Friday 7 April 2017 12:42, UK
Luis Enrique hailed Luis Saurez as the world's best striker after he opened the scoring with a superb overhead kick against Sevilla on Wednesday.
"He has that ability to know where the goal is at all times," the Barca head coach said post-match. "His quality, his quick shots and his movement are amazing and make him the best No 9 in the world."
The Spaniard's claim came just weeks after Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said similar of Karim Benzema, stating: "Karim is a mix of Zidane and Ronaldo. He is the best No 9 in the world and the best French player."
While Perez's assertion is clearly more fanciful, the debate continues as to the best striker around right now, so we asked WhoScored.com to run the numbers…
To narrow down the search for the elite finishers this season, a minimum of 15 goals - excluding penalties - in Europe's top-five leagues was set as a requirement, leaving 14 players.
Those that haven't featured as a centre-forward in more than half of their total appearances were also discounted, omitting the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Total goals excluding penalties
While all goals count, of course, we've excluded penalties in a debate as to the best strikers in the world as those that don't take them would be unfairly hampered statistically compared to those regularly presented with such clear goalscoring opportunities.
For example, Alexandre Lacazette has struck 24 Ligue 1 goals this season but the fact that 10 have come from the spot makes his tally skewed when discussing the very strongest finishers.
As far as total goals are concerned, when excluding penalties, it is indeed Luis Suarez that shares the lead following his goal in midweek, with all 24 in La Liga coming away from the spot.
Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also on that figure, while the likes of Edin Dzeko, Andrea Belotti (both 22), Robert Lewandowski, Romelu Lukaku (both 21) and Edinson Cavani (20) follow closely.
Conversion Rate
As far as conversion rate is concerned, again excluding both goals and shots from penalties, of the strikers to score 15 or more in Europe's top-five leagues Aubameyang is out in front on his own, requiring the fewest shots-per-goal of those analysed.
Young hit men Belotti and Lukaku (both 24.7 per cent) come closest to Aubameyang's 26.1 per cent conversion rate excluding spot kicks, followed by Suarez (24.2 per cent), Koln striker Anthony Modeste (24.1 per cent) and Harry Kane (23.4 per cent), before a notable drop off to the rest.
Bottom of the pile is Roma's Dzeko (15.1 per cent), who leads the scoring charts in Italy with Belotti but has required almost 50 shots more to do so. Elsewhere in Italy, Dries Mertens is second-worst of the 14 forwards to qualify, with 16.8 per cent, marginally worse than Alexis Sanchez.
Goal Frequency excluding penalties
In terms of goal frequency, none of those to score 15 or more without penalties have netted more than once every 90 minutes, but again it's Aubameyang that comes closest. The Gabon international has done so every 92 minutes so far this term, which again edges out that man Suarez (93.5).
Then come Mertens, Belotti and Lewandowski, but they and the chasing pack are some way behind the top two. Sanchez is furthest from the duo of those to qualify, scoring once every 153 minutes by comparison, a record not to be sniffed at, of course.
He's joined in the bottom five of 14 by Premier League counterparts Diego Costa (every 146.3 minutes), Kane (126.3) and Lukaku (125.6).
Complete Goalscorer
When it comes to the complete striker, which in this case refers to those who have scored with either foot or head, there is only one player that has failed to register in one of said categories - the diminutive Mertens, unsurprisingly, yet to score a headed goal.
Belotti has nine by comparison, and with five left-footed goals and nine right-footed, he has emerged this season as one of Europe's most competent finishers.
The only other player to have scored at least five of each is - you guessed it - Aubameyang, whose five headed goals have supplemented his eight left-footed strikes and 12 right-footed efforts.
Suarez, along with Mertens, Sanchez and Kane, is actually among the most dependent on one method of scoring, with 18 of his 24 goals coming off his right foot, while he has only scored one header.
Team contribution
While some may argue it doesn't take assists to make a great No 9, an ability to bring those around you into play and create for others is a necessary skill for any striker leading the line.
It's in this department that Suarez outshines the rest of the competition, with his cutback for Messi on Wednesday night his 11th league assist of the season. No player in Europe's top-five leagues has registered more.
Sanchez isn't far behind on nine, while Mauro Icardi (eight) and Lukaku (six) also warrant recognition.
This is perhaps where we start to see the best finishers separated from the best all-round strikers. Modeste and Cavani have just one assist to accompany their impressive goal hauls, while Aubameyang is level with Higuain on two.
In summary, it's fair to say Luis Enrique's statement that Suarez is the best No 9 in the world certainly has some merit in the statistics. He may not score many with his head or weak foot but elsewhere he is among the very best across the board.
However, while many claim that Bayern's Lewandowski is arguably the number one striker on the continent, it's actually fellow Bundesliga goal-getter Aubameyang that is often harshly overlooked.
He may not offer much by way of assists but, with the joint-most goals excluding penalties along with Suarez, as well as the best conversion rate, frequency and variety to his strikes, there's a case to be made that Dortmund actually possess the Uruguayan's closest competitor.
