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The role of a substitute in any sport is to come into a game and make an instant impact, helping the team get the desired result. This could be either be by helping the teams ensure that a lead is held on to or go in and secure a win by scoring some quick goals and putting pressure on the opposition. Either way, a manager utilizes his substitutes in a match to get the best outcome possible, if the players that are brought on get the job done.
Over the years, when goals are really needed, attacking players have come off the bench to supply the goals. When the manager trusts a player enough to introduce him or her, this usually gives the player confidence and an advantage over his or her rivals when the change is made.
Tactics also play a key role in how the substitute performs and if things go in favour of the team that makes the substitution, everything works out well. With that being said, here are the top 5 super-sub forwards/strikers in Europe so far
#5. Mousa Dembele (Barcelona)
The 21-year-old Barcelona attacker, who was struggling at the start of the current campaign at the Nou Camp, has managed to do quite well for himself as the season has gone on. He was quite indisciplined at the start, written off by many pundits, and even linked with a move away from the Spanish champions.
However, with three goals and an assist as a substitute, he has been one of Europe’s top substitutes, with still room for improvement with the Catalan giants.
With some crucial games coming up towards the business end of the current campaign, it will be interesting to see what kind of impact Dembele can continue to make.
#4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Is there anything that the French World Cup winner and one of the best players in the World at present, can’t do? From being one of the best talents in Russia to winning titles with PSG, the 20-year-old attacker has done it all at such a young age.
Furthermore, he has not just been an excellent player in the starting eleven for the champions of France but has also been equally successful coming off the bench. The forward has three goals and an assist to his name too as a 'super-sub', making him one of Europe’s best players to bring on into a game to make an impact.
With the second leg of PSG’s Champions League tie against Manchester United coming up, Mbappe will be aiming for bigger things to come. Hopefully, he can create more goals and score them too, like he has been doing.
#3. Rachid Alioui (Nimes Olympique)-
The Moroccan international joined newly promoted Ligue 1 side Nimes back in 2016 and has been making steady progress with them. He has scored 30 goals in 64 appearances for them so far, helping them get promotion to the first division. Some of his key performances, however this season, have come off the bench, when he has been asked to score goals for his team.
The 26-year-old striker has managed to score a tally of four goals, coming on as a sub, which has helped his team as they look to remain in the top flight of French football.
They are currently going strong in 11th spot in the league table. If they continue to perform like this, they will not just remain in Ligue 1, but also better things might be to come for both the player and the French outfit.
#2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
The 29 year old Gabon international is one of the top contenders for the Golden Boot this season. He was a key part of Unai Emery’s tactical plan at the start of the season, where the Spaniard would start the games with Alexandre Lacazette and bring on Aubameyang in the second half, once the opposition midfield and defence were already tired.
This helped the 29-year-old get a lot more freedom to run with the ball and make runs at tiring opponents. The result has been four goals and an assist to his name coming off from the bench for his manager, which has really helped Arsenal’s pursuit of a top-four finish.
Aubameyang is one of the few players who has really flourished under Emery. If he can continue to perform like he has this season, the north London giants can have hopes of becoming Premier League champions once again in the long-run.
#1. Paco Alcacer (Borussia Dortmund)
If there was a special prize given for being the best ever sub in European football (in terms of scoring goals), we would already have had a clear winner. The Spanish attacker has scored 10 goals off the bench this season and has decimated most opposition defences that he has come up against. He has been going really strong and has grown as a player, both at the club and the national level.
He managed to score an astonishing tally of 12 goals in just 14 games in total (2018-19) on loan at Dortmund and has now signed with the German club on a permanent basis. It will be interesting to see whether he can now continue his form in the long-run and lead his team to the Bundesliga title this term. Dortmund lead champions Bayern Munich by three points at present but this title race is far from over.
