Europa Conference League stats dive: alternative stars of Matchday 3

UEFA.com has a treasure trove of statistics covering many aspects of play to enhance the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's newest club competition.

In this piece presented by Swissquote, we sift through the Matchday 3 data to see who earned top billing across a number of match-defining metrics.

Most passes completed

99: Luis Hernandez (Maccabi Tel-Aviv)
79: Marius Lode (Bodø/Glimt)
79: Bruno Martins Indi (AZ Alkmaar)
79: Kevin Medina (Qarabağ)
78: Nayef Aguerd (Rennes)
78: Fredrik André Bjørkan (Bodø/Glimt)

Only one player across the three matchdays has completed more passes in a game than Luis Hernandez did here – a sure sign of how dominant Maccabi Tel-Aviv were in their 5-0 victory at HJK. Three players were a distant second this time around including Martins Indi, the leader in this category on Matchday 1. A nod to Medina as well after he broke into the top five for the second successive matchweek.

Crosses completed

7: Jan Krob (Jablonec)
6: Edon Zhegrova (Basel)
5: Ciprian Deac (CFR Cluj)
5: Libor Holík (Jablonec)
5: Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin)
5: Abdellah Zoubir (Qarabağ)

Deliveries from wide areas were pivotal to Jablonec in their 2-2 draw with Randers. Krob and Holík racked up 12 between them – the haul made even more impressive by the fact the pair were playing as full-backs for the Czech side – with both goals coming from crosses, including the second from a Krob corner. Zhegrova was one completed centre off top spot but can console himself with a goal in Basel's 3-1 win against Omonoia.

Balls recovered

14: Rumyan Hovsepyan (Alashkert)
13: Kevin Medina (Qarabağ)
13: Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui (Gent)
11: Nayef Aguerd (Rennes)
11: Jakub Považanec (Jablonec)

Alashkert recovered 54 balls in their 3-0 home defeat by LASK and Hovsepyan's category-leading performance is an indicator that the contest was more even than the scoreline suggests. Gent and Qarabağ both recorded victories on Thursday with Ngadeu-Ngadjui and Medina cementing their roles as key cogs in those sides – backed up by the fact that the pair sit second and fifth respectively in this category across the three matchdays.

Clearances

12: Jan Gorenc (Mura)
11: Bernardo Lopes (Lincoln Red Imps)
11: Bogdan Planić (Maccabi Haifa)
11: Henrik Pürg (Flora)
10: Ádám Lang (Omonoia)

Mura have found their maiden group stage a tough assignment but came close to earning their first point against Rennes thanks to a heroic defensive performance from Gorenc. Just behind the 22-year-old Slovenian defender are some regulars in this category – Bernardo Lopes was third on Matchday 2 while Planić topped the standings in the first round of games.

Most saves

7: Andreas Luthe (Union Berlin)
6: Joshua Cohen (Maccabi Haifa)
6: Matko Obradović (Mura)
6: Francis Uzoho (Omonoia)
5: Alexander Schlager (LASK)

Union Berlin may have been on the end of an even bigger defeat than the 3-1 loss they suffered at Feyenoord were it not for Luthe's string of saves. Cohen and Schlager's displays arguably counted for more, though, as Maccabi Haifa and LASK kept clean sheets in victory. Kudos to Obradović, too, as he was a Matchday 1 chart-topper in this category and has made more saves than anyone across the entire group stage.