GdS: ‘Running is not enough’ – Milan need goals from Ramos as price tag looms
There isn’t any panic regarding Goncalo Ramos at the moment, but at some point the goals must start to come.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) begin a report this morning by looking at the numbers from the Milan-Lecce match: Ramos tops the list for hold-up plays (seven) but is nowhere to be found in the stats for shots, whether on target, off target, saved, or blocked.
In short, he made no attempt on the opposing goal. This stands in contrast to the statistics of Koni De Winter, Strahinja Pavlovic, Pervis Estupinan, Adrien Rabiot, Christian Pulisic, Diego Moreira and Alexis Saelemaekers.
Defenders, midfielders, and attacking midfielders are taking shots and scoring, yet the centre-forward of this new, attack-minded Milan side barely even makes an appearance in the penalty area. He runs, fights, battles, and links up play (the data certainly favours him in these areas), but where are the goals?
His last one was against Venezia – four games ago, including the Europa League – which is a worry given that he cost over €70m. Ramos was brought in to cure the goal-scoring woes that had plagued Rafael Leão, Christian Pulisic, Christopher Nkunku, Santiago Giménez, and Niclas Füllkrug a year ago.
So far, Ramos has been only partially effective: he has lifted the team out of its attacking slump, but he hasn’t cured his own scoring drought.
The need for support
A specific approach is needed to turn him back into a prolific goalscorer. The recipe suggests getting him closer to the penalty area: Gonçalo hasn’t taken a shot on goal since August 28th, during the Milan-Venezia match in the second round of the season.
The numbers fluctuate: five total shots against Torino on his debut (one on target, two wide, two blocked), eight against Venezia, none away at Juventus, one (wide) against Lazio, three against Benfica (none on target) and none against Lecce.
Getting him closer also means linking up with him nearer the goal, as only 9% of his touches occur inside the box. Lautaro Martinez is at 20%, while Malen hits 29% in this statistic. Ramos does a lot off the ball, but the sacrifice he shows for the team isn’t always reciprocated.
Perhaps a well-timed through ball or a cross would help, given that Amorim believes he has the aerial ability to hold his own even when tightly marked. Another recommendation: Ramos needs to stay sharp.
After expending so much energy all over the pitch, that’s no easy task: having covered 57km, he has run further than any other Milan player in the first five matchdays at an average of 11.5km per game. He ranks eighth in Serie A overall and top among the league’s centre-forwards.
To put this in perspective: a wide player who covers the whole flank like Chukwueze is at 45km, while the ball-winning midfielder Musah is at 42.6km. Everyone else is below 42km.
His goalless streak continued yesterday with the national team, where he started on the bench against Wales and came on for Ronaldo. His next opportunities will come with Portugal against Norway, Denmark, and Norway again.
Then, the league campaign gets back underway against Sassuolo, Atalanta and Udinese, three of the Serie A teams that concede the most shots. Gonçalo isn’t letting it get him down, and Amorim believes the goals will follow too.
