Finishing

Statistics can and will be used to deceive you. For example, I could tell you that with 12 goals from 52 shots, Romelu Lukaku is the most clinical finisher in the Premier League behind Raheem Sterling. That’s the truth when using those parameters. However, I could conversely tell you that Lukaku has missed 14 big chances this season, joint-fifth most in the division, and he’s one of the worst finishers in the Premier League. It’s hard to know where the truth lies, but it’s probably somewhere in the middle.

Serie A has long been defined by aging Italian footballers getting better with age, just like a fine box of Franzia. Recent examples include Francesco Totti scoring 15 at the age of 34, Filippo Inzaghi hitting 13 at the age of 35, Alessandro Del Piero notching 13 at 34, Luca Toni dropping 22 at 38 and Antonio Di Natale recording 14 at 37.