Lewandowski ‘Misses Everything’?

For all the Lewandowski doubters out there—I often hear how he supposedly misses all his chances. So, I decided to look up the numbers and compare him to other top strikers this season. Turns out, his conversion rate is 28.33%, which is among the best! Here’s how he stacks up against other elite forwards:

Player Matches Played Goals Total Shots Shots on target Big Chances Missed Conversion Rate (%)
Lewa 39 34 120 55 25 28.33%
Salah 42 32 144 71 21 22.22%
Kane 37 32 131 67 22 24.43%
Retegui 39 25 99 42 21 25.25%
Gyorkeres 37 37 138 72 25 26.81%
Dembele 36 29 143 68 20 20.28%
Haaland 39 29 144 81 32 20.14%
Isak 32 22 81 41 13 27.16%
Mbappe 43 30 177 95 33 16.95%

Edit:

I looked up a few different stats during the discussion.

"He misses easy chances" - Easy chances are somewhat represented by expected goals

Player xG Goals Goals to xG Ratio
Retegui 17.99 22 1.22
Isak 15.91 19 1.19
Kane 18.83 21 1.12
Lewa 18.95 21 1.11
Salah 24.82 27 1.09
Mbappe 18.91 20 1.06
Haaland 21.09 21 1.00

People expect him to hold form from early in the season when he scored 18 goals in 15 matches. 1.2 goals per match which was only surpassed and sustained throughout the season in this century by prime Messi 11/12.

For context:

  • Prime Messi (2011/12, 73 goals and 91 goals in a calendar year) – 1.31 goals per match during the season
  • Prime Ronaldo (2014/15, 61 goals) – 1.13 goals per match
  • Prime Lewandowski (2019/20, 55 goals) – 1.17 goals per match
  • Prime Suárez (2015/16, 59 goals) – 1.11 goals per match
    • I know that Lamine is good, but come on, this is prime Suarez with Messi's service.

Some other interesting stats from the latest matches and early league matches

Last 10 La Liga matches:

  • Raphinha: 2 goals, 1 assist
  • Lamine: 0 goals, 4 assists
  • Lewa: 6 goals

First 10 La Liga matches:

  • Raphinha: 5 goals, 7 assists
  • Lamine: 4 goals, 6 assists
  • Lewa: 12 goals, 2 assists