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La Liga is now at its halfway stage, and all of the teams have a pretty good idea of where the strengths and weaknesses lie ahead of the decisive second half of the campaign.
For those looking to improve their league position, finding a regular goalscorer is key. Whether he emerges through a change in luck, a canny signing or the unexpected flourishing of a reserve or youth player, a prolific striker can have a transformative effect on a season.
But which teams need to make such an improvement? Using statistics (including Expected Goals data from UnderStat) and objective judgements, here is an attempt to identify five of the worst strikers in La Liga so far this season. It must be noted that this is the worst in comparison to expectations, rather than the outright worst five strikers in terms of talent.
#5 Karim Benzema
Whichever way you look at it, Karim Benzema is not having a good season. While he has never been a goal-per-game striker and certainly offers more to Real Madrid than just goals - with his movement key to opening up space for Cristiano Ronaldo to move inside - his return has nevertheless been disappointing.
Last season had been his worst at Madrid in terms of minutes per goal, at 174, but that has easily been eclipsed by his output this time around. In 883 minutes of league action, split over 11 starts and one substitute appearance, Benzema has scored just twice. That works out at a goal for every 441.5 minutes he has been on the pitch.
The French striker is still getting himself into good positions, with his expected goals total standing at 6.27, but whether through poor finishing or simple variance, he has not found the back of the net with anywhere near the required regularity.
It is probably only the lack of a top-quality backup option, following last summer’s sale of Alvaro Morata, that is currently keeping Benzema in the Madrid starting XI.
#4 Munir El Haddadi
Looking back, the furore that surrounded Munir El Haddadi when he scored on his Barcelona debut back in 2014 and was soon after capped by Spain to ward off interest from Morocco now looks a little misplaced.
The 22-year-old is still owned by Barcelona and still has time to get his career back on track, but after a patchy loan spell at Valencia last season, he has again found life difficult at Alaves.
It has certainly not been all Munir’s fault. He has been asked to play as a central striker for much of the campaign to date, which is not a position in which he had much previous experience. In addition, Alaves were, for a while, comfortably the worst side in La Liga. He was often given the thankless job of trying to produce something out of nothing for a struggling side.
But it is nevertheless hard not to look at his numbers and not think he could have provided more of what Alaves really need: goals.
Munir has taken 37 shots so far this season, the 16th highest total in La Liga. Yet of the current top 20, only two have as few goals as his current total of three. A look at his expected goals figures also shows a striker so has scored at least three goals less than the quality of his chances would suggest he should have.
He would undoubtedly perform better as a wide forward, and Alaves would, therefore, be advised to add a genuine striker to their ranks in January if they want to get more from Munir and ensure they get the goals they need to avoid the drop.
#3 Luis Muriel
Sevilla paid €21.5 million to sign Luis Muriel from Sampdoria last summer but have so far not received the return on investment they were expecting from the Colombian.
In truth, for all of his potent physical attributes and incisiveness, Muriel has never been a particularly prolific goalscorer. Part of Sevilla’s bet on him was that they’d be able to polish his rough edges and turn a striker who had previously netted every two-and-half to three matches into one capable of scoring at least every other match.
That has not been the case so far. Muriel has scored just three goals in nine starts and five substitute appearances in La Liga and has shown himself to be fairly erratic in front of goal. For the fee paid, it is a disappointing return.
Indeed, one of the first things new coach Vincenzo Montella highlighted after taking over earlier this month was the need to sharpen up Muriel’s game inside the penalty area.
#2 Borja Baston
Malaga have been woeful so far this season. The Andalusian side are currently second from bottom in the Primera Division standings, with just 11 points from 18 matches. While their defensive record is far from great, it is scoring goals that has been their primary problem.
That was perhaps foreseeable. Last season’s top scorer Sandro Ramirez left for Everton last summer, leaving a 14-goal gap in the squad. But the club seemed confident that Borja Baston, scorer of 18 goals for Eibar in the 2015-16 season, would be able to put a disappointing year at Swansea behind him by returning to form back on loan in La Liga.
That has not been the case. Baston has scored just twice in 793 minutes of league action. After starting the season as the club’s primary striker, he had dropped down to third or fourth choice by early November. Coach Michel was disappointed with his output and felt he wasn’t working hard enough in or out of possession.
Baston gradually worked his way back into contention towards the end of 2017, but his performances and goalscoring contribution will have to improve massively between now and the end of the campaign if he is to help Malaga pull off an unlikely escape from relegation.
#1 Emmanuel Boateng
It is no small thing for a newly promoted club to spend €2 million on a striker. Emmanuel Boateng became the second most expensive signing in Levante’s history when he joined from Portuguese side Moreirense last summer but has not yet provided what was hoped of him.
From pre-season onwards, there have been questions about his ability to adapt to Spanish football. His appearances have been limited, and coach Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz indicated last month that he is still reluctant to risk playing him, as he feels the Ghanian isn’t yet capable of providing the work-rate and tactical work he expects from his players.
Boateng is yet to score in 304 minutes of league action, while he has netted just once in 314 minutes, including three starts, in the Copa del Rey.
Levante are not an easy team in which to score. They’ve netted less than a goal per match in league play so far this season, and it wasn’t until Boateng’s goal in the 2-0 win away to Girona in the Copa del Rey in late October than one of their strikers found the back of the net.
But it says a lot that the club are so keen to bring in another striker this month as they seek to arrest a downward slide that has seen them win just once in their last 13 league matches.
