Richarlison is slowly getting into his groove this season for Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur fans have been so used to Harry Kane and Son Heung-min leading the attack that many have not been particularly keen on the idea of having Brazilian striker Richarlison in that #9 role. We have seen the former Everton ace being painted as wasteful and nowhere near the level of the kind of striker that they need.
But as soon as we start getting into the finer details, we start looking at a picture that appears quite different.
If we start looking into the xG metrics of the English top tier, it shows that Richarlison is the Premier League’s most clinical player in front of goal this season. He has been quietly outperforming every other forward in the division in terms of netting more than the chances he has. Especially given that he is playing in an attacking philosophy that has been struggling for a sense of fluency. And these numbers show that one man has been doing far more than he has been credited for.
Richarlison has been overperforming his xG
The Brazilian is leading the charts in terms of goalscoring at Hotspur Way this season. But those returns have not got a wide section of the supporters convinced. Many are still running behind a narrative that Richy is nowhere near the ruthless striker that dons the starting place upfront for Spurs.
But when we look at the data, it tells another story. According to WhoScored, Richarlison has overperformed his expected goals stat in the Premier League by +2.60. No one across the division is ranking higher than him at the moment in doing so. So ideally he has also been more clinical than even Erling Haaland in terms of finishing chances that he has been presented with.
Author Opinion
We think that part of the problem for him is perception. Given that we have seen the duo of Harry Kane and Son spending the better part of the last decade churning goals out of half chances or, at times, even less than that. So now watching anything not quite at that level feels like a massive drop-off. Even when the underlying numbers suggest otherwise.
We all know that Tottenham have not been creating a high volume of chances. We are at a stage where every miss from the forwards has been magnified because those chances barely come by in the game. But by the looks of it, Richy has been doing enough and more.
What do you make of the fact that Richarlison has been clinical in front of goal, does that change your perception of him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
