La Liga 2019/20: Identifying Barcelona’s replacement for Luis Suarez – data analysis

Barcelona are currently experiencing some problems with their forward line as Luis Suarez has been ruled out of contention for the upcoming four months and that could likely mean that the Uruguayan’s season is already finished despite it being only January. And of course, for a team that intends to contest for all the possible trophies in the ongoing 2019/20 campaign, losing your first-choice no.9 is definitely not ideal nor acceptable. So with that in mind, rumours started circulating the media of Barcelona’s desire to dip their toes into the transfer market to find a suitable replacement for the injured Pistolero.

But wait just a moment, haven’t they signed Antoine Griezmann for that very role just last summer, splashing €120 to snatch the Frenchman away from Atletico Madrid? Well, yes and no. While Griezmann is also a centre-forward by nature, he has a significantly different player profile from Luis Suarez and while he can do a job there, as was evidenced from his great displays at the beginning of the campaign as well as in Copa del Rey against Ibiza, he is not your traditional hitman in the box who will ‘live’ on the shoulder of the opposition’s backline and make use of the space behind their backs effectively.

Barcelona lacked such a presence in the box against Granada and Valencia and Suárez, even though his displays are hit and miss as of late, was sorely missed in that role. Griezmann is a player who will drop deep, link up with the midfield rather well, set up play and put both his versatility and mobility on display. But while he has been extremely prolific throughout his stay at Atlético Madrid, outperforming his xG values consistently, he’s not your usual fox in the box that will haunt defences in the danger zone as much as Suárez does.

A quick comparison in terms of some of their most prominent statistics will shed some light on their respective player profiles. Since Griezmann has been relegated to the left ever since his arrival to Barcelona, let’s just take their stats from 2018/19 instead.

Instantly, we can see the difference in their player profiles – Suárez has transitioned more into the role of a fox in the box, prioritising the final product and taking a step back in his overall contribution to the build-up tactics. This is evident in his clear superiority in categories such as offensive duels with 11.87 vs 5.93 on average and more touches inside the box with 5.64 vs 3.36.

At the same time, we have to acknowledge Griezmann’s tendency to be the creative spark, drop deeper and progress the ball, as is also supported by the figures. We can see that he receives the ball far more often than Suárez, averaging 30.73 as opposed to his rival’s 22.38 – a clear indication of overall involvement.