Manchester City lead the Premier League in staggering distance covered metric | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side currently lead the way in the Premier League for the metric of distance covered so far in the 2025/26 season.

Those in sky blue largely struggled to keep up with the high intensity of the English top-flight last campaign, with City legends growing older and facing physical limitations when keeping up with the merciless pace of the modern Premier League.

The 2025 transfer windows, however, breathed a new lease of life into Pep Guardiola’s side as young, dynamic and energetic players such as Nico Gonzalez and Rayan Cherki were brought in – youthful players known for their energy and tirelessness.

Whilst the 54-year-old Catalan coach has instilled a beautiful, attacking footballing philosophy from his sides throughout his managerial career, another essential requirement of his side is hard work and determination off the ball – regarded as almost as important as the enthralling on-the-ball system during his illustrious tenure at the Etihad Stadium.

This has been evident from Manchester City’s 2025/26 term thus far, as the former treble winners have covered more ground than any team in the division in the first 11 games of the campaign.

“Always, we have played football with the ball, but we are a team that runs incredibly. We have been an example; otherwise, we wouldn’t win,” said Pep Guardiola after the dominant 3-0 victory over defending league champions Liverpool.

The residents of the Etihad Stadium are not afraid of covering every blade of grass, running a total of 1,269 kilometres so far, averaging a jaw-dropping 115.4 kilometres per game.

The Blues’ total distance covered so far is seven kilometres more than the second most energetic side, Arsenal, with Leeds, Newcastle United and Burnley completing the top five. As for distance covered by individual players per 90 minutes, three of the top four in the Premier League who have played at least 500 minutes are of Manchester City.

Phil Foden – who has recently found himself back in sparkling form and fitness this campaign – averages 12.42 kilometres every 90 minutes. Club captain Bernardo Silva is often in contention to top this metric, and even in his ninth season in Manchester and at 31 years of age, he manages to cover more ground than almost all of his peers.

Spanish midfielder Nico, who has excelled in recent weeks, is fourth amongst every player across the whole division, clocking up 12.08 kilometres per game. The aforementioned trio were integral in the Blues’ emphatic 3-0 victory over Liverpool, providing an exceptional foundation in the engine room.

It is fitting that Manchester City’s No. 20 and club captain – who has been selected by Pep Guardiola on more occasions than any other player – led the way in the victory against Liverpool on the head coach’s historic 1000th game in management.

He clocked up 12.76 kilometres, just ahead of Foden on 12.73 and Nico on 11.99. Bernardo and Foden’s totals against Liverpool are the third and fourth most a player has run in any Premier League game this season, with the No. 47’s unrelenting display against Everton last month topping the bill at 12.85 kilometres in total.

Given those impressive numbers, it is understandable that the pair have not featured in every game. That leaves a duo of City captains in Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland as the only two players who have so far gone beyond 100 kilometres in total this season, registering 109.6 and 105.4, respectively.

Given the fact that both Dias and Haaland play in areas of the pitch less related to relentless running, it emphasises how Pep Guardiola’s hard-working off-the-ball philosophy has got through to every member of his star-studded squad.

So, while those of a sky blue persuasion have enjoyed their side scoring a league-high 23 goals so far this campaign, the footballing mastermind in Pep Guardiola made it clear to both supporters and the media on Sunday that it would not be possible without an incredible amount of running.