Free-kick addict tops 10 WORST finishers in the Premier League

Sarah Winterburn
Eberechi Eze worst finisher stats graphic
Eberechi Eze is the worst finisher in the Premier League

You can scoff all you like about xG but the only reliable way to judge whether a footballer is taking his chances is xG over a season.

So while Bryan Mbeumo, Chris Wood and Matheus Cunha are outscoring their xG, these 10 players are well behind…

 

10) Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Season xG: 9.4
Actual goals: 7

You might think that scoring seven Premier League goals for a relegated side is almost commendable, until you realise that Liam Delap was handed a slightly worse collection of chances for Ipswich and scored 12 goals. It’s presumably the last we will see of Vardy in the Premier League, and right now he is staring at a 10-game goal drought.

 

9) Eddie Nketiah (Crystal Palace)
Season xG: 3.7
Actual goals: 1

It’s actually very tricky to get on such a list unless you play a fair amount of football, but Nketiah bucks the trend with a disastrous season for the Eagles.

 

8) Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
Season xG: 2.7
Actual goals: 0

There’s surely no place for him next season. We thought this was a transfer to suit all parties but the reality is that the Gundogan who returned from his year-old stay in Barcelona appears to have aged about a decade. The man who scored 13 Premier League goals in 20/21 has failed to score with any of his 25 shots in 24/25.

 

7) Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)
Season xG: 9.9
Actual goals: 7

There has been no lack of effort from Solanke this season but there has been a lack of goals. Brennan Johnson has been given a similar standard of chances and has at least hauled himself into double figures. He has scored no Premier League goals since early January but will be forgiven everything if he scores the winner in the Europa League final.

 

6) Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
Season xG: 12.1
Actual goals: 9

Ended last season 4.6 goals behind his xG so you could say that there has been some improvement. Or you could say that a period out injured has given him fewer chances to miss. He had five attempts v Ipswich last week and did not hit the target once.

 

5) Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
Season xG: 6.1
Actual goals: 3

Been injured since January; Everton have been doing more than fine.

 

4) Cameron Archer (Southampton)
Season xG: 5.1
Actual goals: 2

Just not a Premier League striker and that’s absolutely fine.

 

3) Mohammed Kudus (West Ham)
Season xG: 6.2
Actual goals: 3

Has not scored a Premier League goal in 2025. We suspect Niclas Fullkrug would have something to say about that record.

 

2) Savinho (Manchester City)
Season xG: 4.9
Actual goals: 1

There’s been enough in his first season to suggest that there is a player there. But not a finisher. My word. Even in a really poor season, Phil Foden has scored seven goals from very similar numbers.

 

1) Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
Season xG: 7.9
Actual goals: 3

Eze has taken a league-high 16 free-kick shots this season and not scored with a single one. Then there was that godawful penalty attempt. Stick to a moving ball, fella.

 

 

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