Marco Verratti is an atypical midfielder. Unlike others who play in the middle of the park, he has never been focused on scoring. Even when he's in a good an umpteenth pass rather than shooting straight at goal. But last Sunday, in the closing game of Round 22 against Stade de Reims, 'Il Gufetto' (the Little Owl) tried his luck, as he did against Stade Brestois 29 the week before (two shots against these two clubs, his only 4 shots attempted this season).

Better he didn't just try - he hit the target! Twice! This brought about much hilarity from his PSG teammates, who aren't used to celebrating a goals by the diminutive Italian international. An understandable reaction: at the time of his previous Ligue 1 Uber Eats goal, in May 2017 against SC Bastia, only Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria were already in the PSG squad.

101 games without scoring

Marco Verratti's two goals past Predrag Rajkovic ended a run of 101 games without scoring in Ligue 1 Uber Eats. Among the players who have waited at least 100 games to score in the top flight, he follows Lyon's Thiago Mendes (122 games), former Bordeaux player Youssouf Sabaly (146) and Lorient's Fabien Lemoine (100).

Latest players to end a drought of 100 games or more between goals in Ligue 1 Uber Eats
Marco Verratti: 101 games without scoring between 06/05/17 and 23/01/22 (28 shots)
Thiago Mendes: 122 games without scoring between 29/11/17 and 05/12/21 (117 shots)
Youssouf Sabaly: 146 games without scoring between 16/01/16 and 16/05/21 (55 shots)
Fabien Lemoine: 100 games without scoring between 26/10/14 and 02/05/21 (55 shots)
Hamari Traoré: 115 games without scoring between 03/02/16 and 16/12/20 (69 shots)
Jérémy Morel: 108 games without scoring between 24/04/15 and 10/08/19 (19 shots)

Far from the record

Marco Verratti has now scored seven goals in 235 Ligue 1 games, a far cry from the record set in 1950 by defender Marc Rastoll. After scoring for CS Sedan on 29 December 1963, Rastoll waited 260 games before scoring again for FC Metz on 8 August 1975. Jérémy Toulalan, who comes in second, tied with François Stasiak, had to wait 225 games between his last goal for FC Nantes and his next goal for AS Monaco.

Marco Verratti's 101 appearances are far from the top ten, with Jérémy Clément in tenth place with a massive 166 games without scoring.

Longest gap between goals in Ligue 1 since 1950
1. Marc Rastoll: 260 games between 29/12/63 and 08/08/75
2. Jérémy Toulalan: 225 matches between 02/10/04 and 21/02/14
-- François Stasiak: 225 matches between 28/08/55 and 28/11/65
4. César Gonzales: 209 matches between 27/01/52 and 29/03/59
5. Patrick Battiston: 195 matches between 09/08/85 and 13/04/91