Libertad won 5-1 against General Díaz after showing some good football in the last match before the Paraguayan league got suspended. Libertad played in a 4-2-2-2 formation with Franco and Villalba playing as wingers who were given the license to roam centrally but also move on the outside. Libertad build-up patiently while General Díaz dropped deep in a 4-5-1 (4-4-1 after the red card of Barreto) formation. The visitors tried to find the man in space whenever they were in possession and playing a lot of short passes in the build-up but were often forced to play the long pass. In the end, Libertad was quite effective and managed to score 5.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Mathías Espinoza
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 19-09-1997
- Club: Club Libertad Asunción
- Career: Club Libertad Asunción (Y), Club General Díaz de Luque (L), Club Libertad Asunción
- Position: left-back
- Secondary position: left midfielder
- Preferred foot: left
Mathías Espinoza played as a left-back in this match and did not impress that much. When Libertad were building up, he showed that he works quite well together with Ivan Franco. Ivan Franco moved into the halfspaces when Espinoza made an overlapping run and managed to create space for the left-back when he did this. However, sometimes Espinoza did not do the right thing as he made an underlapping run while Franco moved centrally as well which led to the left wing not being occupied at times. Also, when Espinoza got into space he did not always follow it up with a good cross or movement.
The left-back was very sloppy in possession and lost the ball often, despite having an okay passing technique. Also, he sometimes timed his interception wrong when he stepped out of the defensive line which led to a chance to shoot for Fabián Franco and he sometimes got dribbled past when he did this. However, he had a good movement at the 5-1, nutmegging his direct opponent and delivering a good cross. Eventually, the rebound was scored. Espinoza lost a lot of physical duels and his strength is questionable.
Rating: B1
A good player at the current level, but for now I do not think that he could be playing at a higher level. However, I will rewatch him definitely.
Iván Franco
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 16-04-2000
- Club: Club Libertad Asunción
- Career: Club Libertad Asunción (Y), Club Libertad Asunción
- Position: shadow striker
- Secondary position: attacking midfielder
- Preferred foot: right
Ivan Franco played as a left attacking midfielder in this match but was given the license to roam around the pitch and move centrally often. The Paraguayan youngster is a stylish player on the ball and showed great vision. When Libertad were building up, he showed that he works quite well together with Mathías Espinoza. Ivan Franco moved into the halfspaces when Espinoza made an overlapping run and managed to create space for the left-back when he did this. However, sometimes Espinoza did not do the right thing as he made an underlapping run while Franco moved centrally as well which led to the left wing not being occupied at times.
The Paraguayan 20-year-old was the most dangerous when he moved centrally and came into space between the lines. He often tried to get into space between the lines and did this very actively. When he did not receive the ball when he was in space, he could get annoyed at his teammates. However, when he did receive the ball he got into space and had a lot of time to make his next move. In these situations, he showed good vision but his final pass was not always that good and sometimes he needed too much time.
Franco made a good run into the box and finished his chance well at the 1-0. When he received a powerful pass, he showed good ball control and a good first touch. In general, Franco has a good technique and able to use this ability in the tight spaces to play out of pressure. Despite being quite small, he won a lot of aerial duels in this match as he could jump quite high and timed his jump well to win the duels. It needs to be said that his opponent was not the tallest as well.
Rating: A1
I will definitely rewatch him playing against an opponent that puts more pressure on Libertad as he sometimes needed too much time on the ball. Still, he showed that he finds space between the lines very well and that he can be very dangerous operating in this position. Also, he showed some very good ability and looked ready to play in a better league in South America.
Sebastián Ferreira
- Nationality: Paraguayan
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 13-02-1998
- Club: Monarcas Morelia, on loan at Club Libertad Asunción
- Career: Olimpia Asunción (Y), Independiente FBC (L), Monarcas Morelia, Club Libertad Asunción (L)
- Position: striker
- Preferred foot: right
Sebastián Ferreira played as a striker in the 4-2-2-2 formation of Libertad and scored three goals in this match. In possession, he was not that involved and often tried to run in behind in between the two central defenders of General Díaz. Ferreira exploited the bad cooperation between the two central defenders of General Díaz well as they often were not in the same line and had a lot of space between them. When he made a run in behind and received the through pass, he most of the times controlled the ball well and had decent pace and acceleration.
In transition from defence to attack, he often positioned himself wide and exploited the weak positioning of the left-back of General Díaz, who often stepped out of the defensive line to close the gap towards Villalba. This created some space for Ferreira who profited from it quite well and often managed to get into space. On the ball, he showed that he has a decent first touch but that he is not the most agile player whenever he needs to turn. However, he managed to turn Meza when he scored the 3-0. He kept very calm in the final third and showed some good finishing ability.
Sometimes, Ferreira did not spot his opponent in space and decided to shoot on goal himself. Only sporadically, he managed to find his teammates in space. When Libertad lost the ball or when General Díaz were building-up, the Paraguayan striker was not active in putting pressure on the back line and he strolled towards the player in possession, not cutting the passing lanes. Still, he was left frustrated when he saw that the midfield did not support the attack in putting pressure on the opponent. On a few occasions he got pushed off the ball too easily.
Rating: A2
Ferreira got into scoring positions often and finished his chances off well. However, he sometimes lacked strength in the duels and I am not too sure on his off the ball movement, especially in the defensive phase of play. In the attacking phase of play he made some good movements, but these were also thanks to the bad positioning of the central defenders of General Díaz. I will rewatch Ferreira in order to get a better image on that, though.