Statistics:
Absolutely outstanding, in fairness. Bacca has hit 20 goals or more in all competitions on five different occasions during his nine season career. At Sevilla he scored 21 times in all competitions during his debut season, then 28 last, including 20 in La Liga – only bettered by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Neymar. He also registered nine assists in 2014/15, outlining his ability to hold up the ball and bring teammates into play. Interestingly, Bacca isn’t especially shot happy for such a prolific forward, which outlines his finishing skills. He averaged only 1.9 shots per game in La Liga, which pales in comparison to Mario Balotelli (3.7) and Daniel Sturridge (3.3).
Courtesy of WhoScored.
Strengths:
As hinted at in the stats section, Bacca is simply lethal in front of goal. He’s a poacher with technical ability – and in terms of natural finishing ability – he’s better than anything we currently have. The Colombian can finish with right or left, but scored all of his goals last season inside the penalty area. He’s not rapid, but his movement and ability to get off powerful shots quickly more than makes up for it. Bacca’s decision making is equally impressive. He knows when to shoot and when to lay the ball off to an opponent. The forward doesn’t go missing in big games, either. He notched a brace in the Europa League final versus Dnipro, and also bagged tie deciding goals against Borussia Monchengladbach and Zenit on the road to the final.
