Only Lecce, 14th out of 20, has a little margin in Serie A. What is surprising, above all, when we look at the Liège statistics, is the goal scored/points taken ratio which is obvious. Ivan Leko’s team, which accumulated 24 points, capitalized two units per goal scored.
Matthieu Epolo’s parents speak after his match at Beerschot: “Our son is the first to question himself after each match”
Only the Bulgarians of Plovdiv, with 40 points for 20 goals scored (in 18 matches), have an equivalent ratio, ahead of Panathinaikos (29 points for 15 goals scored, or 1.93 points per goal, in 15 days, see infographic) . There is a super effective side to this stat, and a hope, who knows? since the two aforementioned teams are in the top 5 of their respective championships.
It would take a big upheaval for Standard to find itself in such a position, but the most optimistic will say that without the goals conceded against OH Louvain (1-1) and Charleroi (1-1), at the end of the match, the Standard would be in the top 6 with a goal scored/point taken ratio (2.3) which would be exceptional in Europe.
But with ifs… we know the rest. The question, above all, is whether Ivan Leko’s team can advance at this high pace until the end of the classic phase. In the last ten seasons, the only team that had been this efficient to finish in the top 6 had been Charleroi, in 2016-17. Felice Mazzù’s team then finished the classic phase with 50 points, for 33 goals scored, an average of 1.51 points taken per goal scored.
How Ivan Leko changed his approach to become more pragmatic
You might as well know, and unsurprisingly, the current Standard average has never been recorded at the end of the championship, classic phase or not. The Rouches will therefore have to inflate their stats a little, but they are aware of it. They are aware, too, that the danger too often comes from Andi Zeqiri, who scored six of Liège’s twelve goals in the league (and gave two assists).
Zeqiri and Camara cannot take on everything
The Swiss striker, when he was silent, was able to count on Leandre Kuavita (1 goal), Dennis Eckert Ayensa (1), Bosko Sutalo (1) and Soufiane Benjdida (1) to fill the scoreboard. Before his arrival, Marko Bulat and Benjdida, from the penalty spot, had already scored the two Liège goals of the first five days. At the start of the season, Standard advanced at a rate of 0.4 goals per game. Since mid-September, and the last summer arrivals, over the equivalent of thirteen meetings, it is at 0.76.
The progression is not crazy, but it is there, timidly. Zeqiri has a lot to do with it, but another man counts in this configuration. Absent at Beerschot, and this was felt in the impact on the offensive game, Ilay Camara will be useful to Rouches, if he recovers from his minor strain for the reception of Ghent then the trip to Mechelen to end the year .
The left winger, who caused two penalties and gave two assists, is Liège’s second offensive asset, in terms of involvement in goals. Obviously, the threat will have to be plural, in the near future, but, at this moment, Standard is content with what it has. And then, as the saying goes, a goal is better than two points you’ll get it.
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