Cluster 8- Prolific Goal Scorers/Outlets
Where We Left Off:
Prolific Goal Scorers/Outlets: What makes them different?
Cluster 8 is made up of most of the best goal scorers in football. What sets them aside from Poachers (read my write-up about them above), aside from their superior goal-scoring ability, is their superior creation for both their team and themselves, with a much higher number of shot-creation actions, xA, and dribbles completed per 90. They also have a slightly greater number of progressive passes received per 90, hinting at a greater ability to get behind and stretch the last defensive line, hence the outlet terming. Prolific goal scorers have around the same involvement as Poachers, ranking just slightly better than them in passes completed and touches per 90. All in all, prolific goal scorers are terrific at putting the ball in the back of the net as well as creating for themselves and their teammates, though not quite at the same level as Creators.
Disclaimer
All the statistics used (and their description) can be found on fbref. Keep in mind that specific players’ key stats and age may have changed slightly since the writing (not publishing) of this article. If you are subscribed to the newsletter and the email isn’t reaching your inbox, you may want to add my substack email (davidsajdak@substack.com) as a contact to prevent it from going to spam or promotions.
Strengths (cluster rank):
shot-creating actions per 90 (4)
key passes per 90 (4)
xA per 90 (3)
npxG per 90 (1)
npG per 90 (1)
players dribbled past per 90 (3)
touches (att pen) per 90 (1)
progressive passes received per 90 (1)
Weaknesses (cluster rank):
passes completed per 90 (17)
touches per 90 (16)
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Notable Cluster 8 Players
Robert Lewandowski
Team: Bayern Munich
FBREF Position: FW (Forward)
Key Stats:
Romelu Lukaku
Team: Chelsea FC
FBREF Position: FW (Forward)
Key Stats:
Kylian Mbappe
Team: Paris Saint-Germain FC
FBREF Position: FW-MF (Forward)
Key Stats:
Notable Young Talents (u23)
Ansu Fati
Team: FC Barcelona
FBREF Position: FW (Attacking Mid/Winger)
Age: 18
Key Stats:
Erling Haaland
Team: Borussia Dortmund
FBREF Position: FW (Forward)
Age: 21
Key Stats:
Alexander Isak
Team: Real Sociedad
FBREF Position: FW (Forward)
Age: 21
Key Stats: