Gameiro is Europe's most prolific marksman off the bench

Kevin Gameiro has become something of a supersub for Valencia CF as of late, and his goal against Athletic Club is the latest example of the Frenchman making his mark off the bench. He sealed the victory for his side with their second goal of the game, scored in the 89th minute.

It's a role that Gameiro plays better than anyone in Europe's top five leagues. In fact, over the last ten years, no other striker has found the net as many times as him after coming on as a substitute, with 25 such goals in his time at clubs such as Lorient, Paris Saint Germain, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

The 31 year old, signed by VCF last summer to bolster their attacking output, has scored 7 times in all competitions this season, and on 4 of those occasions he has done so from outside the starting XI.

In LaLiga, he took just 9 minutes to cap off the scoring in a 3-0 triumph over Rayo Vallecano back in November, having replaced Santi Mina -who himself had scored a brace in the game-on 67 minutes. The goal against Athletic this past weekend was his second as a substitute this season in the top flight.

Gameiro required even less time to get into the groove against Celtic in the Europa League. He was brought on in place of Ruben Sobrino 68 minutes into the match at Mestalla last month, and by the 71st minute he was reeling away to celebrate the only goal of the second leg tie. In the Copa del Rey, the former Sevilla player completed Valencia CF's comeback against Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin with a stoppage time strike, after a half-hour cameo in the second half.

A scorer of important goals and requiring little time to get into games, Kevin Gameiro is proving to be an excellent option for coach Marcelino, whether in his starting lineup or off the bench.