Romelu Lukaku | Chelsea

[roonster09]

Yeah, that's not true. Lukaku outscored him in both his seasons in Italy. He outscored Immobile in his second season too. Immobile just had an absolute freak season in 19/20 where he scored 36.

Anyway, it's almost silly to even compare him to them. Especially Muriel. Even if you want to disregard their international record, Lukaku had scored 113 Premier League goals before his 26th birthday. While Immobile was still flopping at Dortmund and Sevilla at that age. Would have loved to see him try the PL.

Muriel shits on every Serie A player when it comes to mins per goal.

So was Lukaku rated as top 5 CF based on his PL time or Serie A time? Also we are not going season by season, his overall time in Serie A.

Look at Duvan Zapata, Muriel and it's on another level for the mins they played.

In Serie A, Lukaku has 48 goals + assists (excluding pens) at 122 mins per G+A.
Immobile has 53 Non penalty goals + assists at 113 mins per G+A
Zapata has 46 Non penalty goals + assists at 95 mins per G+A
Muriel has 40 Non penalty goals + assists at 67 mins per G+A
Caputo has 39 Non penalty goals+ assists at 118 mins per G+A
Henrik Mkhitaryan has 36 Non penalty goals + assists at 118 mins per G+A

Serie A
Top 10 Non penalty goals + assists (ordered by mins per G+A)

Rk	Player	Squad	Mins	Goals	Assists	Non Penalty Goals	NPG + Assists	Mins per NPG+A
5	Luis Muriel	Atalanta	2696	40	8	32	40	67.40
10	Dries Mertens	Napoli	3148	18	15	18	33	95.39
4	Duván Zapata	Atalanta	4405	33	15	31	46	95.76
10	Josip Iličić	Atalanta	3189	21	14	19	33	96.64
1	Ciro Immobile	Lazio	6019	56	15	38	53	113.57
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	5719	60	7	42	49	116.71
6	Francesco Caputo	Sassuolo	4628	32	12	27	39	118.67
9	Henrikh Mkhitaryan	Roma	4275	22	15	21	36	118.75
3	Romelu Lukaku	Inter	5863	47	13	35	48	122.15
6	Domenico Berardi	Sassuolo	4968	31	17	22	39	127.38
8	Lautaro Martínez	Inter	5013	31	9	27	36	139.25
10	Edin Džeko	Roma	4678	23	10	23	33	141.76
14	Robin Gosens	Atalanta	5140	19	13	19	32	160.63
10	João Pedro	Cagliari	6404	34	7	26	33	194.06

Including penalties, top 10 Goals + assists ordered by mins per G+A

Rk	Player	Squad	Mins	Goals	Assists	Goals + Assists	Mins per G+A
4	Luis Muriel	Atalanta	2696	40	8	48	56.17
1	Ciro Immobile	Lazio	6019	56	15	71	84.77
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	5719	60	7	67	85.36
4	Duván Zapata	Atalanta	4405	33	15	48	91.77
3	Romelu Lukaku	Inter	5863	47	13	60	97.72
6	Domenico Berardi	Sassuolo	4968	31	17	48	103.50
7	Francesco Caputo	Sassuolo	4628	32	12	44	105.18
10	Lautaro Martínez	Inter	5013	31	9	40	125.33
8	Lorenzo Insigne	Napoli	5675	27	14	41	138.41
8	João Pedro	Cagliari	6404	34	7	41	156.20

 

[Alex99]

Inspired by the "Lukaku can't score against big teams" debate, I decided to see how his record compared to other players. As he made his Premier League debut in 2011/12 I decided to take the top ten goal scorers from each of those seasons and look at their records against the established "Big 6" (only counting league goals).

So, some stats:

