The celebrated Dutch coach Foppe de Haan once told his student Ruud van Nistelrooy to “wait like a lion in the sun” instead of chasing every ball. It proved sound advice as the Geffen-born marksman would go on to become one of Europe’s most feared centre-forwards.
Van Nistelrooy, who tormented Premier League and La Liga defenders for much of the 2000s, was a dying breed of striker – the pure number nine, who enjoyed poaching more than being a creative outlet.
Not completely eradicated, there are few and far between across Europe’s top five leagues; but the art of effectiveness – being able to score with the minimal of ease – lives on.
With that in mind, we’ve crunched the numbers in search of the most effective ‘poachers’ across those five top divisions by looking at those who continue to score without being that involved in the build-up.
There is one caveat, however: they must have registered a minimum of five league goals.
Here are the results.
10. Wissam Ben Yedder
Club: Sevilla
Appearances: 7
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 5/24.2
One of Monchi’s last signings as Sevilla’s sporting director, the French marksman has proved to be a hit in southern Spain and continues to be a menace for La Liga defenders. Not yet reaching the high notes, Ben Yedder nonetheless has found his five goals to date with minimal ease.
9. Lebo Mothiba
Club(s): Lille and Strasbourg
Appearances: 10
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 6/22.5
Mothiba began the season at Lille, where he registered one goal across three matches, before swapping The Great Danes for Strasbourg, and the young South African forward hasn’t looked back since. He’s been in exemplary form having bagged five goals in seven outings for his new side.
8. Emiliano Sala
Club: Nantes
Appearances: 9
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 7/22.29
Heading into this campaign Sala, who despite his Argentine background has exclusively played his top-flight football in France, averaged 10 Ligue 1 goals per season. His previous two campaigns saw him reach 12 goals and there’s every chance he surpasses that. Already the 27-year-old striker has seven goals to his name after nine outings for Nantes. He only managed two after the same amount of games last season.
7. Roger Martí
Club: Levante
Appearances: 7
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 5/19
The former Valencia academy graduate is enjoying his most prolific La Liga campaign. Until now, Martí had never eclipsed three goals in Spain’s top division (a total he reached last campaign). His best return for Levante was 22 goals across 37 matches in LaLiga2 (2016/17); it’s asking a lot, but if Martí continues in this vein then who knows he might reach the 20-goal barrier.
6. Kylian Mbappé
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Appearances: 6
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 9/17.33
European football’s golden boy has picked up where he left off. Despite serving a three-match suspension and missing PSG’s opening game the mercurial teenager leads Ligue 1’s scoring chart having scored one more than his partner in crime Neymar.
Mbappé’s three assists make him the player with the most direct goal involvements (12) in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.
5. Cristhian Stuani
Club: Girona
Appearances: 9
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 8/17
The ex-Boro striker is making an impact in Spain, following his efforts to keep Girona up last season (19 goals across 30 matches) he’s already bagged eight goals in his opening nine outings which included a brace away to local rivals Barcelona; those goals enabled Eusebio Sacristán’s men to leave the Camp Nou with a well-fought point.
4. Luka Jović
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Appearances: 6
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 7/14.29
Frankfurt’s hotshot number nine is starting to fulfil his potential with this campaign shaping nicely. He presently leads the Bundesliga’s golden boot standing, alongside Paco Alcacer of Borussia Dortmund, with his latest outing – a five-goal haul – no doubt cementing his ruthlessness to every defence up and down the land.
Luka Jović is the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to score five goals in a single game this season:
26’:⚽️ Luka Jović
34’:⚽️ Luka Jović
55’:⚽️ Luka Jović
69’:⚽️ Luka Jović
72’:⚽️ Luka JovićNot bad at 20 years old.
pic.twitter.com/xYX5n7NkCU
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 19, 2018
In scoring five goals against Dusseldorf, Jovic became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to do so at 20 years old.
3. Krzysztof Piatek
Club: Genoa
Appearances: 8
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 9/14.22
Gabriel Batistuta’s record of goals in 11 consecutive Serie A games is safe for now, but there’s no denying what an impact Krzysztof Piatek has made this season. From relative obscurity to centre stage in a blink of an eye, the Polish striker is the name on everyone’s lips. Nine goals in eights games will do that, with a number of superclubs reportedly sniffing around so don’t be surprised if his stay in Genoa turns out to be short.
2. Paco Alcácer
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Appearances: 4
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 7/6
Paco Alcacer, who has seven goals goals to his name across four appearances, currently averages a goal every 18 minutes in the Bundesliga. Also, every single shot on target he has had in Germany’s top-flight has gone in. That is nothing short of outstanding.
Whatever they are feeding him in Dortmund it’s obviously working.
1. Edinson Cavani
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Appearances: 7
Goals (attempted passes per goal): 5/5.4
Overshadowed by his more headline-grabbing teammates, Cavani nevertheless remains a force to be reckoned with. And this season, in terms of his effectiveness in turning minimum involvement into the maximum amount of goals, is a further illustration of that.
His long-term future may not be in Paris, but there’s no denying wherever he goes those goals will follow.
The post Ranked: the top 10 most effective ‘poachers’ in Europe’s top five leagues right now appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2qcxP4B
No comments:
Post a Comment