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It's not easy being a striker in football, because the only performance indicator that the World understands for a striker is goals. No matter how well their hold up play is, or how many assists they pick up, unless they find the back of the net regularly, Strikers can be a liability to the team and their performances will mostly go unnoticed.
The prime attacking focal point of the team has to bear the burden of bagging the goals, a responsibility that can weigh down even the best of strikers.
Every great team has always been built around a clinical striker who can consistently score more than 30 goals a season. While it looks easy, goal scoring is no child's play. Ask these 5 men, who have been going through a harrowing time so far.
These 5 play at some of the biggest clubs in Europe and as such, all their performances are under intense scrutiny. As such, it is quite astonishing that these 5 proven goal scorers have been going through a goal drought in this season. Who are they? Read on to find out.
#5 Edin Džeko (AS Roma)
Džeko's inclusion in this list can be a little controversial. The former Manchester City Striker found a new life after joining AS Roma in the Serie A ahead of the 2015/16 season. His took a little time to settle in Italy, finding the net 10 times in 39 appearances in his first season.
However, the following season turned out to be the best in his entire career, as the Bosnian scored 39 goals from 51 appearances in all competitions. Last season, Džeko finished with 24 goals from 49 appearances in all competitions. This time though, things look a little bleak in the Serie A for him.
Džeko started the season well, scoring in the first game against Torino, but he then failed to score in the next 4 games, as Roma failed to win any of those. He was subsequently benched against Frosinone when Roma comfortably won 4-0. He returned to the starting line up against Lazio but failed to score again.
However, in the following game against Empoli, Džeko finally scored his second of the season in Serie A. Since then though, he has failed to score in the last 3 games. In the Serie A, the Bosnian has managed only 2 goals from 11 appearances, but once you move to the Champions League, he turns into a completely different animal.
Džeko has scored 5 goals from 4 games in the Champions League so far, including a hat-trick against Viktoria Plzen and a brace against CSKA Moscow at home. As such, it might only be a matter of time before Džeko finds his scoring touch in the Serie A.
#4 Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Last season, Vardy found the back of the net 20 times in 37 games in the Premier League and finished with 23 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions. In the 15/16 season, when Leicester City rode his goals to lift the Premier League in a story fit for fairy tales, the English Striker had scored 24 times in the Premier League.
His rise has been phenomenal and his work ethic and eye for the goal saw him selected in the England squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This season though, Vardy is going through a dry patch.
Vardy started the season by scoring against Manchester United in a 2-1 loss at Old Trafford. Against Wolves in the next game, he picked up a red card and was subsequently ruled out for the next two matches in the Premier League. He also missed the League Cup tie against Fleetwood due to his suspension. Vardy returned against Bournemouth but failed to score.
He eventually did find the back of the net against Huddersfield and then scored in the following game against Newcastle, but since then, Vardy has failed to score in the last 5 games. The Englishman has just 3 goals from 11 games so far in all competitions.
The last time Vardy went 5 games without scoring was in the 2016/17 season when he had scored just 2 goals in the first 14 games and finished the season with 13 goals from 35 games in the Premier League. Hopefully, this time, the Englishman will have a better season.
#3 Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)
Giroud famously won the 2018 FIFA World Cup without scoring a single goal. And it seems his bad luck has continued into the new season.
Last season, the Frenchman made the move to Stamford Bridge from Arsenal in the winter transfer window, hoping for more playing time after falling behind the likes of Lacazette and Aubameyang at the Emirates. He had also hoped to get back to scoring goals, after scoring just 7 in 26 games for Arsenal in the first half of the season. He added 5 more goals to his tally, from 18 games for Chelsea by May.
This season, Giroud's only goal has come against BATE Borisov away, on 8th November 2018, in the Europa League. Which means that he has scored just 1 goal in 12 games! However, to be fair to him, the French Striker has been in the starting eleven just 6 times.
In the Premier League, Giroud has 4 starts, has played the full 90 minutes just once and has failed to score in 10 games so far. His last start was against Southampton, his last game was as a substitute against Burnley, where he came on for the last 16 minutes. In Chelsea's last game before the International Break against Everton, Giroud was an unused substitute.
One does wonder whether the Frenchman would be a lucky charm for Chelsea as he was for his national team, but as of now, Giroud will only be praying for his goal drought to end.
#2 Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
The Belgian Striker is perhaps going through the worst phase of his career right now. Ever since joining Manchester United last season, the striker has failed to live up to his price tag. But he did do quite well last season.
He finished with 27 goals in all competitions, the highest he has scored in his career so far. But his returns in the Premier League were not up to his standards - he scored 16 goals in 34 games in the league, whereas he had already scored more for Everton. The Belgian's main problems were his tendency to miss big chances and his poor first touch.
This season, the Lukaku has found the net just 4 times in 15 games so far, a period where he has been in the starting eleven 12 times! Interestingly, Manchester United have won 3 of the 4 games he has not started in! However, when it comes to the UEFA Nations League, the Belgian has been in stunning form, scoring 4 goals already from 2 games. So what's the problem with the big Belgian at Manchester United?
Lukaku came off the bench against Leicester in the first game of the season, playing the last 23 minutes. He started the next game against Brighton and scored his first goal of the season in the disappointing 3-2 loss. After missing out against Spurs, he scored both the goals in a 2-0 win over Burnley and also scored in the following game against Watford.
However, since then, Lukaku has been unable to score in the last 6 games in the Premier League and 10 games in total for Manchester United. His confidence and form has taken a hit and he has been continuously missing easy chances, which has seen him relegated to the bench.
However, much to his relief, none of his replacements have fared well either and the Belgian will now be hoping that he can translate his form from the Nations League into his club games.
#1 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
There were many speculations about the Frenchman's future in the summer, but Griezmann ultimately decided to stay at Atletico Madrid for now. His stakes had risen by leaps and bounds after winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France, however, Griezmann has been poor by his standards so far this season.
The French Striker scored 29 goals from 49 games last season, including 19 from 32 games in La Liga. This season though, he has managed just 6 goals from 17 games and has scored just 3 from 12 games in La Liga.
He scored his first of the season against Vallecano and then went 3 games without scoring, before finding the back of the net again in the home win over Huesca. This followed another dry spell of 4 games before he scored against Leganes. However, he has scored 3 goals in 4 games in the Champions League.
Since Griezmann is desperate to win the Ballon d'Or as well as not stay in anyone's shadow, these numbers are certainly not acceptable. One can only hope that the Frenchman can get back to goalscoring form soon because his goal drought will affect his chances at glory.