• 63 players featured as one of the top ten goal scorers from the 2011/12 season through to the 2020/21 season.
• Of those players, Lukaku has the 6th highest number of appearances against the Big 6, with 79.
• David Silva matches him, but only Raheem Sterling (82), Gylfi Sigurdsson (97), Jermaine Defoe (128), Wayne Rooney (136), and Frank Lampard (157) have more.
• Of those players, Lukaku's 17 goals against the Big 6 have him as joint 16th top goal scorer, alongside Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard.
• Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are the top scorers with 45 goals each. Jamie Vardy is next with 42 goals.
• Robin van Persie (28), Jermaine Defoe (27), Harry Kane (27), Frank Lampard (26), Sadio Mane (24), Gylfi Sigurdsson (23), Christian Benteke (23), Emmanuel Adebayor (22), Yakubu (21), Roberto Firmino (21), Mo Salah (20) and Raheem Sterling (19) have also scored more.
• Lukaku has scored in 14 games against the Big 6, which ranks him 18th out of these 63 players.
• Wayne Rooney has scored in the most Big 6 games, scoring in 37. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are next having scored in 32.
• Jermaine Defoe (26), Frank Lampard (24), Robin van Persie (23), Harry Kane (23), Gylfi Sigurdsson (22), Christian Benteke (20), Sadio Mane (19), Emmanuel Adebayor (18), Mo Salah (18), Yakubu (17), Roberto Firmino (17), Raheem Sterling (16), Olivier Giroud (16) and Eden Hazard (16) have all scored in more.
• At a rate of 0.22 goals per game (2 decimal places), Lukaku is ranked joint 42nd for strike rate vs the Big 6, along with Dimitar Berbatov (13 in 58), Anthony Martial (10 in 45) and Fernando Llorente (4 in 18).
• Ollie Watkins has the highest strike rate at 0.67, having scored 8 in 12, Sergio Aguero is next with 0.60 after scoring 45 in 75, with Jamie Vardy third at 0.54 having scored 42 in 78.
• There are 32 players with at least 30 appearances against the Big 6 with a better strike rate than Lukaku (including Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Demba Ba, Edin Dzeko, Danny Ings, Marcus Rashford, Luis Suarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Wilfried Bony, Christian Benteke, Alexandre Lacazette, Callum Wilson, Yakubu, Rickie Lambert, Charlie Austin, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Glenn Murray, Gareth Bale and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
• If you reduce the appearances to at least 20 (meaning the rate covers at least two seasons), Graziano Pelle, Grant Holt, Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Mario Balotelli also have better goals per game ratios.
• Having scored in just 17.72% of his games against the Big 6, Lukaku ranks 46th in this stat.
• Sergio Aguero scored in the highest percentage, at 42.67%, Mo Salah is next with 41.86%, and Ollie Watkins third at 41.67%.
• There are 42 players with at least 20 appearances against the Big 6 that scored in a higher percentage of their games than Lukaku.

Lukaku is clearly falling way short of what other players are doing when it comes to performances against the big teams. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are the two that stand out the most, but Harry Kane and Mo Salah aren't too far behind. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Raheem Sterling have all scored more in fewer appearances, and Marcus Rashford and even Danny Ings are almost at Lukaku's goal tally in far fewer appearances.

There are number of players who are good goalscorers across a league season, and for me, that's not enough to get you in the conversation for being the best striker around. Lukaku is almost certainly going to hit 20+ goals for Chelsea in the league this season, but until he starts delivering in big games too, I don't think there can be many complaints about people considering him to be on that rung below the top strikers.

The fact that the player his stats against the Big 6 are most comparable to are Clint Dempsey's (71 apps, 15 goals, scored in 13), says it all for me.

 

[UnitedWA]

Your fake outrage is nauseating. Read the article before you run your mouth.

I am speaking generally since he left United, don't care for that article.

 

[The One and Only]

Ignore what I said then. At this point currently Lukaku is in the top 5 Strikers. Ahead of Haaland and Mbappe in that center forward position. I would pick Haaland and Mbappe for my team also because theyre younger and have a higher ceiling, but thats nothing to do with the subject. Currently Lukaku is Top 5, ahead of them. Not in the future, Right now. In the future Mbappe and Haaland can be ravaged by injuries and stall. We are talking about this moment, here, now, the present. I’m not going to entertain the Vardy comments, because even Arsenal has snubbed their noses at him. He plays in a counterattacking team fit for a pace merchant.

Lukaku, Top 5 Striker in the world

Haaland is better than Lukaku now.. Literally no team would choose Lukaku over Haaland based on their current level.He has scored more CL goals in 2 years than Lukaku has since his debut more than 10 years ago! And he will reach a level Lukaku can only dream of.

You're clearly a WUM. And if you actually believe this, then there's no point arguing with you. And by the way, Vardy turned down Arsenal and decided to stay at Leicester. Not the other way round

 

[Bleu]

Haaland is better than Lukaku now.. Literally no team would choose Lukaku over Haaland based on their current level.He has scored more CL goals in 2 years than Lukaku has since his debut more than 10 years ago! And he will reach a level Lukaku can only dream of.

You're clearly a WUM. And if you actually believe this, then there's no point arguing with you. And by the way, Vardy turned down Arsenal and decided to stay at Leicester. Not the other way round

No one wanted Vardy hence why he is stuck at Leceister. At current level if I had to pick who would lead my next lineup between Haaland and Lukaku, it would be Lukaku. Dont talk to me about what levels he will reach, spit your crystal ball out of your mouth fortune teller. My point is who is top 5 strikers in the world this very moment, period.

 

[ThierryHenry14]

No one wanted Vardy hence why he is stuck at Leceister.

