Ligue 1 · 2026/27 · after matchday 10

The best defensive midfielders in Ligue 1 so far this season

As of 8 November 2026, The Prism ranks Pierre Lees-Melou (Paris) as the best defensive midfielder in Ligue 1, with a standing of 83 out of 100, ahead of Valentin Rongier and Maxime Lopez.

22 ranked315+ league minutes6 measuresUpdated 8 November 2026How we rank

Pierre Lees-MelouParis · 33 · France#1

83standing, 1st of 22

Best at duels won, 60%, 3rd of 22

Valentin RongierRennes · 31 · France#2

79standing, 2nd of 22

Best at tackles and interceptions per 90, 4.74, 3rd of 22

Maxime LopezParis · 28 · France#3

76standing, 3rd of 22

Best at pass completion, 93%, 2nd of 22

The top 10

Open a row for all 6 measures and where he sits among the 22.

Pierre Lees-MelouParis · 33 · France 831st of 22 Duels won 60%3rdDispossessed 0.304th fewestTackles + int. 4.165th

Tackles and interceptions per 904.16 5th of 22

Pass completion91% 6th of 22

Accurate passes per 9059.29 5th of 22

Duels won60% 3rd of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.30 4th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy69% 5th of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Pierre Lees-Melou's page

Valentin RongierRennes · 31 · France 792nd of 22 Tackles + int. 4.743rdLong-ball accuracy 69%4thAccurate passes 56.406th

Tackles and interceptions per 904.74 3rd of 22

Pass completion90% 7th of 22

Accurate passes per 9056.40 6th of 22

Duels won52% 10th of 22

Times dispossessed per 901.21 20th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy69% 4th of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Valentin Rongier's page

Maxime LopezParis · 28 · France 763rd of 22 Pass completion 93%2ndAccurate passes 83.302ndDuels won 55%7th

Tackles and interceptions per 903.46 10th of 22

Pass completion93% 2nd of 22

Accurate passes per 9083.30 2nd of 22

Duels won55% 7th of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.43 8th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy38% 21st of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Maxime Lopez's page

Lucas BretelleLe Mans · 24 · France 714th of 22 Tackles + int. 4.941stDispossessed 0.273rd fewestDuels won 56%5th

Tackles and interceptions per 904.94 1st of 22

Pass completion88% 13th of 22

Accurate passes per 9039.66 16th of 22

Duels won56% 5th of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.27 3rd fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy56% 11th of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Lucas Bretelle's page

VitinhaParis Saint Germain · 26 · Portugal 695th of 22 Accurate passes 112.901stLong-ball accuracy 78%2ndPass completion 93%3rd

Tackles and interceptions per 902.00 19th of 22

Pass completion93% 3rd of 22

Accurate passes per 90112.90 1st of 22

Duels won55% 6th of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.40 6th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy78% 2nd of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Vitinha's page

Junior MwangaLe Havre · 23 · France 656th of 22 Duels won 63%1stTackles + int. 4.792ndLong-ball accuracy 62%9th

Tackles and interceptions per 904.79 2nd of 22

Pass completion90% 10th of 22

Accurate passes per 9038.76 17th of 22

Duels won63% 1st of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.87 17th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy62% 9th of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Junior Mwanga's page

7 XM

Xavier MandzaNice · 17 · France 647th of 22 Accurate passes 66.764thPass completion 90%9thDispossessed 0.479th fewest

Tackles and interceptions per 903.20 13th of 22

Pass completion90% 9th of 22

Accurate passes per 9066.76 4th of 22

Duels won49% 13th of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.47 9th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy53% 14th of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Xavier Mandza's page

Axel WitselNice · 37 · Belgium 598th of 22 Pass completion 95%1stLong-ball accuracy 83%1stAccurate passes 47.529th

Tackles and interceptions per 901.83 21st of 22

Pass completion95% 1st of 22

Accurate passes per 9047.52 9th of 22

Duels won51% 11th of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.76 14th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy83% 1st of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Axel Witsel's page

