On Sunday, Chelsea will host Manchester United in a highly-anticipated English Premier League clash that will see Jose Mourinho return to Stamford Bridge but as the Red Devils boss.
As the norm is with several other big league encounters, a comparison is due between two high-profile players from the opposing teams. Here we take a look at the focal point of both teams’ attack: Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Spaniard currently leads the goalscoring chart this season, whilst the Swede is on an odd goal drought, but there is more to it than that.
Goals this season
Diego Costa: 7 goals in 8 games
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 4 goals in 8 games.
Shooting accuracy
It’s odd: one player was hailed as the greatest striker to arrive in England in recent seasons, the other was linked with a move away from the Premier League over the summer.
However, it is Costa who is now the most feared forward in England thanks to his seven goals this term. Romelu Lukaku, though, is hot on the Spaniard’s heels with six strikes.
Zlatan, on the other hand, hasn’t found the back of the net in his last four league outings. His fourth and last goal so far this campaign came in the 2-1 loss to Man City.
As a result, Ibrahimovic boasts a shooting accuracy of 48%, peanuts when compared to the 70% accuracy under Diego Costa’s name.
Costa’s conversion rate three times that of Zlatan's
Well, almost. Stats show that the Premier League top-scorer converts 29% of his shots. This tally isn’t very impressive, but it’s one to drool over given that the Man United forward’s conversion rate is a mere 10%.
Why is Zlatan’s conversion rate so awful?
It could be that he shoot way more often than his Spanish counterpart, yet has fewer goals to show for it. In the eight games so far, the former PSG ace has had 41 shots; Costa has 24.
Who has more assists?
Costa comes out on top even in this category, having set up two goals for his team-mates. The Red Devils star, unfortunately, has zero assists to his name.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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