Vardy turned down Arsenal and Wenger to stay with Leicester. He made the right choice back then.

At current level if I had to pick who would lead my next lineup between Haaland and Lukaku, it would be Lukaku.

I am not sure even Chelsea fans agree with you.

 

[GifLord]

No one wanted Vardy hence why he is stuck at Leceister. At current level if I had to pick who would lead my next lineup between Haaland and Lukaku, it would be Lukaku. Dont talk to me about what levels he will reach, spit your crystal ball out of your mouth fortune teller. My point is who is top 5 strikers in the world this very moment, period.

Arsenal wanted him 5 years ago and he REJECTED them.
Jamie Vardy rejects Arsenal move and will stay at Leicester City

Jamie Vardy has rejected a move to Arsenal and is poised to sign a new four-year contract with Leicester City. The England international has opted to stay with the Midlands club after his goals played a major role in the club’s remarkable Premier League title success of last season and will be rewarded with an improved deal.

Arsenal triggered the release clause in Vardy’s contract at the start of the month and held talks with the England international but the 29-year-old has decided against joining Arsène Wenger’s side in a £22m transfer. Although the news is a blow to Arsenal, Wenger said in a recent interview with Chinese television that he suspected Vardy would remain at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester will be delighted that Vardy has agreed to stay and also hope that his decision to reject the opportunity to join Arsenal can strengthen their chances of holding onto two of their other leading players, N’Golo Kanté and Riyad Mahrez, as they try to keep together the side that were crowned champions last month.
In a statement on their website on Thursday, Leicester confirmed that a deal in principle has been agreed between Vardy’s agent and the club, with the player set to hold talks when he returns from the European Championship finals in France, where he will hope to feature for England in their last-16 game against Iceland on Monday.

 

[Botim]

Inspired by the "Lukaku can't score against big teams" debate, I decided to see how his record compared to other players. As he made his Premier League debut in 2011/12 I decided to take the top ten goal scorers from each of those seasons and look at their records against the established "Big 6" (only counting league goals).

So, some stats:

• 63 players featured as one of the top ten goal scorers from the 2011/12 season through to the 2020/21 season.
• Of those players, Lukaku has the 6th highest number of appearances against the Big 6, with 79.
• David Silva matches him, but only Raheem Sterling (82), Gylfi Sigurdsson (97), Jermaine Defoe (128), Wayne Rooney (136), and Frank Lampard (157) have more.
• Of those players, Lukaku's 17 goals against the Big 6 have him as joint 16th top goal scorer, alongside Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard.
• Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are the top scorers with 45 goals each. Jamie Vardy is next with 42 goals.
• Robin van Persie (28), Jermaine Defoe (27), Harry Kane (27), Frank Lampard (26), Sadio Mane (24), Gylfi Sigurdsson (23), Christian Benteke (23), Emmanuel Adebayor (22), Yakubu (21), Roberto Firmino (21), Mo Salah (20) and Raheem Sterling (19) have also scored more.
• Lukaku has scored in 14 games against the Big 6, which ranks him 18th out of these 63 players.
• Wayne Rooney has scored in the most Big 6 games, scoring in 37. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are next having scored in 32.
• Jermaine Defoe (26), Frank Lampard (24), Robin van Persie (23), Harry Kane (23), Gylfi Sigurdsson (22), Christian Benteke (20), Sadio Mane (19), Emmanuel Adebayor (18), Mo Salah (18), Yakubu (17), Roberto Firmino (17), Raheem Sterling (16), Olivier Giroud (16) and Eden Hazard (16) have all scored in more.
• At a rate of 0.22 goals per game (2 decimal places), Lukaku is ranked joint 42nd for strike rate vs the Big 6, along with Dimitar Berbatov (13 in 58), Anthony Martial (10 in 45) and Fernando Llorente (4 in 18).
• Ollie Watkins has the highest strike rate at 0.67, having scored 8 in 12, Sergio Aguero is next with 0.60 after scoring 45 in 75, with Jamie Vardy third at 0.54 having scored 42 in 78.
• There are 32 players with at least 30 appearances against the Big 6 with a better strike rate than Lukaku (including Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Demba Ba, Edin Dzeko, Danny Ings, Marcus Rashford, Luis Suarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Wilfried Bony, Christian Benteke, Alexandre Lacazette, Callum Wilson, Yakubu, Rickie Lambert, Charlie Austin, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Glenn Murray, Gareth Bale and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
• If you reduce the appearances to at least 20 (meaning the rate covers at least two seasons), Graziano Pelle, Grant Holt, Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Mario Balotelli also have better goals per game ratios.
• Having scored in just 17.72% of his games against the Big 6, Lukaku ranks 46th in this stat.
• Sergio Aguero scored in the highest percentage, at 42.67%, Mo Salah is next with 41.86%, and Ollie Watkins third at 41.67%.
• There are 42 players with at least 20 appearances against the Big 6 that scored in a higher percentage of their games than Lukaku.

