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Sometimes in football, plan A just isn’t enough. On certain occasions, players on the pitch may not be enough to get the job done, forcing the manager to turn to plan B.
A correct substitution can change the dynamic of a football game and turn the momentum the other way.
Substitutes or 'super subs' have had some of the greatest impacts on football matches in history.
Be it Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer coming on in Barcelona in the 1999 Champions League Final or Georginio Wijnaldum scoring two goals as a substitute to launch one of the best Champions League comebacks of all-time against Barcelona.
The current world of football has its fair share of super subs and today we are going to take a look at the top five of the lot.
#5 Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid)
There isn’t a lot of cheer around the Bernabeu at the moment, with Real trailing Atletico by 10 points in the league.
However, one of the bright sparks for Madrid, as they go through this rebuild, has been Vinicius Junior.
Vinicius has been quite effective off the bench for Madrid this season, managing three goals and assists so far as a substitute.
The Brazilian scored the winning goal against Valladolid and provided the assist for Rodrygo’s winner against Inter in the Champions League from the bench.
Vinicius Jr. is still only 20 and has a long way to go to justify his price tag, but his performances off the bench this season will please Zidane and may help cement his place as a regular starter in the side.
#4 Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)
Olivier Giroud will be remembered as one of the greatest super subs in the history of the Premier League.
Few players have been able to make as big of an impact as the Frenchman off the bench.
Only Jermain Defoe has more goals in the history of the Premier League as a substitute than the 34-year-old Frenchman.
Giroud is the perfect number two striker and has used his hold up play, aerial prowess and finishing ability to great effect when chasing a goal in the dying embers of a game.
All of Giroud’s Premier League goals this season have come after having started the game, but he has managed two goals from the bench in all competitions for Chelsea and France this season.
#3 Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)
Leroy Sane has found it tough to break into Bayern Munich’s star-studded first team since his £45 million move from Manchester City in the summer of 2020.
Nevertheless, the German international has still managed to make an impact off the bench for the Bavarian Giants.
The speedster has been used as a super sub by manager Hansi Flick and has exploited tiring defences with his blistering pace.
Sane has scored four goals and bagged two assists in 11 appearances off the bench this season, including the winning goal in the stunning 3-2 win over rivals Borussia Dortmund in November.
#2 Edinson Cavani (Manchester United)
Edinson Cavani has followed in the footsteps of his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and has made a massive impact for Manchester United as a super sub this season.
Cavani has three goals and two assists off the bench this season and has often made the difference late in games with his elite movement and finishing.
A perfect example of Cavani’s impact can be seen in United’s trip to Southampton earlier in the season.
With United trailing 2-0 to the Saints, they brought Cavani on at the break. The Red Devils ended up winning the game 3-2 with Cavani managing an assist and two goals, including a dramatic winner in stoppage time.
#1 Luis Muriel (Atalanta BC)
Atalanta is one of the best attacking teams in world football, with the likes of Duvan Zapata, Mario Pasalic and Joseph Ilicic in the side.
Fortunately, the Bergamo-based outfit also has one of the deadliest super-subs in world football, in the form of Luis Muriel.
Last season the Colombian international created history by scoring 11 of his 17 Serie A goals for Atalanta from the bench.
This was the first time a player scored more than 10 goals in a Serie A season off the bench.
He has continued in the same vein this season, contributing five goals and assists so far this season when coming on as a substitute.
