Iwobi is no flop, Osimhen pressing less: Striking underlying stats from Nigerians in Europe’s top five leagues

We are not yet halfway into any of the top leagues in Europe, but trends are developing, nonetheless. 

Thirteen fixtures have been played in Ligue 1 and La Liga (although there are a few teams with a game outstanding in Spain), Serie A is 12 gameweeks in heading into this weekend’s 13th round while the Premier League and Bundesliga are only 11 games in. 

The majority of observers focus on raw numbers: goals and assists for forwards, tackles and interceptions for defensive midfielders and clean sheets for defenders and goalkeepers. 

However, the introduction of analytics in the sport means greater context can be placed into discussions, and it can be used to validate (or possibly even invalidate) the eye test.

Heading into this weekend’s games, which Nigerians across the major European divisions stand out in hand-picked metrics?

Alex Iwobi may get a lot of stick for his unproductive nature in terms of goals and assists, an understandable criticism for a player who has been involved in six goals since joining Everton in 2019.

Despite unimpressive raw numbers in the attacking third, Iwobi ranks third for Shot-Creating Actions (passes, dribbles and fouls drawn directly leading to shots) per 90 in the Everton squad behind Andros Townsend and Abdoulaye Doucoure. 

Impressively, Iwobi moves up a place for open-play passes leading to shot attempts. While he may not contribute goals and assists regularly, the former Arsenal man tends to be involved for the Toffees, regardless.

At Leicester City, among players to average four games or higher, Kelechi Iheanacho has received more progressive passes per 90 (8.64), pipping Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy (7.67 and 5.96 respectively). 

Wilfred Ndidi unsurprisingly leads for combined tackles and interceptions in the Foxes set-up despite missing a few games, but it is even more striking that the anchorman leads for volume of pressures and pressures per 90 before Saturday’s game against Chelsea.

Watford may be struggling for consistency on their Premier League return, but William Troost-Ekong’s sensible harrying of the opponent has been striking. Even though the center-back sits 13th for volume of pressures (55) and 10th for successful pressures (22), he ranks top for percentage of successful pressures (40 percent). The Watford squad regain possession 40% of the time within five seconds of Troost-Ekong harrying the opponent with the ball. 

Notably, this places the defender 16th in the PL, further emphasizing the impressiveness of his smart pressing.

Heading to Serie A, Victor Osimhen is the standout player in Italy’s top flight. 

Even though observers have been impressed by the Napoli marksman’s growth in year two in the league, a more fascinating observation has been the drop in the intensity of the Nigerian’s pressing.

Last season, Osimhen averaged 18 pressures per 90, whereas this year’s average is 13.7 p/90. In his only season in Ligue 1, the 22-year-old’s average was 17.3 pressures per 90. 

Having been advised by Luciano Spalletti in the summer to pick his moments to engage the opposition rather than press haphazardly, it appears the forward has taken his manager’s recommendation on board. 

In the Bundesliga, Taiwo Awoniyi’s remarkable start since his permanent switch to Union Berlin has caught the eye. 

Strikingly, the forward’s seven goals have come from an Expected Goals (xG) of 4.6, an overperformance of 2.4. This disparity between xG and actual goals places him behind only Erling Haaland and Serge Gnabry in the German top flight and above top scorer Robert Lewandowski, whose 13 league strikes have come from 11.9 xG.

We focus on Moses Simon and Terem Moffi in Ligue 1.

The wide attacker jointly sits top of the assists standings with six, and he also outdoes every player in the competition for Expected Assists (4.4). 

Moffi’s goalscoring lull has concerned observers and perhaps contributed to his omission from Gernot Rohr’s Nigeria squad for November’s internationals. 

Worryingly, the accuracy of the Lorient frontman’s shooting has significantly dropped this season. Last term, 43.6% of the 22-year-old’s efforts hit the target, whereas an alarming drop to 14.3% in 2021/22 ranks him above only 11 players in the French top flight.

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Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.

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