Tochukwu NnadiOlympique Marseille · 23 · Nigeria 569th of 22 Duels won 62%2ndLong-ball accuracy 78%3rdAccurate passes 50.518th

Tackles and interceptions per 903.09 14th of 22

Pass completion89% 11th of 22

Accurate passes per 9050.51 8th of 22

Duels won62% 2nd of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.88 18th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy78% 3rd of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Tochukwu Nnadi's page

Tanner TessmannOlympique Lyonnais · 25 · United States 5310th of 22 Duels won 58%4thAccurate passes 56.067thPass completion 90%8th

Tackles and interceptions per 902.41 17th of 22

Pass completion90% 8th of 22

Accurate passes per 9056.06 7th of 22

Duels won58% 4th of 22

Times dispossessed per 900.66 11th fewest of 22

Long-ball accuracy50% 17th of 22

Each dot is one of the 22 defensive midfielders; further right is better. The dashed line is the middle of the group.Tanner Tessmann's page

Each figure with his place among the 22 defensive midfielders. Fewest is best for times dispossessed per 90.
Player	Standing	Tackles + int.	Pass completion	Accurate passes	Duels won	Dispossessed	Long-ball accuracy
1Pierre Lees-Melou	83	4.165th	91%6th	59.295th	60%3rd	0.304th fewest	69%5th
2Valentin Rongier	79	4.743rd	90%7th	56.406th	52%10th	1.2120th fewest	69%4th
3Maxime Lopez	76	3.4610th	93%2nd	83.302nd	55%7th	0.438th fewest	38%21st
4Lucas Bretelle	71	4.941st	88%13th	39.6616th	56%5th	0.273rd fewest	56%11th
5Vitinha	69	2.0019th	93%3rd	112.901st	55%6th	0.406th fewest	78%2nd
6Junior Mwanga	65	4.792nd	90%10th	38.7617th	63%1st	0.8717th fewest	62%9th
7Xavier Mandza	64	3.2013th	90%9th	66.764th	49%13th	0.479th fewest	53%14th
8Axel Witsel	59	1.8321st	95%1st	47.529th	51%11th	0.7614th fewest	83%1st
9Tochukwu Nnadi	56	3.0914th	89%11th	50.518th	62%2nd	0.8818th fewest	78%3rd
10Tanner Tessmann	53	2.4117th	90%8th	56.067th	58%4th	0.6611th fewest	50%17th

12 more defensive midfielders are ranked in The Prism

See every one, filter by age, foot and height, and open any player's full profile.

See all 22 in The Prism

Where all 22 sit

Every defensive midfielder in Ligue 1 with 315 minutes or more, on The Prism standing. Blue is this ranking's top 10; the other 12 are named in The Prism.

Since last season

The same players' standings last season, among their league's defensive midfielders then.

↑ Maxime Lopez38 last season, 76 now

↑ Tanner Tessmann15 last season, 53 now

↑ Junior Mwanga30 last season, 65 now

↓ Vitinha91 last season, 69 now

How this ranking is made

Defensive midfielders in Ligue 1 2026/27 with at least 315 league minutes, ranked on tackles and interceptions per 90, pass completion, accurate passes per 90, duels won, times dispossessed per 90 and long-ball accuracy. Each measure is a percentile against every defensive midfielder in the league with the same minutes. 10 matchdays have been played, so the minutes bar is 315. It rises as the season goes on, until it reaches 450, about five full matches.

What each measure counts for, out of 100:

Tackles and interceptions per 9025Pass completion20Accurate passes per 9020Duels won15Times dispossessed per 9010Long-ball accuracy10

How The Prism ranks players, in full

More rankings

Centre backs Full backs Central midfielders Wingers Strikers Defensive midfielders, under 23 Paris young players Rennes young players Le Mans young players Paris Saint Germain young players Le Havre young players Nice young players Olympique Marseille young players Olympique Lyonnais young players

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