kicks scored: 3
Xhaka is an oft-maligned mostly misunderstood midfield playmaker whose ability to strike the ball cleanly from range is unappreciated.
5. David Silva
Club: Manchester City
Direct free-kicks scored: 3
Everyone loves David Silva and no one will be surprised to hear that the supreme Spaniard scored two direct free kicks between 2018/19 and his Premier League exit. When it comes to manipulating the ball, there are few players in Premier League history who do it better than City’s legendary Spaniard.
4. Kieran Trippier
Club: Newcastle
Direct free-kicks scored: 3
If you want a measure of free-kick excellence, Kieran Trippier is already on this list having played just over 2,500 minutes in the Premier League across the four seasons being looked at because for most of the time he was in La Liga with Atlético Madrid. Nevertheless Trippier has 3 free-kicks scored (2 in just 317 minutes for Newcastle).
3. Trent Alexander-Arnold
Club: Liverpool
Direct free-kicks scored: 4
Liverpool’s creative genius is good at just about everything in an offensive capacity so why wouldn’t he be great at free kicks? When Trent steps over the ball you can feel the fear from opponents.
Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Premier League since the start of the 2018/19 season:
◉ Most assists
◉ Most crosses
◉ Most Expected Assists
◉ Most passes into final ⅓
◉ Most passes into the opp. boxThe Academy Award for Right-Back in a Playmaking role goes to…#Oscars
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 27, 2022
2. James Maddison
Club: Leicester
Direct free-kicks scored: 6
Maddison’s form and output has fluctuated wildly during his time in the Premier League as he’s gone from can’t-miss-prospect to busted flush to “actually he’s alright” but one constant that has remained is his ability to rattle the ball into the back of the net from free-kicks.
Most free-kicks scored in the Premier League since the start of last season:
◉ 7 – James Ward-Prowse
◎ 4 – Newcastle
◎ 3 – Arsenal
◎ 3 – LeedsWhip it like Ward-Prowse. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/h5ln4pmzxe
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 2, 2022
1. James Ward-Prowse
Club: Southampton
Direct free-kicks scored: 11
The Don Dada of the dead-ball, James Ward-Prowse is the best free-kick-taker in the Premier League and has been for a long time. Since the start of 2018/19 he has scored a remarkable 11 times from direct free-kicks, nearly twice as often as the second-best entrant.
Obviously no set-piece is a sure thing but the genuine sense of anticipation that builds around the stadium when Ward-Prowse steps up to strike a set-piece is palpable. Very few players in history have carried such a reputation but the Englishman is well worth it.
The Premier League’s top-scorer free kick takers since 2018/19
And here’s how the list shakes out if conversion rate was used as the tie-breaker.
| Player | DFK goals | DFK shots (inc. blocks) | CR | Mins |
| Ward-Prowse | 11 | 67 | 16% | 11,279 |
| Maddison | 6 | 51 | 12% | 9,394 |
| TAA | 4 | 45 | 9% | 10,988 |
| Trippier | 3 | 6 | 50% | 2,595 |
| David Silva | 3 | 9 | 33% | 4,241 |
| Xhaka | 3 | 15 | 20% | 9,072 |
| Rúben Neves | 3 | 34 | 9% | 11,017 |
| Wilson | 2 | 12 | 17% | 1,651 |
| Raphinha | 2 | 13 | 15% | 4,704 |
| Mahrez | 2 | 15 | 13% | 6,438 |
| Eriksen | 2 | 20 | 10% | 4,169 |
| Willian | 2 | 22 | 9% | 6,115 |
| Shelvey | 2 | 27 | 7% | 7,309 |
| Cresswell | 2 | 28 | 7% | 9,590 |
| Digne | 2 | 31 | 6% | 10,506 |
| Milivojevic | 2 | 38 | 5% | 8,952 |
DFK = Direct free kicks
CR = Conversion rate
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