Best Premier League dribblers since records began
The Premier League has been home to some of the best dribblers in world football.
From Eden Hazard mesmorising defenders during his time at Chelsea to Fulham’s lastest signing Adama Traore gliding past players as they slip off his baby oiled covered arms, the English top flight always has that one player that defences are terrified of.
But when it comes to take-ons completed, how do some of the modern dribblers rank to the legendary names of the past?
With the help of Opta, we dived into the archives to establish a definitive list of top 10s. Read on to find out who has the recorded the most take-ons within a single season and the most within a single game.
Opta define a successful take-on as when a player beats the defender while retaining possession.
Most take-ons completed in a Premier League season
In 2019/20, Adama Traore became just the second Premier League player to record 180+ successful take-ons in a Premier League season after Eden Hazard, setting a new record of 183. Since record began in 2003/04, Eden Hazard, Adama Traore and Wilfried Zaha are the only players to complete 140+ take-ons in multiple Premier League campaigns.
| SEASON | CLUB | PLAYER | TAKE-ONS COMPLETED |
| 2019/20 | Wolves | Adama Traore | 183 |
| 2014/15 | Chelsea | Eden Hazard | 180 |
| 2017/18 | Chelsea | Eden Hazard | 165 |
| 2019/20 | Crystal Palace | Wilfried Zaha | 163 |
| 2020/21 | Wolves | Adama Traore | 153 |
| 2021/22 | Newcastle | Allan Saint-Maximin | 150 |
| 2016/17 | Chelsea | Eden Hazard | 143 |
| 2016/17 | Crystal Palace | Wilfried Zaha | 142 |
| 2018/19 | Chelsea | Eden Hazard | 138 |
| 2016/17 | Middlesborough | Adama Traore | 136 |
Since records began in 2003/04.
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Most take-ons completed in a Premier League game
Despite ending up on the losing side, Adama Traore set a new Premier League record for take-ons completed in a single game against Watford on New Years Day 2020. The Wolves winger was successful with 16 of his 20 attempted take-ons as he tormented Gerard Deulofeu, Kiko Femenia and Jose Holebas for the entire 90 minutes. Eden Hazard remains the only player since records began in 2003/04 to complete 12+ take-ons in three separate Premier League games, doing so against Stoke, Bournemouth and Huddersfield.
| DATE | PLAYER | OPPONENT | TAKE-ONS COMPLETED |
| 01/01/2020 | Adama Traore | Watford | 16 |
| 19/05/2021 | Allan Saint-Maximin | Sheffield United | 15 |
| 27/02/2021 | Adama Traore | Newcastle | 14 |
| 07/04/2013 | Andros Townsend | Wigan | 14 |
| 07/12/2013 | Eden Hazard | Stoke | 13 |
| 26/12/2016 | Eden Hazard | Bournemouth | 13 |
| 02/02/2019 | Eden Hazard | Huddersfield | 13 |
| 10/01/2015 | Remy Cabella | Chelsea | 12 |
| 13/09/2015 | Riyad Mahrez | Aston Villa | 12 |
| 20/02/2021 | Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa | Sheffield United | 12 |
Since records began in 2003/04.
