Mehdi Taremi enjoyed a telling start to his Inter Milan career after joining the club from Porto as a free agent in the summer.
However, following an eye-catching pre-season, the 32-year-old’s form has fallen off a cliff in competitive action.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport via FCInterNews, Taremi’s stats against RB Leipzig last night illustrated the depth of his form woes.
Simone Inzaghi handed the Iran international his fifth consecutive UEFA Champions League start for Inter.
Despite Marcus Thuram’s match-winning performance in a 5-0 rout of Hellas Verona, Taremi started last night’s clash.
It’s worth noting that the experienced center-forward’s only goal in the Nerazzurri shirt came in this competition.
Indeed, Taremi scored from the spot in an emphatic 4-0 victory against Red Star Belgrade on matchday two.
But he has yet to score from open play this season despite being handed 15 appearances across all competitions.
Alarming Stats Show Mehdi Taremi Cannot Find His Footing at Inter Milan
Taremi’s work ethic is commendable. His willingness to sacrifice for the team has earned him high acclaim from Inzaghi.
However, as a goal-getter, his top assignment is to deliver goals. Unfortunately, he failed to complete his mission again.
On the evidence of last night’s showing, Mehdi Taremi has developed a habit of dropping deep to lend a helping hand in the build-up.
Similarly to Harry Kane, he often deviates from a target-man role to get more involved in the creative part.
While Kane’s effect has been devastating, Taremi’s numbers are dwindling.
Last night, he only had 25 touches and an expected goals (xG) average of 0.25.
Indeed, he only made one weak attempt toward Peter Gulaszi’s goal.
To make things worse, Leipzig defenders blocked his shot.
Only Lautaro Martinez’s meager 0.7 xG was worse among the Inter players.
Therefore, perhaps it’s time for Taremi to alter his approach.