Neither Messi, nor Ronaldo: those who are there in the hour of need

At least in relative terms. In the major leagues (Spain, England, Germany, France and Italy) there are two players for whom almost every goal they score translates into points. Scoring an equaliser or a match winner is not the same as scoring the fifth in a 5-0 victory.

They are Krzysztof Piatek (Genoa) and Cristhian Stuani (Girona). The Pole and the Uruguayan share almost the same percentage of goals of their teams' total goals in La Liga and Serie A, respectively.

Piatek has scored nine goals and 89% of them saw either a draw or a win. Stuani has also scored key goals, with 88% of his eight goals earning points for his side. The rest, although very few, have been goals with no impact.

Leo Messi, who has nine goals in the league, has 44% of his goals causing a win or a draw. Luis Suarez has the same figures as Messi. 63% of Cristiano Ronaldo's eight goals had an impact.

The study is from 'ProFootballDB', BeSoccer's statistical laboratory. In the five major European leagues, neither Messi nor Cristiano are the most decisive: they are Piatek and Stuani.

The diagram below explains the statistics:

 

13 de noviembre de 2018

Inter's formidable striker Mauro Icardi follows in the footsteps of Piatek and Stuani with 86%t. Immobile and Plea usually appear in the crucial moments, like Kamano, Hazard... or Borja Iglesias, who closes in on a call-up to the Spanish national team.

There are some surprising figures. Eintracht's rising star Jovic, the Bundesliga's top scorer with nine goals, scored just nine points, with only 11% being of any real value. A very low figure.

Cavani's goals, PSG's 'killer', sits at 38%, while his fellow attackers Neymar and Mbappé bring in points at 60% and 45% respectively.