Ligue 1 2020-21 season champions Lille have been one of the dominant teams in France over the years. PSG’s rise to the top level has brought in a lot of competition among the French clubs. To compete with the best, teams like Lille signed some of the top talents available in the market. Lille also lost some of its top talents to other big European clubs in the last decade. The likes of Victor Osimhen, Eden Hazard, Nicolas Pepe, Sven Botman, Rafael Leao, and a few other players left to continue their careers elsewhere.
Lille finished fifth in the Ligue 1 2022-23 season and are playing in the UEFA Conference League this season. They currently sit fourth in the league table, thanks to the form of some of the attacking players. One such player who has made a bright start to the current campaign is Kosovo international Edon Zhegrova. The 24-year-old joined Lille in 2022 and is playing his second full season at the club. Let’s take a look at his current season’s form and why he will be a key figure for the French club this season.
Domination down the right flank
The 24-year-old has been a key figure for the French side down the right flank. He likes to get on the ball and has a lot of involvement in the game. Zhegrova has made 4.13 runs on average per 90 minutes, with a few runs penetrating the opposition penalty box. In addition, he attempted 10.26 dribbles per 90 minutes and completed 57.4% of these dribbles. His winger’s actions above also show the crosses that were attempted by the player. Edon Zhegrova averages 4.77 crosses per 90 minutes and has a success rate of 36.7%. Overall, the Kosovian winger has been a busy figure for Lille.
Zhegrova has registered five assists in the current season. His ability to dribble past defenders and attempt passes into the penalty box terrorises the defence of the opposition. The wide man attempts around six passes to the opposition penalty box per 90 minutes and successfully delivers 58.7% of these passes.
One area where the player would like to improve in the upcoming games is his ability to score. Edon Zhegrova has already registered two goals but has seen most of his chances getting blocked. His accuracy rate is 30% and most of the shots on target have been attempted straight at the goalkeeper. The player has also struggled a bit to find space in front of the goal. Most of the shots have been attempted by cutting inside and opening space for himself.
Another key element to Zhegrova’s game is his ability to make recoveries in the attacking half. The player makes around three recoveries per 90 minutes inside the opposition half. Most of these were made in the final third.
The above pizza chart compares the percentile rank of Zhegrova with other right-attacking midfielders in Tier 1 of league football. It can be observed that the Kosovian leads the attacking charts and has decent numbers in the possession department as well.
By looking at all the visuals we can observe how much of an impact Edon has made for Lille this season. He will look to keep this momentum and hope to take his side back to the UEFA Champions League.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine