The limitless powers of football data can tell us plenty of fascinating things about the ever-evolving technicalities of our game. Yet sometimes, particularly in the midst of the sport’s statistical revolution, it can be nice to keep things simple.
Goals, wins, and well-drilled systems may bring satisfaction, but the human unpredictability of football is what fosters joy. Flashes of brilliance to moments of madness, there’s nothing quite like a free-spirit to get you off your seat.
With that in mind, to shine a light on the showmen, we’re using the data to get straight to the point. If you like fleet-footed wingers and shot-heavy strikers, this is the piece for you.
Analysing the data
Using statistics from the last two campaigns, we’re simply filtering for shots and take-ons, regardless of distance, value or outcome. Our data is regulated per 90 minutes, while players who have played fewer than 450 minutes since the start of last season, and those who have since left the league, have been disregarded.
We have also recorded their shot on target percentage, alongside their take-on completion rate, and combined these two results to monitor how often the player tests the goalkeeper and/or beats their man. Data points marked by darker shades of green represent these more successful players:
As expected, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski rank highly for both shot quantity and quality towards the top left, averaging 4.51 and 4.27 shots respectively, while hitting the target 45% and 54% of the time. Ansu Fati and Raphinha are also up there in terms of the number of attempts, although with reduced accuracy in front of goal.
In terms of dribbling, it might be a surprise to see Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze way out in front, with an astonishing 7.56 take-ons per 90 attempted. Real Valladolid’s Toni Villa is also prolific in that regard, although his incredibly feint data point reflects that just 32% of his 46 dribbles have been successful.
Generally speaking, the further towards the top-right of the graph, the more ‘exciting’ actions the player attempts, so the likes of Abde Ezzalzouli, Vinícius Júnior and Ousmane Dembélé gain plenty of fun points from us.
In another stratosphere altogether is the enigma that is Bebé, having attempted an almost hilarious 5.35 shots per LaLiga game over the last two seasons, including 38 shots from outside the area.
0.04 xG per shot, and his only goal in that time coming from a crossing position, few viewing experiences in the Spanish game can compare.
Bebé’s case, however, does highlight the need for quality control, which looking for the dark green data points on our scatter chart can help with.
Keeping 57.1% of his shots on target, while successfully completing 81.8% of his dribbles, it’s actually Eden Hazard who tops the list, although just 33 combined actions across 811 minutes makes such a figure more attainable.
More telling are the cases of Gerard Moreno and Memphis Depay, who rank strongly in these accuracy metrics despite heavy involvement in such attacking phases. Similarly immaculate is Barcelona’s Frenkie De Jong, whose 81% take-on completion rate is the highest in Spain for such busy midfielders.
Hopefully our visualisation can be helpful if you’re looking for some players to get excited about. Do leave a comment if you have any questions, or would like to know about any of the other data points!