Journalist Luca Bianchin had this to say in 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' while analysing Gonçalo Ramos’ performances:
“An alarm is sounding in the distance. Gonçalo Ramos has not had a shot on target since 28 August, in Milan-Venezia on the second matchday. Look at the progression: five total shots against Torino on the opening day (one on target, two wide, two blocked), eight against Venezia, none against Juventus, just one wide against Lazio, only three wide against Benfica, and none against Lecce. This is not the record of a striker in form," as relayed via Milannews.it.
What is happening? A lot of things. Ramos, to begin with, runs, and runs a lot. Across five matchdays, he has covered 57 kilometres: the most of any Milan player. Pavlovic is second on 55, followed by De Winter on 50.6, Gila on 49, Chukwueze on 45 and Musah on 42.6. Everyone else is below 42 kilometres.
The logical question is: can a marathon-running striker, covering 11.5 kilometres per game, be, if not rested, at least lucid enough to make the right decision in the box? Amorim chose him partly for this reason. Under him, the striker has to work when the ball is with the opposition, and he will have taken everything into account. It is no coincidence that after the Lecce game, he said: ‘Ramos works hard, the goals will come. He puts in a lot of effort for the team.’
There is more. In terms of sprints, after four matchdays Gonçalo was first at Milan, ahead of Pavlovic and De Winter (Gradient data). And there is more: he was second for the number of accelerations, almost level with Pavlovic. That is not normal. At Juventus, the leader is Kalulu; at Inter, Diouf; at Roma, Lulli. They are all full-backs or wide players.
And the forwards? Højlund and Diao lead Napoli and Como respectively for sprints, but their numbers are a long way from Ramos’.”