Lukaku is clearly falling way short of what other players are doing when it comes to performances against the big teams. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are the two that stand out the most, but Harry Kane and Mo Salah aren't too far behind. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Raheem Sterling have all scored more in fewer appearances, and Marcus Rashford and even Danny Ings are almost at Lukaku's goal tally in far fewer appearances.

There are number of players who are good goalscorers across a league season, and for me, that's not enough to get you in the conversation for being the best striker around. Lukaku is almost certainly going to hit 20+ goals for Chelsea in the league this season, but until he starts delivering in big games too, I don't think there can be many complaints about people considering him to be on that rung below the top strikers.

The fact that the player his stats against the Big 6 are most comparable to are Clint Dempsey's (71 apps, 15 goals, scored in 13), says it all for me.

That's some impressive research you've done, thanks!

It's very interesting and some surprising names in there (Ollie Watkins with the best strike rate )

One obvious caveat would be that you counted "the big 6" as the standard, while they were obviously not always amongst the best teams. In 2015 for example, Leicester were champions, Liverpool finished 8th and Chelsea 10th, so scoring against them wasn't that big a deal. Likewise scoring against Arsenal lately isn't that impressive either.

Overall it does show where he should improve. Even though imo scoring against the 14 other teams is equally important to win the league (and exactly what Chelsea needed).

 

[Hitsu]

For me he's a good to great striker, not at the elite "difference maker" level in the big matches (though I haven't watched him closely with inter but haven't really seen it with Belgium) but for us we've got Havertz for that so I'm not super fussed if he doesn't turn into it but it's too early for me to tell how he fits in with us and I'm curious to see how he plays with Werner.

 

[abundance]

No one wanted Vardy hence why he is stuck at Leceister. At current level if I had to pick who would lead my next lineup between Haaland and Lukaku, it would be Lukaku. Dont talk to me about what levels he will reach, spit your crystal ball out of your mouth fortune teller. My point is who is top 5 strikers in the world this very moment, period.

We could reasonably argue for a month about who does and doesn't make top 5 among strikers, but the bolded part is just plain insanity.

 

[Cloud7]

At this point I'm convinced that @Bleu is in fact Lukaku himself

 

[GifLord]

At this point I'm convinced that @Bleu is in fact Lukaku himself

it's Haram

 

[Dempsey19]

Came into this thread for a look. First thing I see is someone saying they would pick Lukaku over Haaland and Mbappe currently.

Drugs are bad kids.

 

[Cloud7]

it's Haram

I would have expected him to still be on his Mourinho is great crusade as well then

 

[Abraxas]

I'm not convinced the record against the top sides is going to matter that much. Maybe it matters for his standing in the game but not so much for Chelsea's league success.

Most weeks in the league Chelsea play also rans, at least in comparison to themselves and other title challenger. That's what winning the league is all about, relentlessly smashing the average and poor sides. They can just be tough to beat against other contenders and he's also not the only threat they have.

 

[Bleu]

At this point I'm convinced that @Bleu is in fact Lukaku himself

Why would a multi-millionaire professional football player argue about how good they are on a Manchester United forum?

 

[roonster09]

it's Haram

Now it makes sense.

 

[Alex99]

That's some impressive research you've done, thanks!

It's very interesting and some surprising names in there (Ollie Watkins with the best strike rate )

One obvious caveat would be that you counted "the big 6" as the standard, while they were obviously not always amongst the best teams. In 2015 for example, Leicester were champions, Liverpool finished 8th and Chelsea 10th, so scoring against them wasn't that big a deal. Likewise scoring against Arsenal lately isn't that impressive either.

Overall it does show where he should improve. Even though imo scoring against the 14 other teams is equally important to win the league (and exactly what Chelsea needed).

Ollie Watkins hasn't played many games against the yet, but has scored in a fair few (including a hat-trick, I think).

Yes, the Big 6 metric isn't perfect, but it took long enough to do that. It'd have taken even longer to look at what teams were actually top 6 each season. It doesn't always work in their favour though as sometimes they did score against Leicester and didn't score against Arsenal, for example.

Yes, ultimately he's going to do well for his team when he scores seemingly everytime he plays against a lower side.

 

[Brwned]

Why would a multi-millionaire professional football player argue about how good they are on a Manchester United forum?

