AC Milan v Inter: Prolific Piatek threatening to take Icardi´s crown

Mauro Icardi’s ongoing stand-off with Inter looms over this weekend’s derby showdown against AC Milan at San Siro.

The striker was stripped of the club captaincy in February and is yet to return to training following a knee problem, despite head coach Luciano Spalletti stating he has been cleared by Inter’s medical staff.

Icardi’s wife and agent Wanda Nara insisted again this week that the Argentina international wants to remain with the Nerazzurri but, even if he does, his status as the most potent frontman in the city is under threat.

Poland’s Krzysztof Piatek has been a revelation since joining Milan from Genoa in January and the rivals’ contrasting form of late can partially be explained by the contributions of their leading centre-forwards.

With Piatek making hay as Icardi watches on, we took a look at some Opta data comparing the two number nines.

4 – Before Krzysztof Piatek, the last player to have scored in each of his first four top-flight starts with the Rossoneri was Oliver Bierhoff (September-October 1998). Unstoppable.#MilanEmpoli #SerieA pic.twitter.com/2iMW82Ed4P

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 22, 2019

80.33 – Piatek averages better than a goal a game in Serie A since linking up with Gennaro Gattuso’s squad, netting six in as many starts to average one every 80.33 minutes.

13 – The 23-year’s introduction to Serie A with Genoa earlier this season was similarly prolific as he scored 13 times in 19 appearances.

102.34 – Icardi’s goals-per-minute reading for 2017-18, when he scored 29 in 34 Serie A outings – all of which were starts. Piatek’s Genoa stint was shy of this in terms of goal regularity, clocking 122.62 minutes per goal.

9 – Icardi’s productivity had dropped off considerably this season, even before his absence. Over the course of 20 appearances, 18 from the first whistle, he has scored nine times or once every 185.44 minutes.

76.92 – Piatek’s shooting accuracy percentage at Milan, up from 50 at Genoa. Over the course of his prolific 2017-18, Icardi’s accuracy stood at 63.1 per cent as he returned 1.6 shots on target per game.

37.5 – Another number assisted by the smaller sample of Piatek’s time at Milan, but his shot conversion percentage is, again, impressively high. Icardi converted 28.71 per cent last season, down to 16.98 this time around.