Edinson Cavani again illustrated his worth to Manchester United as he netted his team’s third goal to wrap up all three points at Villa Park on Sunday.
The Uruguayan started the game on the bench with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clearly trying to keep him fresh following his exploits in Rome three days earlier and with a hectic schedule on the horizon.
But not for the first time this season, the Reds found themselves behind in the first half of Sunday’s encounter before Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood completed a second-half turnaround.
However, the game remained in the balance, which is clearly why Solskjaer opted to turn to Cavani. This has often been the case with the 34-year-old proving time and time again that he can provide a clinical edge in key moments when United need it most, and his strike with four minutes to go put the result beyond doubt.
For the bulk of his career, Cavani has been an elite level finisher, yet given his age, there were concerns about how effective he still was before he’d made the switch to Old Trafford last summer.
However, his 15 goals across all competitions this season signal he’s been as effective as ever, and in fact, very few Premier League forwards can rival his finishing prowess this year.
That point is captured in the below graphic which shows the ten Premier League players with the best goal conversion rates across the division this season (minimum of nine league goals scored).
As highlighted, only Gareth Bale can slightly better Cavani’s impressive goal conversion rate of 32.14 per cent this season.
Cavani's attacking teammate Greenwood is regularly lauded as the club's best finisher, with Paul Scholes among the pundits to have made such a claim this season.
"He’s got everything, he’s got quality from the left-hand side and the right-hand side, great feet, great crosser of the ball, but also, I think he’s the best finisher at the club," Scholes said in February.
While Greenwood has developed into a crucial player for United in recent months after an indifferent start to his second full season in the first team, the numbers show that Cavani is, statistically, the more lethal player when it comes to finding the back of the net.
Greenwood has scored 11 league goals for United this season, with a conversion rate of 11.96 per cent, while his conversation rate in the Premier League (six goals) is 10.34 per cent.
