Tottenham Hotspur are buried in the Premier League table and fighting themselves out of relegation. Currently, they remain above the drop after a gutsy, last gasp draw with Liverpool, with Richarlison firing the equalizing shot against his former rivals.
The goal was Richarlison's ninth of the 2025/26 Premier League season for Tottenham, and although the narrative of this campaign around the Brazilian international has been about frustration and what he can't do when he is the main striker for Spurs, the funny thing is that he has actually been one of the Premier League's best finishers statistically.
A new outlet, Gradient Sports is creating and tracking unique analytics to measure player performance in the Premier League, and Richarlison is their second highest rated finisher of the season. Only new Bournemouth breakout youngster Junior Eli Kroupi, who will soon be a household name on the summer transfer market, has a higher grade than Richy in terms of shooting. Benjamin Sesko is third and the only other striker with a blue, elite grade. Harry Wilson and potential Spurs transfer target Iliman Ndiaye round out the rest of the top five.
Richarlison is second in the Premier League in finishing
Even Richarlison's biggest fans in the Tottenham supporter base would have never guessed that the 28 year old would be one of the top thre highest rated finishers in the Premier League this season. Richy may only have nine girls this season, but in 14 starts and 11 substitute appearances on a team coached by Thomas Frank and with issues all over, that's actually not a bad return.
No, Richy is not good enough from an all around perspective, and he is frustratingly inconsistent despite having played in the Premier League for many years now. However, Richy is also the victim of a team that does not supply that many chances for its forwards, and when the chances have been there, he has been the one to bring home the goals.
Obviously, Richarlison has taken on a greater importance with his fighting spirit and desire now that Tottenham are in a relegation fight, and his past experience in sparing Everton's blushes in a dire relegation battle are already bearing fruit for Tottenham Hotspur in 2026.
But perhaps the objective data will yield a greater appreciation for what Richarlison can do for Spurs. His finishing is quite underrated, and, if anything, it has been underrated further by virtue of the lack of goals this Spurs team has been capable of generating for the forwards.