Copenhagen played league leaders Midtjylland in this game, a 2-1 loss meant that the gap to them became 11 points which appears to be an insurmountable deficit for Copenhagen in second place. They played a 4-4-2 but the wingers often came in quite narrow which meant they were playing in more of a diamond shape at times. They controlled a lot of the ball with 66% possession but they lacked much invention in the final third and they struggled to break down the divisions best defence. Despite having the ball for most of the matched they couldn’t engineer many periods of prolonged pressure to force any issues for Midtjylland.
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
Victor Nelsson
Player profile:
- Nationality: Danish
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 14/10/1998
- Current Club: FC Copenhagen
- Career: FC Nordsjaelland, FC Copenhagen
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Measuring 6’1″ Nelsson was a big physical presence in Copenhagen’s back line and he had a good game. He appeared to be tasked with man marking Midtjylland’s target man, Sory Kaba. The two were involved in a number of physical battles throughput the game but Nelsson did a good job of limiting service into the front man and kept him quiet for most of the game.
Nelsson was able to use his strength to his advantage and used his body well to hold attackers off the ball. He was difficult to get round and he won practically everything that came his way in the air. Nelsson was very strong in the air, he was very important for Copenhagen in defending corners and crosses and he was often in the right place to win a header and make the clearance. He held good defensive positions and made some important interventions, he showed good pace to cover space and was quick to recover position in defensive transitions. He sometimes struggled in 1v1 situations against better dribblers but generally he was patient and was able to show players inside into defensive traffic and wasn’t usually beaten off dribbles.
On the ball Nelsson always made angles to receive the ball from his goalkeeper. He was comfortable on the ball under pressure and showed he was capable of breaking lines by stepping out of defence with the ball and carrying it forward. He demonstrated a good range of passing, a lot of his passes were simple to push his full back into space but he also showed he had an eye for a long pass. He was able to strike the ball with good pace and weight to hit midfielders over the top of defenders and he also played some good sharp vertical passes to break the press and get midfielders on the turn in space.
The absence of a crowd meant that it was easy to hear how Nelsson organised his defensive line along with Bjelland, he communicated effectively and often throughout the game and helped his teammates to be aware of what was going on around them. It was also apparent that Nelsson became frustrated at some junctures in the game, he was rash in a couple of tackles and remonstrated with the referee afterwards. He also got frustrated after losing out a couple of times in physical encounters, his frustration appeared to effect his game for a minute or two afterwards as he sometimes rushed things and played some loose passes.
Rating – A2
Mohammed Daramy
Player profile:
- Nationality: Danish/Sierra Leonean
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 07/01/2002
- Current Club: FC Copenhagen
- Career: FC Copenhagen
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary Position: Right Wing / Centre Forward
- Preferred foot: Right
Daramy played alongside Kaufmann in the front two in this game. He struggled to get on the ball in attacking areas especially in the first half as Copenhagen as a team struggled to create much for the forwards to work with. Daramy found himself dropping quite deep to get on the ball in attempts to have an influence on the game. He showed he was capable of holding the ball up well, he used his strength well to hold off defenders before playing passes to bring other players into the game in the final third.
The introduction of Jonas Wind in the second half meant Daramy was pushed into a wider position where he looked more comfortable. He oicked up some better attacking positions in wide areas and he found it easier to get on the ball and run at the defence. He was involved in some most of Copenhagen’s better moves and was able to link up well with midfielders attacking from deeper positions. Daramy was one of Copenhagen’s most threatening players and got into a few good positions but he laxked quality and composure in the final third and was unable to create anything meaningful in front of goal.
Daramy pressed well from the front for Copenhagen, he often made it difficult for Midtjylland to play from the back. He was able to cover many passes in his cover shadow and his impressive athleticism made it easy for him to continue his press across the whole back line. He was able to win the ball high up on a couple of occasions to get Copenhagen on the front foot in attacking areas.
Rating – A2
Pep Biel
Player profile:
- Nationality: Spanish
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 05/09/1996
- Current Club: FC Copenhagen
- Career: Rayo Vallecano (Y), CD Llosetense, RCD Mallorca B, AD Almudévar (L), Dep. Aragón, Real Zaragoza, FC Copenhagen
- Position: Right Midfield
- Secondary Position: Central Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Pep Biel started this game as Copenhagen’s right sided midfielder. He worked hard up and down the right flank, especially in the first half, he pressed well and offered good defensive help to his full back. He made unselfish runs off the ball to create space for teammates that were on the ball and was intelligent in terms of the positions he picked up on the pitch.
He was probably Copenhagen’s best technical player. He had a very good first touch and he was able to open up space to work in with relative ease. A formation switch in the second half meant that he could operate from more central areas which he seemed to enjoy more. He was confident on the ball and was important for driving Copenhagen forward on the ball. He carried the ball well, and his quick feet and agility meant he could draw defenders in and win fouls or move past them.
He was able to create one good chance with a dangerous cross from wide on the right and he was consistently able to play passes into space for his teammates to move onto which was how he was able to take players out of the game for the most part. He shouldered a lot of the creative responsibility in the second half and he was able to link up well with teammates in and around the area as he played some good intricate passes.
At 5’5″ Biel isn’t physically blessed and he struggled in the air but he was competitive in tackles and was able to win a number of them and he was tenacious in the press and was able to come out on top in a number of duels, in which he was probably helped by his agility and low centre of gravity.
Rating – A2
Mikkel Kaufmann
Player profile:
- Nationality: Danish
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 03/01/2001
- Current Club: FC Copenhagen
- Career: Aalborg BK, FC Copenhagen
- Position: Centre Forward
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Kaufmann was Copenhagen’s other striker in this game, and like Daramy he struggled to get involved in attacking areas due to Midtjylland’s defence and Copenhagen’s lack of creativity in the first half. The game seemed to pass Kaufmann by with little involvement until he was replaced in the 65th minute.
Unlike Daramy, Kaufmann lacked the technical attributes to drop deeper and get involved on the ball, his first touch was poor as was his ball control in general. It seemed to bounce off him without much influence from him. He was the recipient of some tough to deal with passes on occasion but he was rarely able to get the ball under control and get other players involved.
His physical attributes were on show, his upper body strength was impressive and it might go some way to explaining why he was the target of a lot of the longer balls from defence. He worked fairly hard in attacking situations, he would never give a defender an easy clearance and would always challenge for the ball with them. He pressed relatively well for most of his time on the pitch but he appeared to become frustrated by the lack of opportunities he was getting and he started to get a bit lazy in the press.
He was able to pick up some good attacking positions, he pulled off the back of defenders well to find space in the back post ares and he was able to receive the ball in space between the centre back and full back. He was however unable to muster a shot during his time on the pitch and didn’t find himself in good positions between the goalposts often enough.
Rating – B1