Disadvantages of ESPN s top stars: Mbappe s poor jumping, Haaland didn t pass, Kane didn t sprint

May 7th: The player's main movements in any game are composed of six basic movements: running, passing, dribbling, shooting, jumping and defense. But some top stars are missing in some aspects. ESPN published an article listing the shortcomings of some top stars today.

Kane: Sprint, running ability

About 22 World Cup, Kane lost his explosive power. According to PFF Football Club, Kane sprinted 14.34 times per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga, ranking 41st among 45 qualified centers. In the Champions League, he sprinted 12.83 times per 90 minutes, ranking last among 43 centers who played at least 450 minutes.

Mbappe: Jump, air confrontation

Since the beginning of last season, 19 forwards in the top five European leagues have scored at least 30 goals. All of these players won at least 15 aerial confrontations and tried at least 41 aerial confrontations. Mbappe tried only 10 air confrontations and won only 3 headers. The bigger problem he faces as a player of the highest level: his presence requires certain tactics, as well as specific teammate configurations.

Salah: Defense

This season, Salah has given up on defense to contribute more on the offensive end. This is also reflected by the data on the defensive end. According to PFFFC, among the offensive players who have started at least 10 times in the Premier League this season, Salah had the least sprints per 90 minutes (3.82) when the team lost the ball.

Lautaro: Dribbles

According to StatsPerform data, among the forwards who played at least 900 minutes in the five European leagues this season, Lautaro ranked 200th in the ball possession value created by his extraordinary people. This number is slightly negative at -0.05, which means that all his extraordinary attempts this season actually reduced Inter's chances of scoring.

Rafinia: The ending

Rafinia missed much more than the number of goals. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, only six of the 36 players with at least 50 goals + assists in the five major European leagues have higher expected goals (xG) than the actual goals. Rafinia is the only player with an actual goal score of at least three fewer than expected goals, and he is 4.4 behind: 33.4 goals expected and 29 actual goals.

Haland: Passes

In the Premier League this season, Manchester City has made about 2,000 more passes than all other teams. However, somehow, Haaland averaged only 12.38 passes per game - the least number of passes among players in the same position in the Premier League. His pass success rate is only slightly higher than two-thirds, and among the centers who have passed at least 250 times this season, Haaland's PFFFC score ranks third from the bottom: 56.7 points (out of 100 points).