The kind of deep insecurity that leads to him / you arguing with strangers on Twitter or mentioning former clubs at irrelevant points in interviews. There’s quite a lot of evidence of that…

 

[Paxi]

No one wanted Vardy hence why he is stuck at Leceister. At current level if I had to pick who would lead my next lineup between Haaland and Lukaku, it would be Lukaku. Dont talk to me about what levels he will reach, spit your crystal ball out of your mouth fortune teller. My point is who is top 5 strikers in the world this very moment, period.

I would pick another sport. Goodness me. On what planet is Lukaku better than Haaland? Care to elaborate how he’s better?
Oh and just because you say period at the end — it doesn’t make your point any more valid.

 

[Paxi]

it's Haram

 

[Alex99]

Why would a multi-millionaire professional football player argue about how good they are on a Manchester United forum?

I'm more interested in why you've recently come across as a massive Chelsea fan, despite your profile saying you support New England Revolution and earlier posts making out like you're a United fan.

 

[duffer]

I'm more interested in why you've recently come across as a massive Chelsea fan, despite your profile saying you support New England Revolution and earlier posts making out like you're a United fan.

Isn't there a clue with his username?

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Ignore what I said then. At this point currently Lukaku is in the top 5 Strikers. Ahead of Haaland and Mbappe in that center forward position. I would pick Haaland and Mbappe for my team also because theyre younger and have a higher ceiling, but thats nothing to do with the subject. Currently Lukaku is Top 5, ahead of them. Not in the future, Right now. In the future Mbappe and Haaland can be ravaged by injuries and stall. We are talking about this moment, here, now, the present. I’m not going to entertain the Vardy comments, because even Arsenal has snubbed their noses at him. He plays in a counterattacking team fit for a pace merchant.

Lukaku, Top 5 Striker in the world

Lukaku is not better that Mbappe or Haaland. Christ you’ve got a serious hard on for him.

 

[AjaxCunian]

Lukaku is not better that Mbappe or Haaland. Christ you’ve got a serious hard on for him.

Might be a better 9/striker than Mbappe, but Haaland is easily a better number 9 even now.

 

[Alex99]

Isn't there a clue with his username?

You'd think, but New England Revolution, the team he claims to support, also play in blue, and there are a host of posts where it seems he's a United fan, yet everything recently has been about Chelsea and their players.

 

[duffer]

You'd think, but New England Revolution, the team he claims to support, also play in blue, and there are a host of posts where it seems he's a United fan, yet everything recently has been about Chelsea and their players.

There's a bunch of "two team Tommys" on here. I'll never understand but as an enlightened man I have learned to tolerate what I once thought repugnant.

 

[Ali Dia]

Inspired by the "Lukaku can't score against big teams" debate, I decided to see how his record compared to other players. As he made his Premier League debut in 2011/12 I decided to take the top ten goal scorers from each of those seasons and look at their records against the established "Big 6" (only counting league goals).

So, some stats:

• 63 players featured as one of the top ten goal scorers from the 2011/12 season through to the 2020/21 season.
• Of those players, Lukaku has the 6th highest number of appearances against the Big 6, with 79.
• David Silva matches him, but only Raheem Sterling (82), Gylfi Sigurdsson (97), Jermaine Defoe (128), Wayne Rooney (136), and Frank Lampard (157) have more.
• Of those players, Lukaku's 17 goals against the Big 6 have him as joint 16th top goal scorer, alongside Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard.
• Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are the top scorers with 45 goals each. Jamie Vardy is next with 42 goals.
• Robin van Persie (28), Jermaine Defoe (27), Harry Kane (27), Frank Lampard (26), Sadio Mane (24), Gylfi Sigurdsson (23), Christian Benteke (23), Emmanuel Adebayor (22), Yakubu (21), Roberto Firmino (21), Mo Salah (20) and Raheem Sterling (19) have also scored more.
• Lukaku has scored in 14 games against the Big 6, which ranks him 18th out of these 63 players.
• Wayne Rooney has scored in the most Big 6 games, scoring in 37. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are next having scored in 32.
• Jermaine Defoe (26), Frank Lampard (24), Robin van Persie (23), Harry Kane (23), Gylfi Sigurdsson (22), Christian Benteke (20), Sadio Mane (19), Emmanuel Adebayor (18), Mo Salah (18), Yakubu (17), Roberto Firmino (17), Raheem Sterling (16), Olivier Giroud (16) and Eden Hazard (16) have all scored in more.
• At a rate of 0.22 goals per game (2 decimal places), Lukaku is ranked joint 42nd for strike rate vs the Big 6, along with Dimitar Berbatov (13 in 58), Anthony Martial (10 in 45) and Fernando Llorente (4 in 18).
• Ollie Watkins has the highest strike rate at 0.67, having scored 8 in 12, Sergio Aguero is next with 0.60 after scoring 45 in 75, with Jamie Vardy third at 0.54 having scored 42 in 78.
• There are 32 players with at least 30 appearances against the Big 6 with a better strike rate than Lukaku (including Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Demba Ba, Edin Dzeko, Danny Ings, Marcus Rashford, Luis Suarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Wilfried Bony, Christian Benteke, Alexandre Lacazette, Callum Wilson, Yakubu, Rickie Lambert, Charlie Austin, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Glenn Murray, Gareth Bale and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
• If you reduce the appearances to at least 20 (meaning the rate covers at least two seasons), Graziano Pelle, Grant Holt, Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Mario Balotelli also have better goals per game ratios.
• Having scored in just 17.72% of his games against the Big 6, Lukaku ranks 46th in this stat.
• Sergio Aguero scored in the highest percentage, at 42.67%, Mo Salah is next with 41.86%, and Ollie Watkins third at 41.67%.
• There are 42 players with at least 20 appearances against the Big 6 that scored in a higher percentage of their games than Lukaku.

