Serie 2: Statistical Analysis di Internazionale Milano

We started the international break with a statistical analysis and the best way to end this break is with another one. You can read the first part here. Since we have some big games coming in the next few weeks, I’ve decided to write a small piece on Inter Milan’s very own ‘big-game’ player, Mauro Icardi.

Last time around, I left you with this graphic which showed how Icardi is taking lesser shots than ever before

However this regression in shooting stats has not been accompanied by any decrease in goal-scoring from the Argentine striker. Now at first glance, this might seem like a great thing, Icardi only shoots when he needs to and scores with every third shot. However, this reveals a deadly underlying stat which just tells us that Icardi is not getting enough chances.

I’m going to make a bold statement at this point, “Mauro Icardi is the best finisher in the world at the moment, Immobile, Lewandowski, Suarez and Messi come close but Icardi is the best”.

This is a graphic I created that contrasts shots/goal and shots. I reversed the x-axis and size of the bubble represents goals scored. Icardi unsurprisingly is the best performer in the top 3 leagues and is, in fact, the best performer in the top 5 leagues, I didn’t include Bundesliga and Ligue 1 players in this graphic as they make the chart have too many small bubbles and causes readability issues.

Hopefully the stats backs up my claims, if not then you must at least agree that Icardi is a deadly finisher and when we contrast the strikers who have scored over 25 goals the previous season (this season we might also see Mbappe and Neymar) in the following graphic, we notice that Mauro Icardi has the lowest difference.

Here are the statistics for the current season:

After providing these statistics and having established that Icardi is a good finisher, my only question is why Luciano Spalletti doesn’t try to get the most out of him. He takes less than 25% of Inter’s total shots but scores close to 35% of Inter’s total goals. With the signings we have brought in this past Mercato, I expected this team to start scoring more and scoring in more different ways but this desire is yet to be fulfilled. Once Inter starts playing more attacking football and Spalletti gives more freedom to our players, which I expect to happen very soon, I can see Icardi consistently scoring 40 goals a season.

Originally published at www.serpentsofmadonnina.com on November 24, 2018.