Besart Besart got off the mark for the Hyundai A-League season in Melbourne Victory’s win over Adelaide United on Friday night. Opta Data takes a closer look at his start to the season.
Victory’s inconsistent beginning to 2016/17 has coincided with a slow start from the prolific Albanian hitman.
Opta has taken a look at Berisha’s Expected Goal (xG) numbers, which measures chance quality based on distance to goal, the angle, if it was a header and other factors.
And while it is still very early in the campaign, Berisha has been producing the goods at a slightly lower rate per match for Kevin Muscat’s side.
One factor that could be contributing to Berisha’s struggles in front of goal could be the positions he’s taking up on the pitch.
Looking back at all of his on-ball actions from last campaign, it’s clear too see Berisha operated mainly in central areas of the pitch.
While we’re only three rounds into 2016/17, the 31-year-old appears to be far more active on the left-hand side for Victory.
Whether it’s just a quirk of the opening few games remains to be seen and while his levels are slightly down on last season, Berisha doesn’t appear too far off getting back to his devastating best.
Now off the mark for the season, can he build some momentum, starting with Monday night’s clash with Wellington Phoenix at Etihad Stadium, a fixture he has dominated in recent seasons.
