sport news Manchester City: Erling Haaland converts more chances than Benzema or Mbappe trends now
In a competition as exciting as the Premier League, with fantastic footballers fighting it out week in week out, it is remarkable that the signing of one player can generate such anticipation.
But Erling Haaland is that man. His arrival at Manchester City has fans, pundits and analysts licking their lips and wondering just what the Norwegian striker and his new team-mates will be capable of.
The £51million signing touched down in Manchester last week and is set to be unveiled, and will be available for a full pre-season with City, following the international break and a holiday.
Manchester City have secured Erling Haaland for a fee of £51million from Borussia Dortmund and he will be unveiled soon
Analytics FC have compared Haaland to the best strikers in the top five leagues in Europe, and his stats are excellent
Top-flight rivals could be forgiven for fearing the worst: City netted 99 goals last season as they claimed the Premier League title, and now they’ve bought an irrepressible, 6ft 4in goal machine.
There is plenty to be afraid of when Haaland, who has scored 62 league goals in 67 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, is on the field. His performances place him in the top one per cent for goals per game and touches in the opposition box in Europe's top five leagues.
But as Timo Werner has found out at Chelsea, the Premier League is a tougher test than the German Bundesliga.
So, how will Haaland, who will be paid £375,000 per week, enhance City, and what can rivals can do to limit his threat? Sportsmail asked Analytics FC, data epperts who work with Premier League clubs, to run the rule over the ‘beast' (according to Jurgen Klopp), using their TransferLab scouting platform.
Pep Guardiola celeberated City's Premier League title win with a cigar, knowing he has signed one of Europe's goal machines
He shoots… and scores
Erling Haaland has an eye-popping goalscoring record.
He averages one goal per game over his career, and he is both the youngest and the fastest player to reach 20 Champions League goals, doing so in just 14 games at 20 years old.
Behind the jaw-dropping stats is a tried and trusted method, which Haaland has perfected. In short, like the irrepressible Gary Lineker in the 1980s, Haaland gives himself the best chance of success by occupying areas of the pitch where he is most likely to score.
This graph shows that Haaland converts more chances than fellow star strikers Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe
‘He is a high volume shot taker,’ analyst Yash Thakur told Sportsmail. ‘This doesn’t mean he scrimps on efficiency. He tests the goalkeeper regularly; he has put up a shots-on-target percentage of just under 50% since joining Dortmund.’
The Norwegian averages 3.56 shots per 90 and converts every fourth effort into a goal. For comparison, Haaland’s conversion rate is better than those of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski.
And the 21-year-old consistently outperforms expectations – he netted 22 times for Dortmund last season, against an expected goals figure of just 15. This means he is not relying only on team-mates putting the ball on a plate, he is turning poor chances into goals.
Penalty box predator
Football, as we are all know, is a simple game. At the elite level, studies show more than 70 per cent of goals are scored from within the penalty box, hence that is where the most prolific strikers do their work.
And Haaland has made the penalty area his office. On average, he nets from just 12 metres from the goal.
‘Looking at the location of his shots at Dortmund, Haaland manages to regularly shoot from high-value areas in front of the frame of the goal, highlighting his decision making and thoughtful shot selection,’ said Thakur.
Most goals are scored from inside the penalty area and Haaland makes sure he is right in there as often as possible
The striker's goal-to-shot map reveals that on average he nets from just 12metres out from the target
The graphic illustrating Haaland’s shooting pattern peppers the penalty area and rarely strays outside the box. In fact, 95% of his goals this season have come in that part of the pitch.
The Norwegian international, who has 17 caps and 15 goals so far, has also displayed a range of finishes, from piledrivers to deft chips, and he is adept at putting the ball beyond the keeper’s reach.
‘These attributes should translate well to a Manchester City side that regularly creates a high volume of high-quality chances,’ adds Thakur. ‘Haaland will have plenty of service to thrive.’
Filling the void
City work opponents exceptionally hard in wide areas. They use their domination of the ball to manufacture opportunities to cross from the byline or down the sides of the penalty area.
They are patient on the ball, creating triangles down the flanks with repeated runners into those areas. This movement is hard for defenders to pick up and it taxes the concentration of the best players over 90-plus minutes.
The result is City attempted more crosses (550) than anyone else in Europe last season. They dominate crosses from the byline area in the Premier League too.
