Estudiantes lost 3-2 against Colón in which was a difficult match for both teams. Estudiantes liked to build up from out the back and put high pressure on the opponent whenever they lost the ball. They played in a 433 formation and kept very narrow whenever they lost the ball.
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
Iván Erquiaga
- Nationality: Argentina
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 26-03-1998
- Club: Club Estudiantes de La Plata
- Career: Club Estudiantes de La Plata (Y)
- Position: left-back
- Preferred foot: left
Iván Erquiaga played as a left-back in this match and had a mixed performance. He had a lot of variation in his playing style. Whenever Edwar Lopez positioned himself close to the sideline, Erquiaga would make an underlapping run or position himself more centrally in order to create an option near the edge of the box for Lopez to pass to. During the times that Lopez would move more centrally, Erquiaga stayed close to the sideline and got into space to give a cross.
Also, he often stayed back whenever Facundo Sanchez moved up the pitch and contributed to the attack. This was good, as it made sure that there were enough players behind the ball, which allowed Estudiantes to defend well whenever Colón had a counter-attack. When he took up a more central position and Schunke dribbled it out from the back, Erquiaga would move backwards and make sure that there were enough players behind the ball.
Erquiaga keeps the playing field narrow whenever the ball is on the other side of the pitch, as it allows the Argentine to put pressure immediately when the ball is lost and it would increase Estudiantes’ chances to gain back possession as quickly as possible, which was their playing style in this match. When the ball would move to his side more, he would sprint towards the sideline to get into space to receive the ball and he would either play the pass backwards or play a powerful pass towards the striker.
As he often put pressure very high up the pitch, Colón sometimes tried to make a run in behind on the right-wing (from Colón’s perspective). Erquiaga was more than capable of playing with a lot of space in his back, as he had the pace and acceleration to close gaps or keep up with the wide midfielder. The 22-year-old defended very positively, but did not get caught out of position a single time and always made sure to scan to see if he could defend aggressively. Also, he covered the runs in behind very well.
Erquiaga also keeps the playing field narrow whenever the opponent had the ball as Colón also kept very compact whenever they had possession on the other side of the pitch, which allowed Erquiaga to close down his opponent aggressively which helped Estudiantes to gain back possession. He would often put pressure very high up the pitch and be determined in the duels, while also keeping composed to scan and cut the passing lanes. Also, Erquiaga did well to close gaps towards the center when Schunke would step out of the defensive line.
The left-back anticipated well in defence and did not get into any trouble in this match. However, at the 2-2, it can be said that he could have been closer towards his opponent. He allowed him to pass it towards the center of the box, but the pass was intercepted. However, the player on the ball made a big mistake and the 2-2 was made seconds after. In the 1v1 duels, Erquiaga had a good body position and forced the opponent to go on the outside, before using his good acceleration and reaction time to either block the cross or prevent his opponent from being dangerous.
Whenever Estudiantes were put under pressure, Erquiaga was very actively trying to get into space and he always did well to do this which allowed him to receive in space. He showed good passing technique, but his passes did not always come off. This has multiple reasons, one of them being that Erquiaga’s passes were not that accurate always, but also that for example Retegui was not always aggressive enough to get into the space where the pass would go. An example, Erquiaga played the pass with power towards Retegui, but he allowed his opponent to get in front of him.
Iván Erquiaga showed good ball control and managed to have a good first touch, despite the fact that the pass was sometimes played on knee-height which made it harder for him to control the ball. He showed that he has good dribbling ability, but he did not show it that often. He is a very progressive passer which could be seen in the match as he played a lot of long passes over the ground towards the striker, which could have been more accurate with a striker that moves into better positions. His crosses were not very accurate, but he got them into good positions and had a good technique in playing them.
Rating – A1
I am not sure about his current level, as his playing style was very different from what I have seen before in the Superliga with other left-backs. His on the ball ability was good, but he did not get tested under pressure often and still played a lot of inaccurate passes. However, his passing technique was good. I will definitely rewatch him.
Mateo Retegui
- Nationality: Argentina
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 29-04-1999
- Club: Boca Juniors, on loan at Estudiantes
- Career: Boca Juniors (Y), Estudiantes (L)
- Position: striker
- Preferred foot: right
Mateo Retegui played as the sole striker and showed some promising signs, but also was not active enough in some moments of the game. Retegui managed to hold off his opponents well when he received the ball and made the first touch, but he was not alert enough at times which allowed his opponent to get in front of him to lose possession. The Argentine showed decent pace, strength, balance and dribbling ability when he gave the pre-assist at the 2-2. He also had some good first time passes. The loanee from Boca Juniors could have been more active when Estudiantes were in possession. He only had 24 touches on the ball and could have dropped deeper often to support the build-up, especially because he was not too keen at making runs in behind as well.
Rating – B1
Good player for Estudiantes, but I don’t think he could already be a squad player for Boca Juniors.
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