Best Alternatives to Paulinho

Playing Style Analysis

Paulinho is the kind of striker Liga MX defences quietly dread—a penalty box predator whose 0.83 goals per 90 places him in the top 5% of attackers in the division, converting chances with a ruthlessness that most forwards in this league simply cannot match. His aerial dominance is equally striking, winning 61.5% of his duels in the air—top 10% in the league—making him a genuine threat from crosses and set pieces. Here's the counterintuitive part: his low pass volume and modest dribble numbers aren't signs of passivity, they're signs of specialisation. The three closest DNA matches to Paulinho:

• Pablo Durán(82% match) — A Forward.
• Roberto Fernández(81% match) — A Target Man. Statistically, he stands out as a regular goalscorer (0.24 goals/90).
• Mateo Pellegrino(81% match) — A Target Man. Statistically, he stands out as naturally left-footed, a regular goalscorer (0.27 goals/90), strong in aerial duels (3.6 aerials won/90) and draws fouls effectively (2.1/90).

Similarity uses per-90 performance across playing-style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →