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Before today, I had criticized Valverde and advocated severally for Moussa Wague to get game time.
And now that he's finally gotten 90 mins under his belt - thanks to the injury crisis, but still - I feel it's only right I analyse his performance.
A Thread!
And now that he's finally gotten 90 mins under his belt - thanks to the injury crisis, but still - I feel it's only right I analyse his performance.
A Thread!
I will start with the positives of Wague's performance.
OFFENSIVE PRESENCE.
Especially after Dembélé moved to the left and with Griezmann drifting more to the center, we saw more activity from Wague down the right, pushing the ball into the final third.
OFFENSIVE PRESENCE.
Especially after Dembélé moved to the left and with Griezmann drifting more to the center, we saw more activity from Wague down the right, pushing the ball into the final third.
DRIBBLING.
Wague showed some smart thinking and produced some simple but effectual tricks in some tough situations to beat his marker(s) and relieve himself or pressure. Impressive signs shown by the kid.
Wague showed some smart thinking and produced some simple but effectual tricks in some tough situations to beat his marker(s) and relieve himself or pressure. Impressive signs shown by the kid.
CONFIDENCE
Wague showed an expected level of confidence and composure on the ball, nothing out of the ordinary.
DELIVERY.
His ability to repeatedly get himself into crossing positions might be all Wague gets marks for here, as most of his deliveries failed to find a Barcelona...
Wague showed an expected level of confidence and composure on the ball, nothing out of the ordinary.
DELIVERY.
His ability to repeatedly get himself into crossing positions might be all Wague gets marks for here, as most of his deliveries failed to find a Barcelona...
player, but you can easily quote the rigid defensive setup Leganes employed in the game as the reason it proved difficult for Wague to loft the ball from the flanks to a Barcelona player inside the box.
Moving on!
Moving on!
I'd predicted Wague would have a busy afternoon as I had assumed Leganes would try to attack down his flank more, for obvious reasons. But, luckily for him, that didn't turn out to be the case. Many thanks to Barca wielding more possession. The few times they attacked though...
STRENGTH.
Wague got overpowered by the Leganes attack. Obviously, strength isn't one of his best qualities at the moment.
POSITIONAL AWARENESS
With more chance to operate upfront, Wague didn't do well with tracking back and was caught out of position a couple times.
Wague got overpowered by the Leganes attack. Obviously, strength isn't one of his best qualities at the moment.
POSITIONAL AWARENESS
With more chance to operate upfront, Wague didn't do well with tracking back and was caught out of position a couple times.
Thankfully, Frenkie De Jong did a good job of covering for Wague on most of those occasions, like he was aware this was something he had to do.
P.S. I noticed this too during the preseason game vs Napoli, where it was Todibo doing most of the covering for Wague.
P.S. I noticed this too during the preseason game vs Napoli, where it was Todibo doing most of the covering for Wague.
In all, if we consider the fact, as we should, that this kid had not had a minute of competitive football under his belt this season before the Leganes game, I think it shouldn't be a problem for us to agree he had a decent game, right?
There's definitely room for improvement,
There's definitely room for improvement,
and that can only come if he keeps getting gametime, unlike before.