Lukaku is clearly falling way short of what other players are doing when it comes to performances against the big teams. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are the two that stand out the most, but Harry Kane and Mo Salah aren't too far behind. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Raheem Sterling have all scored more in fewer appearances, and Marcus Rashford and even Danny Ings are almost at Lukaku's goal tally in far fewer appearances.

There are number of players who are good goalscorers across a league season, and for me, that's not enough to get you in the conversation for being the best striker around. Lukaku is almost certainly going to hit 20+ goals for Chelsea in the league this season, but until he starts delivering in big games too, I don't think there can be many complaints about people considering him to be on that rung below the top strikers.

The fact that the player his stats against the Big 6 are most comparable to are Clint Dempsey's (71 apps, 15 goals, scored in 13), says it all for me.

Very good post!

 

[sincher]

In summary, it's all about the Watkins.

 

[Alex99]

There's a bunch of "two team Tommys" on here. I'll never understand but as an enlightened man I have learned to tolerate what I once thought repugnant.

I kind of get it with foreign fans in the sense I had both Madrid and Barca shirts, and Inter and AC Milan shirts as a kid.

I don't get actively supporting multiple clubs in the same league, which seems to be the case here.

I really don't get supporting multiple clubs in the same league but pretending to only be a fan of one on the internet.

 

[duffer]

I kind of get it with foreign fans in the sense I had both Madrid and Barca shirts, and Inter and AC Milan shirts as a kid.

I remember having a poster of Roberto Baggio next to my Dennis Wise and Andy Townsend (that's not a joke) ones as a kid purely because at the time, Italian football was cool and he was the coolest of the lot.

If you're a fan of kits then I get it. You don't need to be a fan to appreciate it. Wearing it out as an adult though? Let's not go there!

 

[Alex99]

I remember having a poster of Roberto Baggio next to my Dennis Wise and Andy Townsend (that's not a joke) ones as a kid purely because at the time, Italian football was cool and he was the coolest of the lot.

If you're a fan of kits then I get it. You don't need to be a fan to appreciate it. Wearing it out as an adult though? Let's not go there!

I think the last "other team" shirt i got was a Ronaldinho, Barca one when I was 12ish.

I also only wear United shirts (dhgate specials) when I'm dossing about the house or at football training.

I remember finding it mental as a kid when one of my friends said he "supported" something like United, Celtic, Real Madrid, Inter, Ajax, Lyon, Bayern and Galatasaray just because he had their shirts.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Inspired by the "Lukaku can't score against big teams" debate, I decided to see how his record compared to other players. As he made his Premier League debut in 2011/12 I decided to take the top ten goal scorers from each of those seasons and look at their records against the established "Big 6" (only counting league goals).

So, some stats:

