Lucas Hernández masterclass vs Dortmund.

(Small video analysis thread)

One of the constants of the day; the battle between Marco Reus and Lucas. One of Hernandez key aspects to success is how he uses his speed and determination combined with his ability to read the direction of the play to anticipate the opponent.

You can see he’s virtually the last man standing against a fast Marco Reus. He correctly predicted the direction of the pass and then made a smart tackle not only to avoid the danger but to recover the ball and start the attack once again.

Attacking and defending at once.

Again, round 2 against Reus. Gotta love Hernandez decisiveness to go and attack the ball forcing Marco to make a fast decision and ultimately Hernandez blocked the shot. Average defenders will just look at the player they are defending and wait to see what he’ll do. Not Hernandez

His tactical flexibility allowed him to make incisive runs when they were required and created danger in a time when Bayern were creating little to no chances. He was more direct in this play that Coman all game.

Few CBs in the game can say they’re walls in defense and at the same time they can run down through the opposition like a hot knife though butter. Hernández showed his best Van Dijk or Ramos impression by showing that, just like them, he can do both.

“He has poor ball playing skills”

Seat down on this one, Lucas Hernandez long passes yesterday were mostly on point. Not the biggest strength in his game but he certainly helped leaping the lines of press by Dortmund players and finding his mutuals further on the pitch.

AGAIN, last man, this time vs Haaland. Notice the separation between him and Haaland. He’s looking to the ball and NOT the player because he’s in a perfect position to do so. This gives him the chance to accurately predict the pass direction and time his running.

Also he knows where Haaland will go and he yet again won the battle of speed and strength against one of Europe’s best strikers.

You start to see a pattern? Yeah that’s why he bossed the defense with ease.

(Videos are not mine and all credit goes to goal of the day on YouTube).

Some stats to round things up:

- 1 blocked shots
- 3 interceptions (all key)
- 5 out of 6 duels won (aerial and ground level)
- Only ONE foul
- 97 touches on the ball
- 87% pass accuracy
- 9 long passes completed
- 100% dribble success.