The UEFA Champions League will return to our screens with a true blockbuster fixture: Liverpool vs. PSG.
Last season’s finalists cut a swathe through the competition on their way to the Kiev final, and have only improved since then. Meanwhile, PSG have more money than sense and look determined to win Europe’s top prize for the first time.
Both sides are packed to the gills with talent, including the most expensive goalkeeper, defender, forward and teenager of all-time. It’s those last two that are most interesting, however, as they form part of PSG’s phenomenal front three.
Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani are perhaps the best front three in the world; although the most potent front three in Champions League history are the men opposing them: Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino.
Mohamed Salah (10)
The most prolific trio in Champions League history have been handed a *tough* group.
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— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 30, 2018
The men from Merseyside bagged 30 goals as a trio last season, with 10 goals apiece. That was and is a record for any attacking trio, and outshining them is going to be a big motivator for PSG’s illustrious forwards.
They will want to be seen as the dominant group, but groups live or die by results, and an individual game is a change for individuals to shine. And here’s an interesting question: if you were to combine the two trios, who would you take?
We here at Squawka have dove headfirst into the killer metrics since the start of last season, comparing these two amazing front threes on an individual basis to see which trio is the ‘best’ and, ultimately, which trio would have the most representation if the two teams were combined. Who wins the battles? Read on and find out!
Right-wing: Mohamed Salah vs. Kylian Mbappe
League and UCL minutes since 2017/18
Salah: 4281
Mbappé: 2980
League and UCL goals since 2017/18
Salah: 44 (0.93 per-90)
Mbappé: 21 (0.63 per-90)
League and UCL assists since 2017/18
Salah: 15 (0.32 per-90)
Mbappé: 13 (0.39 per-90)
The most electrifying men in both front threes play on the right, and they often function in the same role as the tip of the team’s spear, the end of the counter-attacks. Salah is the more accomplished player and proven goal threat, clocking in over 1000 more minutes than the teenage Mbappé and more than doubling his goal tally.
Both men tend to pop up at key moments for their side, shouldering an enormous burden to be “the man” when it matters most. Mbappé’s consistency of creativity cannot be discounted, but the sheer volume of goals Mohamed Salah is able to put up gives him the advantage here (though don’t be surprised if Mbappé does more to match him this coming season).
Verdict: Mohamed Salah
Left-wing: Sadio Mane vs. Neymar
League and UCL minutes since 2017/18
Mané: 3527
Neymar: 2770
League and UCL goals since 2017/18
Mané: 24 (0.60 per-90)
Neymar: 29 (0.94 per-90)
League and UCL assists since 2017/18
Mané: 8 (0.20 per-90)
Neymar: 17 (0.55 per-90)
Left-wing is all about contrasts, with Liverpool’s leftie being the least heralded and appreciated member of their trio whilst PSG have the one-man hype-train, media circus and meme extraordinaire on their port side.
Both men are creative forces, although Mané in a more driving sense than being the guy to make the last pass. He’s also much more dangerous making blindside runs to stab home, Pedro-style. Meanwhile, Neymar just wants the ball at all times. He’s a dribble-merchant who, even through an injury-truncated debut season in Paris, deaded Mané in terms of goals and assists.
It’s easy to forget because he hasn’t really played regularly since February and spent so much of the World Cup faffing about, but he really is the second best player in the world and it’s kind of not even close.
Verdict: Neymar
Striker: Roberto Firmino vs. Edinson Cavani
League and UCL minutes since 2017/18
Firmino: 4247
Cavani: 3522
League and UCL goals since 2017/18
Firmino: 27 (0.57 per-90)
Cavani: 38 (0.97 per-90)
League and UCL assists since 2017/18
Firmino: 16 (0.34 per-90)
Cavani: 8 (0.20 per-90)
Two forwards with remarkably similar styles of play and remarkably different roles. Both men are utterly frenetic in their pace of play, pressing opponents with boundless energy and making selfless runs to open up space for team-mates. But whereas Cavani then makes runs back into space to score goals, Firmino usually waits for the ball and makes a killer pass.
Neither trio would work without these men, but looking at the difference in goals you’d be forgiven for assuming Firmino is the more accomplished forward as he is only 11 goals behind Cavani and also has double the amount of assists (16) the Uruguayan does. But recall that Cavani’s 3522 minutes doesn’t even touch Mané’s 3527, let alone Firmino’s gargantuan 4247.
Looking at it from a per-90 perspective, Cavani is basically scoring one goal for ever 90 minutes he’s on the field. That’s ridiculous and well beyond anything Firmino can conjure up with goals or assists. Goals are invaluable and Edinson Cavani delivers them by the fist-load even with Neymar snaking most all of his penalties and free-kicks.
Verdict: Edinson Cavani
Ultimate Verdict: 2-1 PSG
On an individual level, the PSG front three come out on top and there’s really no arguing about it. Neymar blows away all three of Liverpool’s forwards and Cavani is just too consistent of a goalscorer to be rivalled by Firmino, no matter how valuable he is specifically to Jurgen Klopp.
That said, with the exception of Mbappé, Liverpool’s trio are in general younger, their club isn’t playing under the Sword of Damocles that is FFP and their cohesive play as well as cultural similarities (both Salah and Mané are devout Muslims) will see them play together for longer and perhaps forge a greater legacy in the long-term.
The post Compared: PSG’s front three vs. Liverpool’s Champions League history makers appeared first on Squawka News.
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