• 63 players featured as one of the top ten goal scorers from the 2011/12 season through to the 2020/21 season.
• Of those players, Lukaku has the 6th highest number of appearances against the Big 6, with 79.
• David Silva matches him, but only Raheem Sterling (82), Gylfi Sigurdsson (97), Jermaine Defoe (128), Wayne Rooney (136), and Frank Lampard (157) have more.
• Of those players, Lukaku's 17 goals against the Big 6 have him as joint 16th top goal scorer, alongside Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard.
• Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are the top scorers with 45 goals each. Jamie Vardy is next with 42 goals.
• Robin van Persie (28), Jermaine Defoe (27), Harry Kane (27), Frank Lampard (26), Sadio Mane (24), Gylfi Sigurdsson (23), Christian Benteke (23), Emmanuel Adebayor (22), Yakubu (21), Roberto Firmino (21), Mo Salah (20) and Raheem Sterling (19) have also scored more.
• Lukaku has scored in 14 games against the Big 6, which ranks him 18th out of these 63 players.
• Wayne Rooney has scored in the most Big 6 games, scoring in 37. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are next having scored in 32.
• Jermaine Defoe (26), Frank Lampard (24), Robin van Persie (23), Harry Kane (23), Gylfi Sigurdsson (22), Christian Benteke (20), Sadio Mane (19), Emmanuel Adebayor (18), Mo Salah (18), Yakubu (17), Roberto Firmino (17), Raheem Sterling (16), Olivier Giroud (16) and Eden Hazard (16) have all scored in more.
• At a rate of 0.22 goals per game (2 decimal places), Lukaku is ranked joint 42nd for strike rate vs the Big 6, along with Dimitar Berbatov (13 in 58), Anthony Martial (10 in 45) and Fernando Llorente (4 in 18).
• Ollie Watkins has the highest strike rate at 0.67, having scored 8 in 12, Sergio Aguero is next with 0.60 after scoring 45 in 75, with Jamie Vardy third at 0.54 having scored 42 in 78.
• There are 32 players with at least 30 appearances against the Big 6 with a better strike rate than Lukaku (including Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Demba Ba, Edin Dzeko, Danny Ings, Marcus Rashford, Luis Suarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Wilfried Bony, Christian Benteke, Alexandre Lacazette, Callum Wilson, Yakubu, Rickie Lambert, Charlie Austin, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Glenn Murray, Gareth Bale and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
• If you reduce the appearances to at least 20 (meaning the rate covers at least two seasons), Graziano Pelle, Grant Holt, Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Mario Balotelli also have better goals per game ratios.
• Having scored in just 17.72% of his games against the Big 6, Lukaku ranks 46th in this stat.
• Sergio Aguero scored in the highest percentage, at 42.67%, Mo Salah is next with 41.86%, and Ollie Watkins third at 41.67%.
• There are 42 players with at least 20 appearances against the Big 6 that scored in a higher percentage of their games than Lukaku.

Lukaku is clearly falling way short of what other players are doing when it comes to performances against the big teams. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are the two that stand out the most, but Harry Kane and Mo Salah aren't too far behind. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Raheem Sterling have all scored more in fewer appearances, and Marcus Rashford and even Danny Ings are almost at Lukaku's goal tally in far fewer appearances.

There are number of players who are good goalscorers across a league season, and for me, that's not enough to get you in the conversation for being the best striker around. Lukaku is almost certainly going to hit 20+ goals for Chelsea in the league this season, but until he starts delivering in big games too, I don't think there can be many complaints about people considering him to be on that rung below the top strikers.

The fact that the player his stats against the Big 6 are most comparable to are Clint Dempsey's (71 apps, 15 goals, scored in 13), says it all for me.

Nice bit of research there.

Certainly shows that the flat track bully accusations aren't entirely unfounded (to say the least - in fact, his numbers are pretty much shite for a player a select few seem to hold in extremely high esteem).

 

[duffer]

This is the first season Lukaku has played in the Prem for a really good side.

All those years of playing for the likes Everton and West Brom, of course his record against the top clubs won't be as good as Aguero or Rooney.

 

[CassiusClaymore]

This is the first season Lukaku has played in the Prem for a really good side.

All those years of playing for the likes Everton and West Brom, of course his record against the top clubs won't be as good as Aguero or Rooney.

Oh you...

 

[Chesterlestreet]

This is the first season Lukaku has played in the Prem for a really good side.

Easy now.

West Brom were pretty good.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Inspired by the "Lukaku can't score against big teams" debate, I decided to see how his record compared to other players. As he made his Premier League debut in 2011/12 I decided to take the top ten goal scorers from each of those seasons and look at their records against the established "Big 6" (only counting league goals).

So, some stats:

• 63 players featured as one of the top ten goal scorers from the 2011/12 season through to the 2020/21 season.
• Of those players, Lukaku has the 6th highest number of appearances against the Big 6, with 79.
• David Silva matches him, but only Raheem Sterling (82), Gylfi Sigurdsson (97), Jermaine Defoe (128), Wayne Rooney (136), and Frank Lampard (157) have more.
• Of those players, Lukaku's 17 goals against the Big 6 have him as joint 16th top goal scorer, alongside Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard.
• Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are the top scorers with 45 goals each. Jamie Vardy is next with 42 goals.
• Robin van Persie (28), Jermaine Defoe (27), Harry Kane (27), Frank Lampard (26), Sadio Mane (24), Gylfi Sigurdsson (23), Christian Benteke (23), Emmanuel Adebayor (22), Yakubu (21), Roberto Firmino (21), Mo Salah (20) and Raheem Sterling (19) have also scored more.
• Lukaku has scored in 14 games against the Big 6, which ranks him 18th out of these 63 players.
• Wayne Rooney has scored in the most Big 6 games, scoring in 37. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are next having scored in 32.
• Jermaine Defoe (26), Frank Lampard (24), Robin van Persie (23), Harry Kane (23), Gylfi Sigurdsson (22), Christian Benteke (20), Sadio Mane (19), Emmanuel Adebayor (18), Mo Salah (18), Yakubu (17), Roberto Firmino (17), Raheem Sterling (16), Olivier Giroud (16) and Eden Hazard (16) have all scored in more.
• At a rate of 0.22 goals per game (2 decimal places), Lukaku is ranked joint 42nd for strike rate vs the Big 6, along with Dimitar Berbatov (13 in 58), Anthony Martial (10 in 45) and Fernando Llorente (4 in 18).
• Ollie Watkins has the highest strike rate at 0.67, having scored 8 in 12, Sergio Aguero is next with 0.60 after scoring 45 in 75, with Jamie Vardy third at 0.54 having scored 42 in 78.
• There are 32 players with at least 30 appearances against the Big 6 with a better strike rate than Lukaku (including Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Demba Ba, Edin Dzeko, Danny Ings, Marcus Rashford, Luis Suarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Wilfried Bony, Christian Benteke, Alexandre Lacazette, Callum Wilson, Yakubu, Rickie Lambert, Charlie Austin, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Glenn Murray, Gareth Bale and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
• If you reduce the appearances to at least 20 (meaning the rate covers at least two seasons), Graziano Pelle, Grant Holt, Diego Costa, Raul Jimenez and Mario Balotelli also have better goals per game ratios.
• Having scored in just 17.72% of his games against the Big 6, Lukaku ranks 46th in this stat.
• Sergio Aguero scored in the highest percentage, at 42.67%, Mo Salah is next with 41.86%, and Ollie Watkins third at 41.67%.
• There are 42 players with at least 20 appearances against the Big 6 that scored in a higher percentage of their games than Lukaku.

Lukaku is clearly falling way short of what other players are doing when it comes to performances against the big teams. Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are the two that stand out the most, but Harry Kane and Mo Salah aren't too far behind. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Raheem Sterling have all scored more in fewer appearances, and Marcus Rashford and even Danny Ings are almost at Lukaku's goal tally in far fewer appearances.

There are number of players who are good goalscorers across a league season, and for me, that's not enough to get you in the conversation for being the best striker around. Lukaku is almost certainly going to hit 20+ goals for Chelsea in the league this season, but until he starts delivering in big games too, I don't think there can be many complaints about people considering him to be on that rung below the top strikers.

The fact that the player his stats against the Big 6 are most comparable to are Clint Dempsey's (71 apps, 15 goals, scored in 13), says it all for me.

Excellent post and nice to see the data supports the narrative. Also worth adding that when Lukaku doesn’t score he brings very very little else to the table and so if he isn’t scoring in those big games he’s a genuine liability more often than not.

 

[Alex99]

This is the first season Lukaku has played in the Prem for a really good side.

All those years of playing for the likes Everton and West Brom, of course his record against the top clubs won't be as good as Aguero or Rooney.

Indeed. Or as good as Rickie Lambert, Glenn Murray, Christian Benteke, Yakubu, Charlie Austin and Grant Bolt.

 

[Bleu]

I'm more interested in why you've recently come across as a massive Chelsea fan, despite your profile saying you support New England Revolution and earlier posts making out like you're a United fan.

Why does it bother you where I am posting, and its irrelevant to the topic at hand. I am here for Lukaku not Chelsea. I can support a player who used to play for United, however shocking that might seem to you. Just like Depay, Lukaku has never been a donkey. He is one of the Top 5 strikers in the world, I have said my piece and stand by that. He was never happy here and wanted to get out, at a period the club was in shambles and he was scapegoated due to this.
We will see at the end of the season who is correct wont we? FYI- N.E.R and Italy both play in Blue.
Also idk what mental world people are living in, thinking I am Lukaku… I guess you can watch the next Chelsea game for a clue

 

[Alex99]

Why does it bother you where I am posting, and its irrelevant to the topic at hand. I am here for Lukaku not Chelsea. I can support a player who used to play for United, however shocking that might seem to you. Just like Depay, Lukaku has never been a donkey. He is one of the Top 5 strikers in the world, I have said my piece and stand by that. He was never happy here and wanted to get out, at a period the club was in shambles and he was scapegoated due to this.
We will see at the end of the season who is correct wont we?
Also idk what mental world people are living in, thinking I am Lukaku… I guess you can watch the next Chelsea game for a clue

I don't think anyone genuinely believes you're Lukaku. You are a bit odd though.