Union Berlin are top of the Bundesliga table going into the first international break of the season with 17 points — two ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund. If you thought that was surprising, there is something else that stands out in the Bundesliga season so far. 27-year-old Sheraldo Becker leads the goalscoring charts so far, with 6 goals to his name. Becker has been one of the star performers for Union Berlin so far. Becker, in his fourth season at the German club, is already close to overtaking his best scoring tally of seven in a season (in 2018/19).

The following visualisation shows Sheraldo Becker’s numbers from the season so far.

Becker had missed a chunk of games over the last couple of seasons because of injuries and fitness concerns. However, the forward has started all of Union’s games so far.

The most incredible thing about Becker’s abilities is his finishing. The centre-forward ranks a lowly 38th percentile for Expected Goals (xG) per 90 minutes, but his impressive finishing ability means that he ranks 96th percentile for Goal conversion (%). He also ranks an impressive 98th percentile for assists per 90 minutes among other centre-forwards in the Bundesliga.

His percentile rank of 38th percentile for Touches in the box per 90 minutes means that he usually drops deep to hold up play for his teammates. This allows him to create chances for his teammates more often than one would expect him to — ranking 98th percentile for Key passes per 90 minutes. He also gets in good crossing positions and ranks top tier for crosses attempted per 90 minutes. Becker however is not a strong dribbler and that may be an aspect of his game that needs to improve.

Union Berlin’s rise to the top of the Bundesliga is a story that has not happened overnight. It will inspire many other teams to follow suit, even though it is very unlikely that Union will continue to stay at the top for a long time. Similarly, Becker’s influence on this side has also grown steadily over the years. He will now want to avoid injuries and regularly play and help his team to push as much as possible to stay at the top.