r/u_Repulsive-Passage627

Took the top 6 La Liga forwards by xG (2025-26, through ~matchday 30) and plotted them on a 6-axis radar normalised 0–100 across the cohort.

**Filter**: position contains 'F' (so F, F S, F M S) AND (goals ≥ 5 OR xG ≥ 3.0), then top 6 by xG.

**Axes (per 90)**: Goals, xG, Shots, Shot Quality (xG / Shot), Creation (key passes), Finishing Edge (goals − xG).

**Cohort (raw per-90)**:

| # | Player | Team | Min | G | xG | Sh | xG/Sh | KP | FE/90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | Real Madrid | 2156 | 23 | 22.49 | 117 | 0.192 | 56 | +0.021 |
| 2 | Vedat Muriqi | Mallorca | 2430 | 19 | 16.74 | 88 | 0.190 | 15 | +0.084 |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | Barcelona | 1173 | 12 | 14.51 | 55 | 0.264 | 9 | −0.192 |
| 4 | Ferrán Torres | Barcelona | 1636 | 12 | 13.96 | 60 | 0.233 | 17 | −0.108 |
| 5 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Real Sociedad | 2300 | 12 | 13.85 | 71 | 0.195 | 37 | −0.073 |
| 6 | Ante Budimir | Osasuna | 2321 | 15 | 13.37 | 77 | 0.174 | 12 | +0.063 |

**Cohort (normalised 0–100 per axis)**:

| Player | Goals | xG | Shots | xG/Sh | KP | FE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mbappé | 100 | 71 | 100 | 21 | 100 | 77 |
| Muriqi | 48 | 17 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 100 |
| Lewandowski | 92 | 100 | 69 | 100 | 12 | 0 |
| Ferrán Torres | 39 | 42 | 25 | 66 | 25 | 31 |
| Oyarzabal | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 53 | 43 |
| Budimir | 23 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 93 |

**Observations**:

1. **Mbappé is the only "complete" shape.** He is top-1 on Goals/90, Shots/90 and Creation/90 simultaneously, plus top-2 on Finishing Edge. No one else lands top-2 on more than two axes. Positive finishing edge (+0.021/90) is modest but he is doing it at elite volume (4.88 shots per 90), which is the genuinely hard combination.

2. **Muriqi is the clinical specialist.** Highest finishing edge in the cohort (+0.084/90) on moderate volume (3.26 Sh/90). He collapses on creation (0.56 KP/90) and shot quality (0.19 xG/Sh). He is not an all-round forward — he is a chance finisher. The spiky "triangle" shape on the radar.

3. **Lewandowski has the volume-machine profile.** Highest xG/90 (1.11) AND highest xG/Shot (0.264) in the cohort — the actual best-chance-taker in the league by the metric. But his finishing edge is the worst: −0.192/90. 12 goals on 14.51 xG across 1173 minutes. The shape says #1 overall. The scoreboard says he's tied with three others at 12 goals. That's a 2-3 goal gap between process and output.

4. **Oyarzabal is the creator-scorer.** 37 KP is more than the combined totals of Muriqi (15), Ferrán (17), Budimir (12) — and far more than Lewandowski (9). He is the lowest-volume shooter in the cohort (2.78 Sh/90) but dominates Creation. Effectively a playmaking striker.

5. **Budimir is the pure box striker.** Bottom of the cohort on xG/Shot (0.174) and KP/90 (0.47), but +0.06 FE/90 and 15 goals on 13.37 xG. He has the most goals of anyone not named Mbappé or Muriqi in this group. No axis is elite. The striker that is elite at the intersection — box presence — the radar cannot directly measure.

6. **Ferrán Torres is the balanced secondary.** No single axis wins, no single axis collapses. Second-highest xG/Shot (0.233) in the cohort behind Lewandowski. The "utility forward" inside Barcelona's front three.

**Methodology note**: Min-max normalisation is cohort-relative, so 100 on an axis means "best among these six" not "best in the league". Budimir at 0 on KP does not mean zero creation in absolute terms — it means the lowest KP/90 *among these six*. If you broadened the filter to every La Liga player with ≥3 xG, the shapes would flatten (more 40-60s, fewer 0s and 100s).