Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez third in list of worst finishers being owned by their xG
Nunez #Nunez
We bring you the top/bottom 10 players who are massively underperforming in front of goal this season, and Mo Salah is on that list. We have a new leader.
Oh and we don’t hold no truck with penalties so we have taken those numbers out.
For the less fun list of players wildly outstripping their xG numbers, go here.
10) Matheus Nunes (Wolves)
Expected goals: 2.0
Actual goals: 0
Would actually fit in incredibly well at Liverpool.
9) Diego Costa (Wolves)
Expected goals: 2.2
Actual goals: 0
He took eight shots against Leicester City in a 4-0 defeat; that’s just ludicrous. And he still has more red cards than goals since his return to Premier League football.
8) Mo Salah (Liverpool)
Expected goals: 9.2
Actual goals: 7
Really, really should have scored against Leicester City. He is low-key having a mare of a season (by his standards) but it’s Darwin Nunez who somehow attracts all the flak.
7) Ryan Yates (Nottingham Forest)
Expected goals: 2.2
Actual goals: 0
Has taken 25 shots this season. Just stop, Ryan. Pass the ball.
6) Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
Expected goals: 6.3
Actual goals: 4
In three of four Premier League seasons, Bowen has scored fewer goals than his xG suggests he should. Two goals v Everton certainly helped but they came with an xG of 1.5 so he does not drop off this list entirely.
5) Mohamed Elyounoussi (Southampton)
Expected goals: 2.5
Actual goals: 0
This monumental miss v Newcastle was given an xG value of 0.66.
4) Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
Expected goals: 7.7
Actual goals: 5
All-round game, works hard etc etc. But the truth is that Jesus has been owned by his xG in three of his five full seasons in the Premier League and is very much heading towards four in six (though injury will stem the flow for now). Five goals from 50 shots is sub-optimal. As is missing 11 Opta-defined Big Chances.
3) Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
Expected goals: 8.1
Actual goals: 5
Oh. That’s why Darwin attracts all the flak. The Premier League’s new master of chaos is already establishing himself as one of the most fun players in the country, and inevitably for a chaotic fun-bringer consistent finishing is not on the agenda.
2) Danny Welbeck (Brighton)
Expected goals: 4.9
Actual goals: 1
He only went and scored a bloody goal. Well done, Danny. So then he started v Leicester and, well, how did he not score another? And then against Bournemouth…come on, Danny. It’s starting to feel like he might never register double figures for goals in a Premier League season.
1) Patrick Bamford
Expected goals: 5
Actual goals: 1
Last scored in a Premier League win for Leeds in May 2021. Oh mate.