Under the microscope: How Lawrence Shankland is leading Hearts from the front with his goal-scoring performances

One of the top performers of the Scottish Premiership 2022/23 is Lawrence Shankland, who currently plays for Hearts as a centre-forward. The Scotland international joined Hearts last summer and has quickly become an integral part of the team’s attacking line. The player has vast experience in Scottish football, having represented clubs like Aberdeen, St. Mirren, Dundee United, and others. Since joining his new Scottish team, Shankland has been one of the most consistent performers. He has taken up the responsibility of leading Hearts in attack, and his goal contributions have played a crucial role in helping the club retain third place in the league table. Below are some stats that capture Lawrence Shankland’s performances from the current season.

Lawrence Shankland has played in all of Hearts’ 25 league matches this season, starting in 21 matches. The above viz shows the percentile rank of the player’s stats compared to other centre-forwards in the Scottish Premiership. It can be observed that Shankland is performing very well in the attacking and possession stats with metrics like goal contribution, shots, pass attempts, and dangerous passes. In the defensive department, the player contributes heavily by contesting and winning defensive duels and also has a fine sense of positioning.

Attacking contributions

With 17 league goals this season, Lawrence Shankland is the top scorer for Hearts and second in the Scottish Premiership scoring charts. He is scoring at the rate of 0.70 goals per match, averaging 0.79 xG per 90 minutes. The viz above depicts the player’s shot map from this season. He has attempted 60 shots, with an overwhelming majority of them coming from inside the penalty area, in true centre-forward fashion. All his goals have come from inside the box, including a few from the six-yard box. He has also converted nine penalties with 100% accuracy. Currently, the Scotsman takes 2.84 shots per match with 49.3% accuracy.

Apart from scoring goals, Shankland also contributes to the team by creating scoring opportunities for others. He had four assists for Hearts this term, with a total xA value of 1.19. From the shot assist viz. above, it can be observed that he set up these chances through accurate layoffs and progressive passes. Overall, the player averages 0.5 shot assists per match and has created four big chances.

Gameplay in possession

The 27-year-old Scot drops into midfield to build up play and also link up with his teammates. He has made some crucial contributions in the middle and final thirds by releasing many progressive passes down the wide channels and into the penalty box. Shankland averages nearly 5.27 forward passes per 90 minutes and has a 52.3% accuracy rate. These include 2.68 passes to the final third with a 56.9% accuracy rate and one pass to the opposition’s penalty box per match with a 41.7% accuracy rate.

Another essential aspect of Shankland’s gameplay is his ability to progress the ball through actions like dribbles and progressive runs. From the viz above, we can see that the Scotsman attempts a few dribbles in the final third as well as the middle third inside his own half. Most of these attempts to dribble happen near the flanks as the player moves forward to attack. Currently, Lawrence averages 1.94 dribbles per match with a 44.7% success rate and also makes 0.5 progressive runs per match.

Another way in which Lawrence Shankland contributes to the team is by recovering the ball in the attacking half. On average, the 27-year-old makes nearly 3.5 recoveries per 90 minutes. He has made 57.6% of these recoveries in the attacking half, including three inside the opposition penalty box, one of which has resulted in a shot.

Lawrence Shankland has proven his worth for Hearts since. Apart from leading the attack as a natural goal scorer, he also helps his team in position with his creative attributes and abilities on the ball. Hearts will expect the same consistency from their 27-year-old striker for the rest of the season as they look to consolidate third place in the Scottish top flight.