Top 5 players dominating the shooting charts this season: what the data tells us
Over the last two weeks, we have seen the start of this season's Champions League and Europa League competitions. With both tournaments now having a new format this season, with one large league table replacing the group stages that we had been used to. Even with the change in formats however, interest in these European matches is as high as it has ever been. Normally, when it comes to the use of data in player identification, it is important to wait for a large enough sample size, in terms of matches and minutes played, for the players. There are ways, though, that we can use data from individual matches to identify interesting players or outliers in terms of their performances.
This is where we can use Sportmonks data in order to identify these players who have performed well in the opening match day of both tournaments. In this article we are going to concentrate on the attacking players who have performed well, and in order to do so we will be using the Shooting Performance (SP) metric, which provides a measure of how effective the player has been in terms of their shots. It calculates the difference for each player’s expected goals on target (xGOT) to the expected goals (xG) value of these shots.?
Using this metric for these matches, we can quickly identify which players have stood out both in terms of their performance in front of goal and in terms of their importance to the team. For the purposes of this article, we will identify and discuss 5 of the top performers.
1. Denis Undav - VfB Stuttgart (SP: 1.0452)
The first player to discuss is actually a player who had one of the most difficult opponent’s in the opening week of European football. Denis Undav spent last season on loan in Germany with VfB Stuttgart, and his goals were one of the biggest factors behind the team exceeding expectations to qualify for the Champions League this season. This is why the German side were so determined to make his loan from Brighton permanent this summer, and he eventually signed on a permanent transfer for a reported ￡26.7M.
In the opening matchday of the Champions League, Stuttgart could not have faced a more difficult opponent as they came up against the reigning champions Real Madrid. As per Sportmonks data, we saw Undav end with a Shooting Performance score of 1.0452 from three total shots as he ended with one goal in a 3-1 defeat for Stuttgart.
In the match itself, Undav played as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1, and his movement and anticipation in terms of moving into and occupying space in the final third were key in creating shooting opportunities. Indeed, the performance from Undav in this game suggests that Brighton may well come to regret selling the 28-year-old striker so cheaply.
2. Boulaye Dia - Lazio (SP: 0.9071)
Next, we have another player who is a new signing for his club, the 27-year-old Senegalese international striker Boulaye Dia, who is on loan at Lazio from his parent club Salernitana. The loan deal does have an obligation to buy if certain conditions are met in the deal. Dia was available because Salernitana were relegated last season to Serie B.
Lazio played last, this week in the Europa League with a difficult away trip to face Dynamo Kyiv. In the end, the Italian side ran out 3-0 winners, but it was an impressive performance from Dia that was the catalyst behind this win. In 69 minutes, Dia scored twice from four shots and generated a shooting performance score, as per Sportmonks, of 0.9071.
In the match Dia played as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 before coming off. His mobility and strength leading the line made a real difference for Lazio, but as you can see from his impressive shooting performance output, his quality in front of goal in this match was very high.
3. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens - Borussia Dortmund (SP: 0.8689)
The third player who has impressed in the Sportmonks rankings for Shooting Performance across this first matchday of European competitions, and interestingly, he generated his output across just 28 minutes of football. We spoke at the start of this article about the importance of sample size, but sometimes players can generate real quality and strong outputs across very little time.
领英推荐
The 20-year-old English U21 international winger ended up generating a Shooting Performance metric of 0.8689 across those 28 minutes on the pitch in the Champions League match against Club Brugge. He scored twice from three shots at goal, having come on to the pitch to play on the left-side of the attack in the 4-2-3-1 from Dortmund. He is a dangerous wide player when played on that side with a nice action to drop his shoulder and attack from outside to in as he creates shooting chances from an angle.
This is an indication as to how strong the Shooting Performance metric from Sportmonks can be, as it surfaces strong performances from players who have limited roles in terms of minutes played. It is a metric that drills down into the most important components of the game and shows which players had a significant impact in the final third and in terms of generating quality shots at goal.
4. Jens Petter Hauge - Bod?/Glimt
The fourth player on our rankings for Shooting Performance from Sportmonks is the 24-year-old Norwegian international winger Jens Petter Hauge of Bod?/Glimt. The Norwegian left-winger is currently back on loan at Bod?/Glimt, having left earlier in his career to play for Milan and then Eintracht Frankfurt.
In this match in the Europa League, at home to Porto of Portugal, we saw Hauge play as the left-sided winger in a 4-3-3 and he generated a shooting performance output of 0.8451 as per Sportmonks. Hauge ended the match with 2 goals and 1 assist, with 5 shots at goal in total.?
Despite Porto coming into this tournament as one of the favourites for the competition, having been perennial challengers in the Champions League until this season, they were comfortably beaten in the end by the Norwegian champions. Hauge is a very attacking wide player who fits well in the possession-based and very attacking style of football that Bod?/Glimt have developed over recent seasons.
5. Timothy Noor Ouma - Elfsborg (SP: 0.7374)
The final player on our ranking is a truly intriguing player, 20-year-old Kenyan international midfielder Timothy Noor Ouma of the Swedish side Elfsborg. The Kenyan midfielder moved to Sweden in 2022 from Nairobi City Stars in his native Kenya, but he is now a regular part of the first team at Elfsborg.
Elfsborg faced the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League this past week, and despite losing the match 3-2 in the Netherlands, they impressed with their performance. Ouma played in this match as the central midfielder in Elfsborg’s 3-4-2-1 system, and as per Sportmonks, he generated a Shooting Performance output of 0.7374 in this match. He scored 1 goal and had 1 assist for his side.?
For a midfield player to be having an impact in front of goal is interesting. This is especially true for a midfielder who typically plays from deeper positions. From a recruitment perspective, having access to data of this type can provide very quick and valuable insights.
Even with a smaller sample size, it is still possible to use data to draw interesting and meaningful insights into player performances. This is especially true when it comes to the use of metrics like Shooting Performance from Sportmonks.
This article was written in collaboration with Total Football Analysis . Total Football Analysis is a market-leading football consultancy, providing intelligent football fans, clubs, and agents with more than a match report. They use data, intelligence, and tactical knowledge and understanding to help better decisions be reached, therefore helping their readers and clients both understand football better and win more matches.