The Paradox of Decisiveness: Yamal vs Mbappé

When you look at goals alone, the numbers seem straightforward: Kylian Mbappé has 31 goals in La Liga 2024–25, while Lamine Yamal has only 9. The instinctive conclusion? Mbappé is more decisive.
But goals only show who finishes the play, not who makes the play happen.

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Beyond the Finishers

When we widen the lens to include the entire goal-scoring sequences, the picture flips. Yamal is involved in 41 goal-scoring actions, Mbappé in 42. The gap between them shrinks from 22 goals to just 1 involvement 🤯.

This is what traditional stats miss: contribution before the final pass or shot — the real creation of danger.

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Decisiveness per Action

Now it gets even more striking. On average per goal-scoring action, Yamal contributes 41.5% of the total involvement (share of direct opponents eliminated), versus 38.6% for Mbappé.

This translates into:

• 17.04 goal contributions for Yamal
• 16.22 goal contributions for Mbappé

Despite scoring three times fewer goals, Yamal has a higher total impact on his team's goals.
He’s not just involved — he drives the actions that become goals.

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Why Goals Mislead Us

How can a player with only 9 goals be more decisive than one with 31?
Because goals tell you who finishes, not who builds.
It’s like crediting only the actor for a film and ignoring the director, scriptwriter, and cinematographer.

In reality, consistency exists — just in a deeper layer of the data.
Goal count measures visibility; goal contribution measures impact.

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Time to Rethink KPIs

Many analysts still write that Yamal “needs to become more decisive.”
That’s not just wrong — it’s the opposite of reality.

Yamal is already the most decisive player in La Liga.
It’s not Yamal who needs to improve;
it’s our KPIs that need to evolve.

📊 Goal Contribution metrics don’t just show who scores — they reveal who makes scoring possible.

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