Comparing Edinson Cavani's 2014-15 Stats to His 2015-16 Numbers

Once again, Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani is enduring a difficult start to the season with the French champions.

So far this campaign, the Uruguay international has struggled when playing alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Angel Di Maria in Laurent Blanc’s preferred attacking front three. Last term, El Matador was unable to adequately fill the Swede’s sizeable boots when he was out injured for nearly two months.

Cavani’s 2015-16 Ligue 1 statistics do not make for negative reading. The 28-year-old has scored seven goals and provided two assists in 12 appearances in Le Championnat.

Of those 12 outings, 10 have been starts, and the PSG No. 9 has only missed one game—the 1-0 win away at Stade Rennais—domestically. None of the South American’s goals have been from penalties either; in fact, one was a rare goal from a free-kick in a 2-2 draw at home to Girondins de Bordeaux.

On top of Cavani’s seven goals and two assists in Ligue1, he has also scored once in his four UEFA Champions League appearances to date.

In total, the former SSC Napoli man has eight goals and has laid on a further two in 16 appearances, scoring roughly once every two matches.

Compared with his 2014-15 numbers, Cavani is faring rather similarly this season to last. After 12 Ligue 1 appearances at the same point last year, the Uruguayan had six goals and no assists.

Like this campaign, he had made 12 appearances—although they were all starts—but one of his six goals was from a penalty and the normally predatory striker had also been handed a red card for two quick-fire bookings in the 3-1 win away at RC Lens.

Cavani’s saving grace in the early part of last term was his form in the Champions League. With no Ibrahimovic to lead Blanc’s men, the €64 million man was required to step up in his strike partner’s absence.

Although he did underwhelm with his performance in the biggest game of PSG’s group stage, a 3-2 home win over ultimate champions Barcelona, Cavani did find the back of the net in the three other games that the French capital outfit had played in Europe up until that point.

Those three goals mean that Les Parisiens’ marksman had a total of nine from 16 appearances this time last season. However, despite having scored one more goal than he has managed so far this campaign, Cavani provided no assists and had did not score more than once in any of the games.

Overall, although it is close and the player should arguably have fared better in both terms, this season’s tally of eight goals and two assists in 16 appearances across all competitions is more impressive than the nine goals he managed in the same number of games last year.

For a player not known for his ability to provide team-mates with goals, Cavani’s tally of two is encouraging, despite the fact that they were, in reality, straightforward assists. However, the free-kick goal against Bordeaux was impressive—not to mention unexpected—and he has done without a penalty so far.

Statistics do not tell the whole story in either of Cavani’s early campaigns, though.

Both times El Matador was underwhelming, and he was receiving intense criticism in 2014-15 after reaching his nadir in a 1-1 home draw in Ligue 1 against AS Monaco in the same way that he is taking flak now for his inept display in the 1-0 loss away at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Cavani recovered last term and went on to enjoy a very strong end of season, and Blanc will be hoping that the Uruguay international does the same this campaign.

However, if he cannot step up and provide the goals, then Le President will hope he can at least keep chipping in with the occasional assist.