5 of the worst strikers in La Liga this season
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.