Liverpool have a ‘really special’ player who is the best finisher at the club after Diogo Jota based on statistics.
It’s pretty undeniable that when it comes to finishing off chances there are few as prolific as Diogo Jota in the Liverpool team.
It’s telling that Liverpool have struggled in the Portuguese star’s absence. Liverpool just simply haven’t been able to put away their chances.
Especially in the last few weeks, Klopp’s side have come to rue their inefficiency in front of goal. Jota may have returned but he still hasn’t quite gotten his match sharpness back.
That was very obvious both against Atalanta and Crystal Palace, which saw some dire finishing from Liverpool’s attackers.
But it’s not just Jota, who is an excellent finisher. There is another player at Liverpool who is quietly going under the radar.
The numbers that show Cody Gakpo is the second best finisher at Liverpool after Diogo Jota
Undoubtedly, even the numbers reflect Jota is the best finisher and most efficient player at Liverpool.
He simply puts the ball into the back of the net more often than anyone else. But he also has a really effective rate when it comes to the efficiency of his shooting.
As per FBref, when it comes to goals per shots, on average Jota scores 0.23 times from his shots. This is the most efficient out of Liverpool players this season in all competitions, excluding Lewis Koumas (1.0) and Jayden Danns (0.33) who have only played a few games.
Jota’s efficiency is not a surprise, but what is more surprising is who the next most efficient Liverpool player is.
It’s not Mohamed Salah nor Darwin Nunez, it’s actually Cody Gakpo with a rate of 0.16. More than Salah (0.15) in third place.
What the numbers mean and why Cody Gakpo is ‘really special’
Gakpo has gone under the radar this season. He has 18 goal contributions in all competitions, which is really impressive considering he has been playing out of position all season.
On top of that as the data shows he is also someone who choses the timing of his shots really well, and when Liverpool does get an opportunity he is one of the players you would want it to fall to based on the stats.
No wonder Jurgen Klopp has described him as ‘really special’ recently.
