In our last video, we looked at how efficiently teams generate shots from incursions into
the opposition final third.
Liverpool have managed to take more shots in proportion to touches
taken in the opposition third, making them an efficient generator of shots.
However, as some viewers observed, that doesn’t necessarily correlate to goals scored,
either because of poor finishing or, as one commenter put it, because Coutinho and Can
have been shooting at random when Liverpool are trailing.
So, we decided to look at the top six sides in the league, ranked by current league
position, where they shoot from, and how productive that is in terms of scoring goals.
The first thing that’s clear is that while Liverpool might generate a lot of shots compared
to touches in the opposition third, their shots
don’t generate a lot of goals.
It seems like the commenter might have a point.
Breaking down this shots data further, we can look at where shots are taken from: outside
the box, inside the penalty area but not in the six yard box, and in the six yard box.
If we then add penalty area and six yard box shots
totals together, its’s clear that the two Manchester clubs try to get close before pulling
the trigger, but that Liverpool are next for percentage of shots from within the penalty
area.
This would indicate they’re not necessarily shooting wildly, just poorly.
Note too, how Chelsea have taken almost half their shots from
outside the area – as we’ve seen previously, this isn’t a sensible way to go about your
business.
If we then look at rough goal location data, we can see that every side have scored the
bulk of their goals in the penalty area excluding
the six-yard box.
City and United are generally ​ converting shots into goals well but note
too how many goals are scored by United in the six
yard box – they’ve scored more goals in the six yard area than six teams have scored
in total.
Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini are being tasked by Jose Mourinho to get in very
close to feed off crosses aimed near the keeper, and it’s working.
Where it becomes particularly interesting, though, is when one then looks at shot location
versus where goals are scored from; we’ve done this in terms of shots per goal in each
area.
Chelsea have taken 47.5% of their shots from outside the box and they’ve scored at a
rate of one goal per 16 shots, the second best after
Manchester City; it’s still not great, but their
long shooting makes slightly more sense now.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have taken 56 shots to record their one goal from outside
of the box, which is woeful.
What’s clear here is that the closer to goal a team shoots, the fewer shots they need
to score – which is pretty obvious.
What’s also clear is that Liverpool, who take 59.6% of their shots
inside the penalty area, are the least efficient side overall for shooting in that region.
So, let’s lastly use this data to infer something about the sides.
Manchester City are just good – good at shooting generally and good at shooting in
the right areas.
​ United are good too, and especially ruthless
in the six-yard area.
Spurs shoot a lot without a great end product, and should do it less from outside the box.,
Arsenal seem to have given up passing the ball into the goal and are now trying to wallop
it in from over eighteen yards to no avail; they’re
also the worst side for shooting in the six- yard area.
Liverpool are just bad at shooting, however well they might fashion shooting chances.
And Chelsea like to hit from deep and do it pretty well, but are also second only to United
for six-yard box lethality.