Edinson Cavani was a second half substitute as Manchester United looked for a little extra against Burnley.
Cavani’s presence gave Mason Greenwood more freedom in the second half, and the youngster scored twice.
An injury time goal from Cavani edged him back ahead on 10 goals for the season, one ahead of Greenwood.
Both players would like to be on more at this stage of the campaign, but each of them have had stop-start campaigns with different issues, on and off the pitch, to overcome.
Cavani at 34 is not a player who can start each game, and he has been pretty efficient from the bench.
This was his fourth Premier League goal as a substitute this season, following strikes against Southampton (2) and Everton.
BBC Sport notes that he needs just one more to equal a club record set by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 1998/99.
Solskjaer scored five from the bench in the league in that season, a tally equalled but not bettered in 2010/11 by Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez.
One more needed
It’s actually a little surprising Solskjaer’s tally from the bench in an individual league season is not even higher.
Four of those goals from the bench were scored by Solskjaer in a memorable 8-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
Cavani’s have been a little more spread out, and there is a chance he grabs another as a substitute before the season is over.
He has also been scoring as a starter lately too, netting away at Tottenham and at home to Granada. He is now up to 10 goals for the season.
United have six Premier League games left, and with Mason Greenwood in top form, Cavani may not be called upon to start them all, especially with the Europa League semi-finals still to play.
Whether he scores from the bench or as a starter, it doesn’t matter too much so long as he is contributing, but clearly, it is not easy to score as a substitute on a regular basis, or Solskjaer’s record would not have stood for so long.
Cavani has a good chance to match it, and possibly surpass it, before the campaign is over.
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