Who are the most accurate strikers in Europe's Big 5?

6:31pm on Monday 11th January 2021
By Robin Bairner

Montpellier attacker Stephy Mavididi is the most accurate shooter in Europe’s big five leagues to date in the 2020/21 season, having drawn a save from the goalkeeper with 80% of his attempts.

Looking at forwards who have played more than 500 minutes of league action in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1, it is the Englishman who emerges as the leading talent.

Impressively, he also boasts a shot conversion rate of 40%, achieved while scoring goals against Monaco, Saint-Etienne, Paris Saint-Germain and Lens.

The 22-year-old Derby-born attacker started off life at Southend but it was at Arsenal where he became a professional in 2015. He never played for the Gunners but did have loan spells at Charlton and Preston before making a move to Juventus in the summer of 2018.

He played in Serie C for Juve’s Under-23 side but featured only once in the first team before moving to Ligue 1 with Dijon on loan. Five goals in 24 outings was enough to persuade Montpellier to part with £5.5 million (€6.3m) to sign him in the summer.

After a difficult start in Montpellier, he became a regular before Christmas off the back of a bright scoring run but has not played since after catching Covid-19.

Hot on his heels with regards to accuracy is former Arsenal club-mate Alexandre Lacazette, who may argue that he has more impressive figures than the Ligue 1-based forward. Lacazette, after all, has had more than twice as many efforts, finding the target on 70% of the time with a conversion rate of 33%.

This is enough to elevate him to second in the leading divisions, although he was subject to scrutiny from Arsenal fans earlier in the season for poor performances. Five goals in his last five games in all competitions have quietened those critics for now.

Tanguy Coulibaly of Stuttgart comes in third with 67% shooting accuracy along with Nice’s Kasper Dolberg.

On 65%, Monaco forward Kevin Volland is the only player on the list to have played more than 1000 minutes of action. This figure, meanwhile, is tied by Bas Dost who played the first half of the season at Eintracht Frankfurt but has since moved to Club Brugge.

La Liga’s leader in this regard is Willian Jose of Real Sociedad on 64% while Parma’s Roberto Inglese is Serie A’s best at finding the target, posting a 63% tally thus far. Inglese, however, has yet to score.

For a point of comparison, Barcelona star Lionel Messi's shooting accuracy is presently at 49% while Juventus ace Cristiano Ronaldo's is 43%.