SL Benfica faced CD Tondela at home and struggled to create chances against a very compactly playing Tondela, who played a 4-4-2 formation. Tondela did very well to defend disciplined and to sometimes make a move on the counter, without really getting dangerous in front of goal apart from a nice move by Richard. SL Benfica played in a 4-2-3-1 formation which changed to a 3-4-3 in possession with Julian Weigl dropping deep.
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
Pepelu
- Nationality: Spanish
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 11/08/1998
- Club: Levante UD, on loan at CD Tondela
- Career: CD Dénia (Y), Levante UD (Y), Hércules (L), CD Tondela (L)
- Position: defensive midfielder
- Secondary position: central midfielder
- Preferred foot: right
Pepelu played as a left central midfielder in this match, but also operated on the right side of the pitch at times, swapping positions with João Pedro. In possession, Pepelu often dropped deep to play as the left central defender or right central defender to support the build-up. When he was in this position, he often chose for the more easier option sideways to the central defender or full-back and did not seem comfortable to progress the ball higher up the pitch. However, when he got put under pressure and he received the pass, he often did well to play first touch passes forward.
In possession, he also liked to spread the play at times in which he showed that he has a good passing technique when playing cross passes. Pepelu was very disciplined in defence and did well to stay close to João Pedro. In the 1v1 defensive duels, he showed that he is not the quickest on the turn as he got dribbled past with ease occasionally, especially against the more agile players he had difficulties. However, he is very strong in the defensive duels and intercepted multiple passes while recovering possession often as well.
Rating: A1
Could move to a low table side in La Liga.
Richard
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 11/10/1999
- Club: SC Internacional, on loan at CD Tondela
- Career: SC Internacional (Y), SC Internacional, CD Tondela (L)
- Position: attacking midfield
- Secondary position: second striker, right winger, left winger
- Preferred foot: right
Richard played as a striker in a 4-4-2 formation and had to fight out a lot of duels with the experienced Jardel. Out of possession, he showed good discipline to perform his defensive duties to cut the passing lanes towards the midfield. Also, he could be frustrated towards himself when he played the wrong pass. As already mentioned, he had a lot of duels with the experienced Jardel. Even though it was clear that Jardel was stronger than him, he did very well to draw fouls and to win some duels by being smarter.
He attempted a few dribbles and showed that he is able to hold off his opponents well while dribbling, but also to spot teammates in space. His short passing ability was average as his passes were inaccurate often. However, he did well to move between the lines and was actively trying to get into space. When he got on the ball, he showed that he can control the ball well and that is an elegant player to watch when he attempts a dribble. In the final third, he stayed composed and did well to wait until there was a gap to shoot in, unfortunately for Richard he shot just wide.
Rating: A2
Even though he was sloppy in possession, he showed promising signs and it will be interesting to see how he will play in the coming weeks, especially when Tondela play against weaker sides in which he will be in possession more.
Target Scouting 