I always keep an eye on the nationality of the footballer awarded the Man of the Match award (MOTM) by Sky Sports in English Premier League matches.
Below is a graph which shows the allocation of MOTM awards this season by nationality. To date 106 awards have been given out by Sky Sports reporters. There were 4 matches where the report did not disclose the MOTM. Unsurprisingly, England comes out on top with 33 awards. Approximately 40% of players in the Premier League are English so this is not unusual. What some may find surprising however is why this domestic performance is not transferring to the international stage.
Spain and Belgium come in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The big over achievers are the Senegalese. Sadio Mane, Papiss Cisse and Diafra Sakho have won the award seven times between them. The Irish only had one MOTM award until James McCarthy, Shane Long and John Walters all scooped the prize last weekend.