- May 5, 2004
- 24,182
- 48,812
I don’t think it really matters if he scores that much playing in the midfield two of a 4231. Dier, Wanyama, Dembele hardly ever do. The likes of Kante, Jorginho, Fernandinho don’t either. Even De Bruyne’s goal scoring went down dramatically when Pep moved him back to a deeper position.Nope, he’s very much a CM b2b. Fantastic at recovering the ball, transitioning the ball, creating chances. The one thing he lacks is he doesn’t score, he works tirelessly but he vary rarely hits the back of the net. Bellow is an extract from a recent Goal article that gives some stats from last season...
No outfield player in Serie A has made more recoveries than Barella this season (72), while only five players have won more tackles than him (16). Only one midfielder has made more interceptions, while he ranks fourth in terms of duels won.
However, there is more to his game than tenacious tackling and a relentless pursuit of possession. Barella is also both talented and brave on the ball.
At just 21, he has already developed into a leader at Cagliari, a player willing to take charge of the game. Only six midfielders in all of Serie A have had more touches than he this season (557), which only serves to underline his importance to the Cagliari side, while his long, raking, right-footed passes are a feature of every game the Sardinians play.
He is willing to take players on too. He has completed more dribbles (8) than wingers Douglas Costa and Ivan Perisic (6), while he has created more chances (12) than the likes of Radja Nainggolan (9) and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (9).