Dimitar Berbatov’s performances at Old Trafford seem to have been good enough to convince Sir Alex Ferguson to make the Bulgarian the partner of choice to Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo’s attacking pairing.
However, as is well known, this has left Carlos Tevez somewhat frustrated by his lack of opportunities and speculation now abounds as to the Argentinian’s future.
With this in mind, Opta investigate the performances of the “third man” in each of United’s forward “trios” of this season and last season:
| Man United - PL 2008/09 |
|
|
| 2007/08 |
Season |
2008/09 |
| Carlos Tevez |
Player |
Dimitar Berbatov |
| 34 |
Appearances |
31 |
| 2,686 |
Minutes On Pitch |
2,542 |
| Goal Attempts |
|
|
| 14 |
Goals |
9 |
| 192 |
Mins per goal |
282 |
| 82 |
Total Shots |
42 |
| 54% |
Shooting Accuracy |
57% |
| 17% |
Chance Conversion |
21% |
| Passing |
|
|
| 1835 |
Touches |
1851 |
| 61.5 |
Touches per 90 mins |
65.5 |
| 6 |
Goal Assists |
9 |
| 44 |
Key Passes |
59 |
| 1,099 |
Total Passes |
1,257 |
| 84% |
Pass Completion % |
78% |
| Defending |
|
|
| 62 |
Tackles Made |
27 |
| 77% |
Tackles Won % |
85% |
| 19 |
Interceptions |
35 |
| Opta Index |
One of the most obvious differences between Tevez and Berbatov is in what they do in front of goal. Last season, Tevez managed almost twice as many shots in The Premier League as Berbatov has so far, scoring 14 goals to the former Spurs man’s nine, though he had a tendency to convert fewer of his efforts into goal.
However, Berbatov has instead excelled in another area, making nine assists this season so far to Tevez’s six, on top of this making significantly more key passes.
Interestingly, this comes despite the Argentinian having a higher passing accuracy. In terms of linking with his two partners up front, it could be argued that the Bulgaria international is having more success than ex-Hammer Tevez.
Last season, Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez created a combined total of 132 chances for their team-mates, whereas already this season, with Berbatov replacing Tevez, the trio has created 177 chances, implying that they may have forged a stronger understanding with the 28-year old in their midst.
One accusation often leveled at Berbatov is that his work-rate is not as high as Tevez’s and certainly the respective number of tackles they have made would seem to agree with this. However it should not be forgotten that Ferguson’s new front man has made more interceptions, passes and touches per 90 minutes than the Argentine last season, underlining his role as a link-striker.